Attitudes to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Postnatal Complications in Medieval English Miracula

Abstract

AbstractThis article re‐examines the evidence about childbirth and related topics in the posthumous miracle collections of English saints. It finds forty‐eight such miracles in collections of thirteen English saints, mostly from the century or so after 1170. The article argues that the context in which the stories were composed is vitally important to understanding how they can be used. Contemporary concerns with miracles that could be verified constrained what stories the hagiographers could use. The nature of pregnancy and birth also limited what information could come to the keepers at the shrine in charge of collecting such stories. However, the writers were not acting as an elite vetting the information, but rather cooperated with their informants and had a sympathetic and positive view of the pregnant women. The miracula reveal that, unfazed by even gruesome gynaecological issues, the male hagiographers showed some knowledge about the birthing process. By examining the body of stories, we show what the miracula can and cannot tell us about pregnancy and childbirth.