Medieval hints- getting bear naked!

[medievalrosalie]

Hours of Duke Adolph of Cleves, King David penitent, Walters Manuscript W 439, fol 204v

Throughout my book, The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women, there are a number of medieval herbals which have been suggested as handy hints to alleviate medical conditions, many of which are to do with inducing lust, or quashing it.

One I'd like to share with you today, is this:

Hildegard von Bingham suggests any number of meats to stir up lust, but the one she recommends heartily is bear. Yes. Bear meat.

Call me sceptical, but I imagine that if a woman was able to acquire bearmeat, her husband might be rousted to increased lust through sheer admiration alone!

Bear! 

Comments

[malterre.livejournal.com]

[sister-raphael.livejournal.com]

[sister-raphael.livejournal.com]

Bear!? Where exactly does a medieval woman get bear from? The deli? That's just silly! Or did they eat bear?

[medievalrosalie.livejournal.com]

My thoughts exactly!