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All posts from the category "Women's stuff".
Today we are talking about menstrual hygiene in medieval times!
Go on, this last one I still need to do for the #pluckingroses Challenge. :-D
Here is my impression of a “secret woman” from the second half of the 14th century.
I could not resist executing another reconstruction from a great written source for my #pluckingroses Challenge.
My reconstruction is based on a court file from the end of the 13th century. The case was revolving around a Ms Bertolina, nicknamed “Guercia” from Bologna who was charged with sodomic practices (meaning sexual practices that were considered to be abnormal). I can’t tell her story any better than this amazing Podcast here (transcript can be found in this article here). I can really recommend this read, because Guercia seems to have been a very unusual woman and in my opinion a great example of women’s emancipation in the middle ages.
This is my entry for the #pluckingroses challenge. If you would like to read up the rules of the challenge, please follow the link to the article and see more entries and content on Instagram and Facebook.
For my entry I chose a contraceptive amulet, a fairly unspectacular piece but it has a very interesting history… (more…)
There have been different ways for everybody in the hobby to cope with our 2020 situation, I personally really liked the many challenges and community activities that this pandemic brought. It kind of felt like the Living History grew closer over borders and countries although most were unable to meet others.
I especially liked challenges for craft projects (please also see my projects on our IG14 Ensemble Facebookpage) in which you had to research a specific given topic which you might not have thought about too deeply before and make it your project to recreate an item for your living history work.
And if there is several other participants involved as well, it gets even better because you see so many different ideas and talents from your fellow living historians and learn something new from them!
So we thought well, it needs more challenges like it to give us motivation to start something new and when Rosalie Gilbert released her new book about womens sexuality in the middle ages, I thought this was the perfect challenge. There is so much to learn and know in theory about Sex in the middle ages, but when it comes to the living historians core competence, which is really the recreation and presentation of material culture, you don’t really see a lot of reconstructions in that area.
The Challenge: I would like to see practical reconstructions fit for a living history presentation or event that are falling into the broad spectrum of sexuality in history.
It could f.e. be an identifying piece of clothing for prostitutes after your local sumptuary laws, it could be an amulett against conception, it could be a medical application against sexually transmittable deseases, it could be a sexy underdress, it could be a written letter with saucy poems a la Gwerful Mechain, it could be a fish hide condom, it could be a tin badge of a flying penis, it could be a dildo, it could be an allegorical or explicit sculpture or painting, it could be a pair of tweezers for body hair removal, it could be cooking a dish with an aphrodisiac effect, etc etc etc…. whatever you choose to be your project, it is worthy of the challenge. This is mainly supposed to be fun!
The only criteria that needs to be applied: You need to do it like a living historian. That means using sources, either archeological or written or pictoral to base your reconstruction on them.
How explicit or non explicit you present your works is up to you, I would guess however that social media plattforms will give a certain frame to that. Please dont forget to tagg your entry with #pluckingroses !
Obviously living historians from all eras, impressions and regions can enter!
I already own a warming hood with buttons for my simple impression and if it really needs to be very practical for work, I also like to wear my husbands hood. But I wasnt quite satisfied with the fit of my buttoned hood and the material didnt really fit my more expensive clothing more expensive clothing. So I needed another model which can be worn over a fine veil and as a fashionable accessory rather than be a warming garment for winter when I most probably will never take out my finer gowns with their overlength and delicate silk lined skirt edges.
At the beginning of last October, I was part of the 14th century team at Medieval days at the open air museum Bad Windsheim, Germany. My colleague Thomas (who played the barber/bathhouse owner) and me (as the bathing maid) were assigned to lead the bathhouse belonging to a late medieval hospital in Bad Windsheim, that was the main topic of this event for us.
Trigger-Alert: In this post I will talk about female breasts. Especially mine. You will have to look at them and I have no problem with it. I intend to be very frank and not avoid any topics. So be aware and please behave like an adult. (more…)
Our company colleague Viki has recently made a very pretty underdress with a supportive upper part for her mid 14th century impression and allowed me to write an article about it.
On one of our events at the Museum Tiroler Bauernhöfe last weekend, I did a little lecture on hair care and hair dos as well as hair in general. I brought this to digital paper now to be able to link it in the future.
Please do follow also the links in the text to find further reading material, original sources and intersting tutorials.
