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The Rooster‘s Egg: Maternal Metaphors and Medieval Men by Amanda Jane Lepp Submitted for conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Toronto © Copyright by Amanda Jane Lepp (2010) The Rooster‘s Egg: Maternal Metaphors and Medieval Men Amanda Lepp Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Toronto 2010 Abstract The present study explores representations of the female reproductive body in medieval written sources, with an emphasis on the figurative language that was used to describe pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation, and lactation when these phenomena take place in the female body and, symbolically, in male bodies. This examination of what are herein labeled ―maternal metaphors‖ in men, that is a comparison between a male subject and an attribute specific to women‘s reproductive bodies, reveals how anatomical and physiological characteristics exclusive to the female reproductive body were used to convey descriptive meaning, and considers why and in what contexts such comparisons were made. This study looks at ancient and medieval medical writing, biblical and medieval Christian religious sources, and various other texts taken from medieval secular and popular literature, where maternal metaphors were used to describe other anatomical and physiological phenomena that were not specific to women, physical and behavioural characteristics of male subjects, and intangible qualities of divine persons. This thesis argues that the female body was the site of diverse conceptual associations in medieval medical and religious traditions, and that, as a result, it proved to be a significant source for figurative analogies that could convey similarly wide-ranging meanings. When pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation, and lactation were used ii metaphorically to describe male subjects, the variety of connotations that were transferred reflects the range of possible meanings; however, the complexity is not transmitted. Maternal metaphors in men convey meanings that are either good or bad, or occasionally neutral, depending on the context and subject. iii Acknowledgments I would like to show my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Joseph Goering, for his guidance with the writing process, insightful comments on various written drafts, and for meticulously combing through numerous Latin transcriptions and translations. I was also fortunate to receive invaluable support in the development of this dissertation from Dr. Isabelle Cochelin and Dr. Jane Abray. I am thankful for their enthusiastic interest in my topic and their advice along the way. I am grateful to Dr. Monica Green, for her questions and advice given in her external review of my dissertation and during my oral examination. I would also like to acknowledge the help of Dr. Jill Ross and Dr. Ruth Harvey, which they provided in their discussions with me relating to my dissertation topic, and Dr. Richard Greenfield, Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, and Dr. Scott-Morgan Straker, whose encouragement early in my graduate career has been unforgettable and influential. I am grateful to all of my friends in the History Department and in the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto for continued moral support. Over the course of this project, I have been especially grateful for the unfailing support of my family and friends. In particular, I would like to thank my parents, David and Anita Lepp, my sister Kiera Lepp, for their understanding and wholehearted interest in my studies. I have also received patience and encouragement from my grandparents, many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and the Ida family. My strongest supporter has always been my husband, Dr. Ramsey Ida. iv Table of Contents Abstract ...…………………………………………………………………………….… ii Acknowledgments ...…………………………………………………………….….. iv Chapter One. Introduction ...…………………………………………………….. 1 1.1. Introduction to maternal metaphors………………………………………… 1 1.2. Two examples…………...…………………………………………………….... 3 1.2.1. The Rooster‘s Egg…………………………………………………………. 4 1.2.2. The Pelican‘s Blood……………………………………………………….. 10 1.3. Literature review………………………………………………………………... 13 1.4. Overview………………………………………………………………………… 20 Chapter Two. Women‘s Bodies I: The Female Reproductive Body in Medieval and Scientific Medical Writing ………...………….… 24 2.1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 24 2.2. Women‘s reproductive bodies in ancient Hellenistic theory………….... 28 2.2.1. Hippocrates. ………………………………………………………………. 31 2.2.2. Aristotle. …………………………………………………………………... 43 2.2.3. Galen. ……………………………………………………………………... 49 2.2.4. Soranus. ………………………………………………………………….... 56 2.3. Women‘s reproductive bodies in medieval scientific and medical writing………………………………………………………………...... 61 2.3.1. Representations of pregnancy.