COLD AND WET, HOT AND DRY: THE KNOWING OF WOMAN’S KIND IN CHILDING, A FOURTEENTH CENTURY VERNACULAR OBSTETRICAL AND GYNECOLOGICAL TREATISE A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts In the Department of English University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By KAREN D.L. SMITH © Copyright Karen D.L. Smith, September 2013. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. i DISCLAIMER Reference in this thesis to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the University of Saskatchewan. The views and opinions of the author expressed herein do not state or reflect those of the University of Saskatchewan, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. Requests for permission to copy or to make other uses of materials in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to the following: Head of the Department of English OR Dean Administrative Commons College of Graduate Studies and Research Room 522, Arts Building University of Saskatchewan University of Saskatchewan 9 Campus Drive 107 Administration Place Saskatoon SK S7N 5A5 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A2 Canada Canada Email: [email protected] ii ABSTRACT This thesis presents a single witness edition of The Knowing of Woman’s Kind in Childing, which is a 14th century vernacular obstetrical and gynaecological treatise found in British Library MS Additional 12195. Purported to be emulating medical texts of French and Latin origin, The Knowing of Woman's Kind in Childing is “a novel fusing of several different texts and theoretical traditions into a single work” (Green, “Obstetrical” 64). The Knowing of Woman’s Kind in Childing is an important and significant medieval medical text because it has a self-identified female audience and a female-orientated medical focus. Accompanying notes and emendations from the four other extant witnesses are also presented: Oxford Bodley MS Douce 37 (SC 21611), Oxford MS Bodley 483 (SC 2062), Cambridge University Library MS Ii. 6. 33, and British Library MS Sloane 421A. This thesis explores the folklore of the traditional herbs, medicinals, and compounds used in the treatise. A comparison of the material appended to all five of the extant witnesses is presented in Appendix A; Appendix B lists the incidence of rubrication found in this edition; originating source material for the Knowing of Woman’s Kind in Childing is presented in Appendix C; and an alphabetical catalogue of medicinals, in four tables, can be found in Appendix D. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For their valuable advice and aid, the author wishes to thank the following people, without whom this thesis would not have been completed: my husband Tom Cook, who encouraged me and who was accepting of my “speed”; my thesis supervisor Yin Liu, who let me avoid her as needed; my supervising committee of Peter Hynes, Frank Klaassen, Peter Robinson, and Hillary Clark for their academic acumen; the fine teaching cadre and essential support staff of the University of Saskatchewan’s English Department, who quietly do the work that needs doing; Norma Bulman and John Brunton for chasing down the rubrics in my manuscript; John Crossley and Charles Burnett for answering my Hindu-Arabic numeration questions; Hilary Burgess and Steve Angel for providing me information concerning the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR); Faye Getz Cook for answering my apothecary symbol’s questions; Monica Green for her advice regarding the date of my witness and Trotula information; and Alexandra Barratt, who answered my initial query regarding The Knowing of Woman’s Kind in Childing. This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the College of Graduate Studies and Research, and the University of Saskatchewan. Sadly, it must be noted, that any errors contained herein are exclusively those of the author. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Permission to use ............................................................................................................................. i Disclaimer ....................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vi Introduction to The Knowing of Woman’s Kind in Childing ...........................................................1 Manuscripts ......................................................................................................................................3 British Library MS Additional 12195 ......................................................................................... 4 Oxford B MS Douce 37 (SC 21611)........................................................................................... 8 Oxford MS Bodley 483 (SC 2062) ............................................................................................. 9 Cambridge University Library MS Ii.6.33 ................................................................................ 11 British Library MS Sloane 421A .............................................................................................. 12 Textual History ..............................................................................................................................13 British Library MS Additional 12195 ............................................................................................16 Rubrication ................................................................................................................................ 17 Length ....................................................................................................................................... 18 Date of the Text ........................................................................................................................ 23 Hindu-Arabic Numeration .................................................................................................... 23 Script ..................................................................................................................................... 25 Dialect, Style, and Vocabulary ................................................................................................. 26 Classical Texts and Sources Evident in the Knowing ....................................................................29 Health and Diseases of the Uterus in the Middle Ages .................................................................34 The Politics of Language and Gender ............................................................................................38 Editorial Procedures .......................................................................................................................43 Expansions, Abbreviations, Insertions, and Symbols ............................................................... 43 Capitalization and Representation of Letters ............................................................................ 43 Punctuation, Layout, Presentation, Word Spacing, and Textual Apparatus ............................. 44 Scribal Errors and Editorial Corrections ................................................................................... 45 v Text: The Knowing of Woman’s Kind in Childing .......................................................................46 Glossary .......................................................................................................................................157 Appendix A: Material Appended to the Knowing .......................................................................177 Appendix B: Incidence of Rubrication in the Knowing ...............................................................180 Appendix C: Source Material and Topics of the Knowing ..........................................................185 Appendix