Medieval Lives - great TV programme for feminist mothers

[FoldyRoll]

Caught the first episode of this show last night and it was fascinating. It examined birth in medieval times, and showed how much of the misogyny embedded in UK and European culture developed via the church. Well worth catching up on iPlayer. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03cv0lm/medieval-lives-birth-marriage-death-1-a-good-birth

Saw this myself and thought the same thing FoldyRoll ! :)

Helen castor is fab. There are three I think in this series and they’re all really good. The details of how normal people lived are fascinating

All religions are about controlling women - burkas for example - see what Polly Tonybe had to say about this in the Guardian Earlier this week

Is this the one based on the Paston letters? If so, yes, it's fab.

I think she has a book too - blood and roses? I have it on kindle and haven’t started it yet. Based on the paston letters.

I love the sort of history that focuses on people’s actual lives.

This looks really interesting. Thanks FoldyRolls.

Oh brilliant! I have the Death one as a recording from years ago but have never seen the other two. Thank you!

Place marking so I don't forget to find it next week

Bowl indeed, though only the privileged few would have been able to write. The direct, mundane evidence does make a refreshing change from contemporary writings designed to flatter whoever was in power. Do you reckon Helen Castor is an MN-er? There were some wry asides that gave me that vibe.

Gaspode true. As an atheist, I can see the point of religions in the very early days of civilisations, when some mutually agreed rules were necessary for communities to survive, but they all go wrong sooner or later and become about men controlling women and indefinitely perpetuating that control.

That's the one Lang. Given it was on at about 1am, it did seem it must be a repeat.

Ooooh, sounds v interesting. I love that kind of thing! Thanks for the heads up

I hope she is :)

I’m sure they had Naice Ham in medieval times...

And Pomme Bearf

I believe Ours de Pomme were brought over by the Normans, in the eleventh century OP. But the Vikings had already introduced the people who lived in the Danegeld to the concept of the fruktskudd some year prior

(Thanks for the sharing the link)

Pomme bearf

Only on MN could such a fabulous line be writ.

Do you think there were Ye Olde Fruit Shoots? With arguments along the lines of 'Verily, 'tis only fruit and water' vs 'Zounds, 'tis liquid crack and the teeth of thy children will surely rot in their heads'

Really interesting programme - those poor women, especially the ones who got caught up in the Reformation. As if facing labour in those times wasn't frightening enough, imagine having the things that you had truly believed would help to keep you safe snatched away Fascinating that midwives were allowed to baptise infants though.

I will admit to having shed a tear over the babies buried in the houses, and the women buried with their fetuses. Of course people were still human with human grief and instincts, but concrete examples like that bring it home - especially when (afaik) the academic view used to be that people didn't allow themselves to bond with small children as infant mortality rates were so high. Such a misreading of human nature.

Yes spudlet the received wisdom does seem to be that if you had 11 kids, you could afford to miss the odd one or two, be relieved even at one less mouth to feed, but after 9 months of pregnancy and then a life threatening labour, it must be impossible to feel anything other than profound loss.

Just watched first episode of this based on this thread recommendation. Fascinating and moving with a great presenter, thanks for the reco!

Helen Castor also did She Wolves, Medieval Queens of England before Elizabeth, it's also in book form but I think you can watch it on Netflix.

Thanks for the book recommendation, Blood and Roses. I wonder what happened to Margery and I do hope Agnes got her divorce from her brutal husband.

My aunt, a Catholic, left money to the church to say prayers on the anniversary of her death, a remembrance mass. She was also buried with her St Christopher medal. She died in 1994.