……………………………………...……... 61 2.3.2. Representations of uterine blood and breast milk.………………….……... 73 2.4. Conclusions …...………………………………………………………………… 87 Chapter Three. Women‘s Bodies II: The Female Reproductive Body in Medieval Christian Religious Writing …………………………... 88 3.1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 88 v 3.2. Women‘s reproductive bodies in the Christian Bible……………….…..... 90 3.2.1. Biblical representations of pregnancy and childbirth…………………...…. 91 3.2.2. Biblical representations of menstruation and lactation…………………….. 95 3.3. Women‘s reproductive bodies in Patristic writing………………………... 101 3.3.1. Patristic representations of pregnancy and childbirth……………………… 104 3.3.2. Patristic representations of menstruation and lactation……………………. 112 3.4. The archetypal ―good‖ mother: Mary and saintly mothers…………….... 119 3.4.1. Virgo parturiens………………………………………………………...…. 121 3.4.2. Virgo lactans………………………………………………………………..130 3.4.3. Mater sine macula………………………………………………………......134 3.4.4. The maternal body in hagiography……………………………………...…. 138 3.5. Maternity of the Daughters of Eve…………………………………………..142 3.5.1. Hazardous births……………………………………………………...……. 143 3.5.2. Mother‘s blood and milk……………………………………………………146 3.6. Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….... 150 Chapter Four. Pregnant Men: Conception, Pregnancy, and Birth Imagined in the Context of the Male Body…………………………. 151 4.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………...…. 151 4.2. Equivalent Wombs……………………………………………………………....155 4.2.1. Womb-like qualities of heads, hearts, stomachs and bowels………………. 155 4.2.2. Equivalent Wombs: Conclusions…………………………………………... 163 4.3. Good Wombs……………………………………………………………………. 164 4.3.1. Biblical and Patristic origins of a parental metaphor………………………. 166 4.3.2. Maternal metaphors of pregnancy and birth in medieval expressions of divine and spiritual relationships…………………………... 170 4.3.3. Giving birth to the Word: a medieval extension of a biblical maternal metaphor…………………………………………………………. 183 4.3.4. Good Wombs: Conclusions………………………………………………... 188 4.4. Bad Wombs…………………………………………………………………….... 190 4.4.1. Biblical origins of a metaphor for sin…………………………………….... 191 4.4.2. Pregnant fools…………………………………………………………….... 194 4.4.3. Impious births…………………………………………………………...…. 201 4.4.4. Bad Wombs: Conclusions…………………………………………………..213 4.5. Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….... 214 vi Chapter Five. Men Bleeding Female Blood: Uterine Blood and Milk Metaphors....……………………………………………………………... 216 5.1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………... 216 5.2. Equivalent Blood……………………………………………………………….. 219 5.2.1. Beards, haemorrhoidal blood, and semen as purgative secretions………… 223 5.2.2. Equivalent Blood: Conclusions……………………………………………. 235 5.3. Good Blood……………………………………………………………………… 238 5.3.1. Fertile blood……………………………………………………………….. 239 5.3.2. Nourishing blood…………………………………………………………... 243 5.3.3. Salutary blood……………………………………………………………... 246 5.3.4. Good Blood: Conclusions…………………………………………………. 253 5.4. Purified Blood…………………………………………………………………... 253 5.4.1. Some influential lactation metaphors……………………………………… 253 5.4.2. Milk as a symbol of fertility, compassion, abundance and instruction, in medieval Christian religious writing……………………………………. 256 5.4.3. Purified blood: Conclusions……………………………………………….. 264 5.5. Invisible Blood ...……………………………………………………………….. 264 5.5.1. Medieval Jewish and Christian postpartum practices....…………………... 265 5.5.2. The couvade in Jewish and Christian literature from the late Middle Ages……………………………………………………………….. 271 5.5.3. Invisible blood: Conclusions………………………………………………. 276 5.6. Bad Blood...…………………………………………………………………….... 276 5.6.1. ―Menstruating‖ Christian men……………………………………………... 276 5.6.2. ―Menstruating‖ Jewish men……………………………………………….. 286 5.6.3. Bad blood: Conclusions……………………………………………………. 293 5.7. Conclusions....………………………………………………………………….... 294 Chapter Six. Conclusions….…………………………………………………….... 295 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………….... 300 vii 1 Chapter One. Introduction. 1.1. Introduction to Maternal Metaphors. Figurative thinking held a powerful place in medieval mentalities. Christian religious thought was shaped by an abundance of symbols. The Bible explained difficult concepts, like the nature of God, through a rich layering of literal and allegorical meanings, and taught moral lessons through the parables of Christ. Christian exegesis sought to unravel the mysteries of God‘s word through symbolic readings of scripture. Medieval moralists continued to teach with fables and exemplary tales. Scientific thinkers, too, attempted to determine the ―why‖ and the ―how‖ of the natural world through representational models. Both natural philosophers and medical writers constructed analogies in order to understand the workings of the body, the
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