February | 2023 | Lions and Lilies

By Catherine T Wilson

For our advent calendar last year, we decided to make a set of magazine covers in the likeness of Dolly or Cosmopolitan but capture the medieval essence. If such a journal could have existed, what sort of articles would it have contained? Anything and everything to assist the young maiden about to set out on her life’s journey as a wife and mother, and once there, all the information needed to be a good one and keep her husband satisfied, and at home when not out soldiering.

Such were our efforts that we now find ourselves tasked with writing some of these articles! Well, why not? It might be fun…. So please enjoy the articles within this issue of The Chastity Belt.

The Chastity Belt – Article 1

Apothecaries Love Potions – Do they really work?

In the vast history of romance, dating back to Ancient Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire, fragrances were essential to the art of seduction. Botanical oils were commonly used to create these desirable aromas. Perfumes were created to attract lovers, and headdresses adorned with sweet smelling flowers were often worn at weddings as a symbol of love and fertility.

In medieval literature, love magic often takes the shape of a potion. In the famous courtly love tale Tristan and Isolde, the protagonists fall madly in love with each other after drinking a love potion – causing all sorts of problems as Isolde was promised to marry another man. In Italian romance epics like the Orlando Innamorato, there are entire fountains that make those who drink from it fall in love, as well as other fountains that make the drinker despise the person they were infatuated with before.

References to love magic can be found outside the area of literature as well, for instance in works of medicine. Some of them involve the wearing of a talisman, made from herbs, gems, stones, or animal parts to which some kind of occult power was attributed. The Italian physician Pietro Bairo mentions a number of magic tricks in his Secreti Medicinali. Carrying a beryl stone, for instance, is said to increase the love between husband and wife, while a magnet may reconcile them, and wearing the heart of a crow will make them support each other. Potions and powders could be made from various substances, ranging from herbs and minerals, to bones, hair, and blood. In one of Pietro Bairo’s tricks, the reader is advised to

“take swallows born in August and put them in a big pan, alive, and bake them until they are shrivelled, then make a powder out of it, and when you give this to those who kiss together, it will cause great delight”.

(Marlisa den Hartog and Leiden Medievalists Blog – see https://www.leidenmedievalistsblog.nl/articles/love-magic-and-rape-drugs-in-late-medieval-italy)

We now know that scent does in fact have a direct connection to the amygdala and the hippocampus– parts of the brain that process emotion and deal with associative learning, respectively. The neural structure that is involved in the sense of smell (called the olfactory bulb) is closely connected to these emotional parts of the brain; all together called the limbic system. So, it is no coincidence that when we take in a scent we are reminded of a loved one, an event in your life, or a certain place.

So, is it scientifically possible to make a love potion?

Yes and no. It is impossible to replicate true love, since it’s an emotional, cognitive process that’s based on experiences and memories. There’s no scientific pill for that. But it has been proven that there are specific chemicals related to emotional states similar to love.

The Chastity Belt – Article 2

Meet the Travelling Troubadours (Sorry, no backstage passes left!)

A troubadour was an often-wandering composer and performer of Old Occitan (the earliest form of Occitano-romance language) lyric poetry – an entertainer from 1100 to 1350. The art of the troubadours declined in the 14th century and around the time of the Black Death (1348) it died out completely, as wandering from town to town (possibly carrying the plague) became hugely unpopular.

The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of chivalry and courtly love. Most were metaphysical, intellectual, and formulaic and many were humorous or vulgar satires.

The earliest troubadour whose work survives is Guilhèm de Peitieus, better known as Duke William IX of Aquitaine (1071–1126).

Orderic Vitalis, a Benedictine monk and English chronicler revered as a reliable source, referred to William composing songs about his experiences on his return from the Crusade of 1101 (c. 1102). This may be the earliest reference to troubadour lyrics. Orderic also provides us (1135) with what may be the first description of a troubadour performance: an eyewitness account of William of Aquitaine.

Then the Poitevin duke … the miseries of his captivity … before kings, magnates, and Christian assemblies many times related with rhythmic verses and witty measures.

Troubadour activity lasted from about 1170 until about 1213. During this time the lyric art reached the height of its popularity and so did the number of surviving poems. The canso, or love song, became distinguishable as a genre.

The 450 or so troubadours known to historians came from a variety of backgrounds. They made their living in a variety of ways, lived, and travelled in many different places, and were actors in many types of social context. Some stayed in one place for a lengthy period of time under the patronage of a wealthy nobleman or woman, but many did travel extensively, sojourning at one court and then another.

The Chastity Belt – Article 3

How to Pluck a fashionable forehead (Ouch!)

The Bible says a woman’s hair is her crowning glory. Because of this, it was considered a very private thing. It was fine for young girls to have unbound hair, and a maiden wore her hair completely unbound on her wedding day as a symbol of her virginity. Once a lady was married however, it was a different story.

Because such emphasis was put on covering the hair, the medieval ideal was of a high, round forehead. Women who were not blessed with this, aided nature by plucking their hairline towards the crown of the head. To make the forehead even more prominent, eyebrows were plucked to a barely-there line. Again, this was condemned as vanity by the Church. Instructions to clergymen told them to tell ladies in confession:

“If she has plucked hair from her neck, or brows or beard for lavisciousness or to please men… This is a mortal sin unless she does so to remedy severe disfigurement or so as not to be looked down upon by her husband.”

So, you could do it if your husband agreed!

Headdresses could be anything from the veils and headrails of the earlier part of the period to the elegant henins of the 15th century. This later period saw a time when women were to favour very high foreheads. This enabled the hair to be hidden beneath the headdress. To achieve this, the hairline was often plucked along with the eyebrows.

