18 Eerie Details About Medieval Women That History Books Completely Left Out
So how much do you really know about the lives of women during the medieval period, the centuries between about 500 and 1500 A.D? We’ve done some deep research into the subject and many of the facts we’ve uncovered are truly fascinating — and in some cases quite shocking. Read on to find out the truth about how women lived during the Middle Ages…
1. Unusual hair habits
Women through the ages have removed hair from various parts of their bodies: they were even at it 5,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt! There they used sharpened seashells or sugary waxes to remove unwanted hair. Medieval women were no different when it came to shaving, although they did have their own specific fashions.
Shaving or plucking?
Aristocratic women in France and the Lowlands had a particular shaving habit that looks more than a little peculiar by today's standards. They wanted their hairlines as high above the eyebrows as possible! So they plucked hairs at the front of their heads. England’s Elizabeth I was another who indulged in this habit, although she shaved rather than plucked.
2. Meat for fertility
The Getty website points out that medieval women believed that meat was good for circulation. And by extension, meat dishes were believed to improve your chances of becoming pregnant. In general, people believed that a good diet was one that kept the four humors — blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile — well balanced.
Varied diet
In fact women’s — and men’s — diets during the Middle Ages varied greatly according to their wealth and social status. Aristocratic women could enjoy such delicacies as roast peacock and the flesh of a variety of animals including porpoises, whales, and even seals. Then there were luxuries unimaginable to the poor, such as spun-sugar sculptures of everything from ships to castles.
