Learn what went on behind closed doors in the Tudor
court. Illegitimate children, adulterous queens, impotent kings, and a whole
dynasty resting on their shoulders. Sex and childbirth were quite literally a
matter of life or death for the Tudors - Elizabeth of York died in childbirth,
two of Henry VIII's queens were beheaded for infidelity, and Elizabeth I's
elective virginity signalled the demise of a dynasty. Amy Licence guides the
reader through the births of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York's two sons, Arthur
and Henry, Catherine of Aragon's subsequent marriages to both of these men,
Henry VIII's other five wives and his mistresses, and the sex lives of his
daughters. This book details the experiences of all these women, from
fertility, conception and pregnancy through to the delivery chamber, on to
maternal and infant mortality. Each woman's story is a blend of specific
personal circumstances, set against their historical moment: for some the joys
were brief, for others it was a question that ultimately determined their
fates.
I have read a great deal about Tudor
history; from the founder of the Tudor dynasty Henry VII to the last of the
Tudor line Elizabeth I yet in all my reading I have read very little about the
sex lives of the Tudor Kings and Queens. Amy Licence’s book opens up a
fascinating and often unspoken about
world which looks at not only the sex lives of some of the most famous monarchs
in history, she also explores every day aspects such as child birth, conception
and the role of men and women in the birthing process.
While the Tudor monarchs seemed to keep
a great deal of their intimate actions, such as sexual relations and child
birth, behind closed doors there are many fascinating accounts, records,
inventories and other details which survive all of which discuss and give a
wonderful glimpse into what happened behind closed doors when men and women
slept together, when they were trying to conceive a child and when a woman went
into labour. Amy Licence has gathered this often overlooked information and
complied it into a compelling and captivating book.
Child birth during the Tudor period was
an often terrifying experience for women. There were no antibiotics or surgeons
available with today’s modern technology and the medical understanding compared
to what is known today was vastly different. Licence talks about the multitude
of medical remedies that were used for a range of ailments at the time ranging
from sore breasts to aiding in the safe delivery of a child. Many of the herbs
and treatments used back then sound completely and utterly ridiculous For
example a unicorns horn! Yet they were tried and tested remedies that had been
handed down from generation to generation or given to people by the doctors and
midwives at the time.
Religion also played a huge role for
women during the Tudor period not only in child birth but also in infertility,
conception, a healthy pregnancy, labour and recovery. People’s religious belief
was extremely important during the Tudor age and was an important part of a
woman’s pregnancy. Many women went on pilgrimages to churches and the shrines
of saints to pray that they might conceive or deliver a healthy child. During
labour there were all sorts of religious chants and rhymes to recite which
while in today’s times we may not understand, back then would have helped to
focus the labouring woman and give at least a little peace to her mind. There
were also religious items and relics such as girdles, crosses, rosary beads
that women would have clung onto during labour which they believed would assist
them during the birth.
During the Reformation when England
broke from Rome many of these religious beliefs and practices were banned. I
have read a great deal about the reformation but never even thought about the
effect it would have had on pregnant women. If a woman had a strong Catholic
faith and yet the law stated that she could not use Catholic artefacts what would
she have done during labour? Would she have defied the law and held onto her
beliefs? Licence talks about how many women did this and held onto religious
practices to support them in child birth.
Licence goes into a great deal of detail
about the strict rules and regulations that outlined how a Tudor Queen or Queen
consort would remove herself from public life and go into confinement before
the onset of labour. Strict guidelines were set out about what a pregnant woman
could or could not do, what the room must look like, the religious items they
may have had with them to provide comfort and hope of a healthy child. Child
birth was most often a strictly woman only affair. Midwives, sisters, mothers,
aunts and even female family members would have all attended the birth if
possible to provide as much support and guidance as they could. It was through
this that many treatments, remedies, practices and other traditions were passed
down from one generation to another. Licence also makes a very good point that
it is also because child birth was mainly a woman only affair that much of the
information and happenings of the time have been lost to history due to the
illiteracy rate of woman and the mere fact that women and men were not on an
equal footing during the Tudor period.
Surprisingly the rate of survival was
quite high for mothers during childbirth and Licence quotes Roger Schofield
suggesting that there was only a 6-7% chance of a woman dying across their
child bearing years. Infant death rates were higher with about 1 in 4 children
dying before they turned one year of age. New born babies were often washed in
strange substances such as wine, milk, butter or even oil which seems strange
to use nowadays but was believed to be vital for a babies survival back then.
There was also a limited understanding of the needs of young babies and they
were very susceptible to illnesses and other causes of death.
Also post natal treatment of women and
their children was not as well understood during the Tudor age as it is now.
Water was not as sanitary either and often infection and germs were passed from
a woman to the mother or the child due to simple lack of washing hands. It is
horrible to think that something so simple as washing of hands could have
possibly prevented countless deaths – yet germs were not as well understood
back then as they are now. There were
also countless complications that often went along with birth such as a tear in
the skin, not delivering of the full placenta, infection, blood loss just to
name a few which again was not fully understood or unable to be properly
treated.
It should be also noted that it was not
just women of the lower class that were susceptible to infections and
complications during or after birth. Women of all classes were at risk and it
seemed as though birth was the great leveller. In the case of Henry VIII two of
his wives who both had access to doctors and medicines died of puerperal fever after child
birth.
Licence gives a multitude of examples
about pregnancy, superstitions and beliefs, religious practices, labour and
birth from all classes during the period. She talks about The Queens of
England, the noble woman and also the common women, simple wives or servants.
In this the reader gains a fantastically detailed picture of what pregnancy and
child birth would have been like during the Tudor period from the richest to
the common class to the poor woman giving birth on a doorstep.
I found this to be one of the most
brilliant, most compelling and detailed books about the Tudors that I have ever
read. From the moment I picked this book up I simply could not put it down. As
a woman and a mother I found myself enthralled by this book and at some points
I could strongly relate to how women and mothers of the Tudor period must have
felt. Obviously in today’s times I had access to clean and sterile hospitals,
the latest medicines and technology as well as agreat deal more information
about my body and how pregnancy and childbirth affects the body. Yet there were
also similarities between myself and the woman of the Tudor period, we both
hoped for a healthy and safe pregnancy, we both hoped and prayed for a safe
labour and we both wanted a happy and healthy child. Despite a five hundred
year or so gap it appears that some things never do change.
This book is not just for woman and I
would strongly suggest men have a read also. After all in the Tudor times it
was a man’s duty to implant his seed into the woman! There is a great deal of
information about men’s roles and responsibilities related to sex, woman and
childbirth. Licence talks a great deal about Henry VIII’s health and his status
as King, his obligations and his religious and personal beliefs and how they
all affected his choices in regards to wives and his constant need to provide
England with a male heir.
Again I have to say this is one of the
best books I have ever read about the Tudor period. Licence gives a fascinating
and detailed look at the most intimate aspects of a woman’s life during the
tudor period and she provides a wealth of information regarding things such as
sex, conception, pregnancy, child birth and post natal care for the Tudor
mother and child. I learnt so much from this book and strongly suggest that if
you have a chance please do pick up a copy of this book. It is a must have for
any Tudor bookshelf!
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