Abstract

TYERS, Theresa Lorraine. Family, feud, and fertility in late Medieval Artois and Flanders. Dynamis [online]. 2018, vol.38, n.2, pp.389-406. ISSN 2340-7948.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/s0211-95362018000200005.

This case study considers the origins, contents, and ownership of the 15th century manuscript MS Kassel, Murhardsche Bibliothek der Stadt und Landesbibliothek 4º med. 1. It examines the ways in which a number of vernacular texts in this manuscript were influenced by social and cultural forces in the area in which it was produced, which is now well known for its female patronage of religious charitable foundations and the number of illegitimate births. Considering the contents of the compilation related to fertility, connections to other miscellanies, and its circulation, alongside an anonymous romance prose text Le Comte d'Artois et sa femme, this study argues that the Kassel compilation was put together with the express purpose of addressing healthcare and fertility needs of the families and the community in which the owner(s) lived. This miscellany is just one of many late medieval manuscripts that help us to understand why vernacular texts on women’s medicine and fertility were disseminated in the late medieval period and how their contents circulated outside scholarly circles. It demonstrates that fruitful new areas can be revealedby putting together two sets of evidence: textual analysis and genealogy.

Keywords : vernacular medicine; Artois; Kassel; fertility; women; book-owners.

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