tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post2363336556530400477..comments2024-02-18T00:11:11.490-08:00Comments on Heroines of Fantasy: A Toast to the LassiesHeroines of Fantasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169664399606524540noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-40977694416612475602014-03-13T10:36:50.512-07:002014-03-13T10:36:50.512-07:00Ay yes, Cybelle, it's so true about the Classi...Ay yes, Cybelle, it's so true about the Classical origin of many medieval ideas. When I was researching Fire & Sword and its follow-up, I had a passing acquaintance with all matters Classical, but that was about it (. Since my next project's got a strong Ancient Greek element, I've had to do a LOT of reading, and looking back at humanist/renaissance ideas in retrospect, it's as if someone has switched a very bright light on! Reading back over my earlier works and stumbling over my poor ignorant late medieval characters responses to Classical ideas has proved quite interesting in the light of that!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06614407068699582907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-25160248445662189462014-03-12T19:04:36.081-07:002014-03-12T19:04:36.081-07:00Cybelle...that is just so bizarre.Cybelle...that is just so bizarre.Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-31562903588411076222014-03-12T17:22:57.689-07:002014-03-12T17:22:57.689-07:00The wandering womb has a long history--it's di...The wandering womb has a long history--it's discussed in Plato's Timaeus 90e-91d. Hippocrates also discusses "displacement" of the womb at length (Places in Human Anatomy 47), along with ways to deal with "hysterical suffocation" when the womb travels toward a woman's head and makes her sleepy (Diseases of Women 2.126). So many medieval medical ideas seem to have come from classical authors...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00395666646015079272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-27767779310732950692014-03-11T16:10:33.863-07:002014-03-11T16:10:33.863-07:00Francesca--I've had that "wandering womb&...Francesca--I've had that "wandering womb" on my mind all day. It's astounding, the things humanity can come up with.Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-42946317015524528402014-03-11T15:46:46.824-07:002014-03-11T15:46:46.824-07:00I too had never heard about the wandering womb--no...I too had never heard about the wandering womb--now I'm imagining it lodged in all sorts of unlikely places!Asakiyumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07440002725935231491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-86458124580643779332014-03-11T12:51:20.873-07:002014-03-11T12:51:20.873-07:00I'm a bit out of touch with my inner Ancient G...I'm a bit out of touch with my inner Ancient Greek these days - I couldn't remember the source of the medical treatises that became all the rage in the Renaissance, but yes, the term 'half-baked' certainly sums it up. It's my own personal belief that even though the dominant doctrine had a very poor opinion of women, in reality the situation was very different. And that's just talking about England and Scotland! I'll be citing some case studies next month, and I have three very different women in mind to illustrate my argument. <br /><br />Ho hum, those Ancient Greeks (but not the Spartans...) have a lot to answer for! And I'm delighted to have got you thinking - hope these ruminations come to good use!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06614407068699582907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-83805570165810026202014-03-11T05:44:41.109-07:002014-03-11T05:44:41.109-07:00That idea about women being "undercooked"...That idea about women being "undercooked" men dates back to Ancient Greece. Basically, as the argument went, if something went 'wrong' in the womb, the product would come out half-baked. <br /><br />The Renaissance did see a brief resurgence of prominent women in intellectual and political spheres. Some of the first university appointments to women were issued during this period, primarily in Italy and Spain. But that was quickly nipped in the bud by a renewed focus on defining why men "can" and women "cannot", this time from a so-called "scientific" perspective.<br /><br />The more I read about history, the more dismayed I become at the obvious and systematic way in which certain peoples and a certain gender have had their stories erased from the record time and again. This is one of the reasons why I appreciate historical fiction so much; it gives us an avenue to recreate those stories and reconstruct the voices that have been lost.<br /><br />What a great post, Louise! You really got me thinking. :)Karin Rita Gastreichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788750258292938903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-4288991050426000272014-03-10T15:26:45.555-07:002014-03-10T15:26:45.555-07:00Looking forward to it, Louise!Looking forward to it, Louise!Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-66295124099626439432014-03-10T15:24:09.441-07:002014-03-10T15:24:09.441-07:00It's great, isn't it? You just can't ...It's great, isn't it? You just can't make this stuff up!! What's truly scary is how much this kind of thinking has coloured attitudes right up to the present day... (Though in a month's time, I'll be presenting three case studies which feature women who seriously buck the trend, or whose situations perhaps demonstrate something more closely resembling reality...)<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06614407068699582907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-77118424048287377602014-03-10T15:14:30.841-07:002014-03-10T15:14:30.841-07:00For Crying out loud!! It said it was going to ask ...For Crying out loud!! It said it was going to ask me to sign IN before it posted. Sorry. Sorry, EricTerri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-48866814163546641622014-03-10T15:13:20.127-07:002014-03-10T15:13:20.127-07:00"Their womb was prone to wandering throughout..."Their womb was prone to wandering throughout the body, producing all manner of disorders –pregnancy was beneficial because it anchored the womb in one place which in turn kept the woman healthy..."<br /><br />WHAT??? Seriously? Holy yeesh!<br /><br />I, too, believe that history recounts women mostly as it wants them to be remembered, not as they actually were. There is a reason why Eleanor of Acquitaine is so prevalent in history, and yet very little of her actual life is recorded.Eric T Reynoldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00483069543182782983noreply@blogger.com