[Herbalist] Re: Raspberry Leaf Bad?

[Jenne Heise]

> Not that I'm advocating any of this!  I'm just trying to look at what
> seems to be a direct contradiction, and coming up with a possible
> explanation of the Middle Age mentality.

Carowyn jumped in with something I meant to mention...
Many of the herbs used for periods in period, so to speak, are
'emmenagogues'. I.e., they are supposed to cause or ease menstruation.
Some of these are uterine tonics, some cause smooth muscle contractions,
some do other things. These were referred to as 'bringing down women's
courses'. Women were prone to regularly taking emmenagogues, in the belief
that they would ensure fertility and health, unless they knew they were
pregnant. In modern societies where emmenagogues are used, women tend to
believe that they will not hurt a healthy pregnancy.

Women in the middle ages were taught to dread retention of menstruation
because it was considered a deadly peril, prone to cause STDs and make the
uterus roam at will within the body. (I am not making this up, though the
pseudo-Albertus Magnus who wrote _The Book of Women's Secrets_ in period
MIGHT have been making it up...)

--
Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise	      jenne at mail.browser.net
disclaimer: i speak for no-one and no-one speaks for me.
"Personal's not the same as important." Captain Carrot in Terry Pratchett