“Women in the 1400s wanted to have high foreheads and an egg-shaped face, with small nose and lips. They saw this as resembling a child, innocent and pure. It was truly a blank face, without much expression, since the hairline was tweezed to be very high and the eyebrows shaved off.” So, if you asked for tips on what to do with your countenance, you’d probably be handed a pair of tweezers!

The Chastity Belt – Article 4

Decorate your chamber walls tastefully – (Giant Souvenir Poster of Sir Lancelot included)

As the medieval stone walls of a castle could make a room feel very cold, large fires burned in the grates and the addition of hanging tapestries on the walls helped to insulate the warmth of the chamber. As time went on, the tapestries became larger, more luxurious, and more expensive. To own one was seen as sign of the owner’s wealth.

So, what is a tapestry?

It’s a specific type of weft-faced textile that is handwoven on a loom. The loom is composed of two rollers, between which there are plain warp threads. In the large tapestry factories of France (now known as Belgium), these warps were made of wool.

The warps are either stretched vertically or horizontally, and have a small space between them, which is called the shed. The weaver (who works on the underside of the tapestry), passes coloured threads wrapped around a shuttle through the shed. Alternate warps are attached to drawstrings, which the weaver can either pull forward or backward in order to create another shed for the weft to be passed back through again. By using a variety of colours of weft, the weaver creates an image or pattern.

Designs in the French tapestries of the 13th and 14th centuries resemble the manuscript paintings of the Gothic period. Figures of people were flat silhouettes, and backgrounds were simplified. Arras, in France, was so important a centre that the tapestry itself, became known as an “arras.”

Arras Tapestry, Offering of a Heart, c. 1400-1410, Louvre Museum

The millefleurs (thousand flowers) background was widely used in 15th- and 16th-century tapestries. Small flowering plants in soft colours were scattered over the entire background. A notable example of tapestries of this type and period is The Hunt of the Unicorn series in The Met Cloisters museum, New York, and ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ tapestries in the Cluny Museum, Paris.

For more on this see – http://bit.ly/LLTheUnicorn

This last part is a sealed section in our magazine therefore it now comes with a warning or two. (Author – This article is based on medieval history and research however it comes to you now with a tongue-in-cheek Lions and Lilies twist. We trust none of it offends.)

Sealed Section – HOLD! Are you old enough for this section?

The Chastity Belt – Article 5

Bold Chamber Tricks Couples are trying!

Be bold beforehand and set the pace!

Get to know the feel of him and visa versa. The church will advocate that you keep your clothes on but if he insists on undressing you, then at least keep your night cap on, otherwise the heat of your passion will escape through your head and you may not fall pregnant! But we are jumping the gun a bit here…. Better to get ready first!

2. Getting ready for his attention – take a bath

The first thing you must do is prepare yourself for him.

Call your waiting-women and take a nice long bath! Our sources tell us (that being Trotula de Ruggiero 11^th– 12^th C who may have been the first female physician), you should “purify the inner pudenda,” by wiping the interior and exterior with a clean cloth, let the fluids drain out and then dry thoroughly inside and out! Liberally sprinkle with rose water.

3. Shave everything!

If you were a woman of rank, it seems the advice offered by ‘Aunt Theia Voula’ in ‘A Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’ was to have been the order of the day – “Shave everything!” Although there is evidence that not all women shaved, it is pondered that these examples came from the peasant class.

4. Prepare him

You’ve enjoyed a nice long soak, now put your nimble hands to good use and get scrubbing! Get to know him intimately and wash away the toil of the road that lingers upon his skin.

Some variations on this could include inviting a friend or two to help out as you join him!

Once you feel comfortable enough, you could invite a few more! Make a weekend of it.

5. Explore the great outdoors!

But if crowds are not to your husband’s pleasing, perhaps a change of scenery? Try spending a night outside in the courtyard under the stars.

Or in the woods. For some, the excitement of getting caught is enough to increase their libido!

Or perhaps the garden fountain might appeal?

6. Try something exotic!

But if your own bed will suffice then how about trying something exotic? Gift him with a rare and strange book that will add spice to your chamber! But you’ll have to find a merchant willing to travel the spice road to bring you back a copy of this ancient text.

The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. It’s defined as ‘The art of living well, the nature of love, finding a life partner, maintaining one’s love life, and other aspects pertaining to pleasure-oriented faculties of human life.’

Its chapters discuss methods for courtship, training in the arts to be socially engaging, finding a partner, flirting, maintaining power in a married life, when and how to commit adultery, sexual positions, and other topics. The majority of the book is about the philosophy and theory of love, what triggers desire, what sustains it, and how and when it is good or bad.

But alas! You still can’t ignore the church, can you? Deciding they needed to impose a few bans on certain days or activities, someone took the trouble to draw up a flow chart of the church’s new rules to make it easier for all of us to follow.

Are they serious? Yes, they are.

But remember, in whatever way you decide to spice up your chamber, the church will not agree to any of it so if you admit it in confession, you WILL be given a penance!

Meanwhile, hold on tight and enjoy the ride!

DON’T FORGET YOUR FREE GIVEAWAY POSTER!

The Chastity Belt – Free giveaway poster of Sir Lancelot (take your pick!)

See you in next month’s issue of The Chastity Belt!

Catherine A Wilson co-writes with Catherine T Wilson (no relation). Their first book, The Lily and the Lion, was based upon their true-life accidental meeting and resulting friendship. All four books in their ‘Lions and Lilies’ series have won first place prizes in the Chatelaine/Chaucer Awards in the US and in 2019, The Traitor’s Noose won the Grand Prize Chaucer Award.