Abstract

As advised in household recipe books and publicly published prescription books, this paper will delve deep into the realm of domestic remedies particularly those recipes that assist in fertility. These manuscripts include remedies to provoke menstruation, balance the humors of the womb, or to protect against miscarriage for women, along with remedies for a sore or swollen codd, or to return a man his ‘nature,’ for men. In examining the intersections between men, women, infertility and Galenic medicine, this research will also look specifically at the interaction of certain ingredients within these prescriptive cures. These ingredients include liquors and liquids such as beer, wine, and rosewater, spices and herbs such as saffron and cinnamon, and sweeteners such as sugar and honey. The recipes in household receipt books were often a compilation of recipes passed down through a familial line, passed between friends, or copied directly from public prescriptive manuals, but each utilize similar techniques and similar ingredients. Furthermore, certain ingredients show up a multitude of times in these infertility remedies indicating the popular belief that those foods promote fertility. Therefore, I intend to dig deeper into the specific remedies used to correct infertility, and examine the specific ingredients used within such cures to discern beliefs about the causes of infertility and why certain foods were better for remedying such problems.

Details

Title
Obstructed Wombs, Swollen Cods, Saffron and Cinnamon: Infertility and Ingredients in Early Modern England
Author
Donnellan, Meghan
Publication year
2021
Publisher
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
ISBN
9798515245603
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2544824706
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.