One thousand years ago, pregnancy was quite a challenge. Nobody had heard of midwives, medicine was just in its infancy, and everything was ruled by inherent superstition. Learn the truth about the conditions under which it was possible to give birth to the extraordinary women who built Poland.
Duchess Oda Dytrykówna, Mieszko's second wife, is remembered by history primarily because of her great dispute with Bolesław the Brave. The real life of Oda, however, was focused not only on politics, conspiracies and civil wars. The ruler was the inspiration behind the famous Dagome Iudex but most of all she was a mother.
She had three sons and at least one daughter. She had subsequent pregnancies at least every two or three years. In other words, she was almost always pregnant, giving birth or trying for a baby. Motherhood dominated her existence on the Warta River and it was to remain so until her husband's death.
(Un) safety of childbirth
Of course, frequent pregnancies were accompanied by dangers. Medieval births should not be demonized, however. They were not as dangerous as they used to be repeated. During or during the puerperium ten to fifteen percent of women died but such tragedies almost never affected duchesses and nobles.
Birth of John the Baptist according to a miniature from the 14th century. It is worth paying attention to the smiling face of the newly baked mother and her maid…
Historians have compiled the relevant data with regard to the Carolingian dynasty. The fate of every famous royal and imperial wife, daughter, concubine and mistress was checked. It turned out that none - absolutely none - lost their lives in connection with giving birth.
In Wielkopolska, Dobrawa must have reckoned with the dangers of childbirth, but not her successor, who lived in more civilized conditions. Unlike peasant women, women of high birth had clean rooms, they could count on the help of servants and court ladies, as well as - a varied and nutritious diet.
The latest research shows that the last detail was the most important, because the blood toll of medieval mothers was mainly caused by iron deficiency and hemorrhage.
The power of superstition
There were countless superstitions and rituals associated with pregnancy. The very fact that a woman is pregnant was to be confirmed, for example, by unusual culinary desires. It was not, however, about the uncontrolled desire to eat pickled cucumbers, but rather ... charcoal or earth.
Ladies wishing to secretly eat mud had to be fed with sweetened broad beans. It was also forbidden to speak in the company of the pregnant woman about dishes to which she did not have access. Conquered by an unfulfilled desire, a woman could miscarry in such a situation.
Medieval experts also claimed to know a way to predict a child's gender. For example, if a woman's right breast became larger than the left one, it meant that she was pregnant with her son. If it was the other way around - she should expect a daughter.
This is how a court birth in the 10th century was envisioned by a Czech painter of the Baroque era.
Gusła with church blessing
We know nothing about Oda examining her breasts to see if she will give birth to a future prince or princess. However, we can reconstruct with some details what her next births looked like.
Behind the closed door to the queen's bedroom, the courtiers and maidservants gathered. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was a tradition to give birth with the support of a large group of close people. It was by no means treated as something intimate or private. After the fact, he was widely discussed and rumors spread. However, it does not seem that men - not even the prince himself - were allowed in. There were also no specialists at the duchess's side.
The tenth century did not know the profession of midwife yet, and gynecology functioned on the absolute margins of medicine. Admittedly, illustrated instructions on how to deal with situations when a child in the womb is in the wrong position were circulating around the continent, but it was doubtful that they would reach Poznań.
Katarzyna Czylok as Oda in the photo of Sylwester Zalewski.
If someone supported Oda in these difficult moments, it was rather some local herbalist and charmer , boasting decades of experience in childbirth. In Germany, despite hundreds of years of Christian heritage, the situation would be similar:only that the herbalist would celebrate Germanic and not Slavic witchcraft.
Women used magical support throughout the Middle Ages, with the tacit approval of the Church. Many spells and traditional recipes have survived not elsewhere but in the monastery books.
Dark and warm
Oda was covered with special amulets, maybe she was also given an apple or a piece of cheese to eat, covered with a spell for easy childbirth. One of the companions probably scattered coriander seeds at her feet. They were believed to have the power to attract the fetus towards each other.
If the delivery was delayed, the ruler could take a herbal bath or drink a special infusion. Walking around the bedroom was also recommended - the movement was supposed to encourage the child to go out sooner. Sponges, bandages, and dishes with warm water were waiting for this moment. All this in twilight, whether the delivery took place at night or in the middle of the day.
The muffled rhythm of birth
According to the instructions of the era, the pregnant woman needed darkness and warmth. Low temperature and light would inevitably lead to complications, harming both the mother and the baby. But no one recommended silence. On the contrary.
Childbirth in a wide company? This was the standard in the Middle Ages.
While preparing to bring the child into the world, Oda listened to the singing coming from behind the wall. The chaplain and courtiers waiting in the adjoining room chanted special prayers. The so-called "Peperit" was undoubtedly among them. The most popular medieval litany designed for childbirth and recalling the names of biblical mothers.
"Anna peperit with Samuel ... Elisabeth Iohann ... Anna peperit Mariam, Maria peperit Christum ..." - it sounded with muffled echoes for the whole quarter of an hour and an hour. As long as it took.
Sources:
The article is based on the literature and materials collected by the author during the work on the book "Iron Ladies. The Women Who Built Poland ” .
- Marianne Elsakkers, In Pain You Shall Bear Children (Gen 3:16). Medieval Prayers for a Safe Delivery [in:] Women and Miracles Stories. A Multidisciplinary Exploration , ed. Anne-Marie Korte, Leiden 2001
- M.H. Green, Childbirth and Infancy [in:] Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Supplement I , ed. W.C. Jordan, New York 2004
- M.H. Green, "Cliff Notes" on the Circulation of the Gynecological Texts of Soranus and Muscio in the Middle Ages On July 31, 2015.
- Paula M. Rieder, Pregnancy and Childbirth. Christian Women [in:] Women and Gender in Medieval Europe. An Encyclopedia , Ed. M. Schaus, New York 2006.
- Suzanne Fonay Wemple, Women in Frankish Society. Marriage and the Cloister, 500 to 900 , Philadelphia 1981.
- Bonnie Wheeler, Medieval Mothering , New York 1996.
- Dorota Żoładź-Strzelczyk, Nursing and feeding of infants in medieval Poland [in:] Nihil superfluum esse , eds. J. Strzelczyk, J. Dobosz, Poznań 2000.