A rare strip of parchment over 3 meters long and adorned with Christian emblems shows chemical traces of its use by women in medieval England as a magical amulet to protect them during pregnancy and childbirth, according to a new study.
On the surface of the parchment strip – called a “birth belt” or “birth roller” – the researchers found traces of plants and animals proteins medieval treatments used to treat common health problems during pregnancy and human proteins that combine with cervical-vaginal fluid. These traces suggest that the belt was worn by women during childbirth.
“This particular brace shows visual evidence that it has been handled a lot, since much of the image and text has been worn,” biochemist Sarah Fiddyment, from the archeology department at Cambridge University, told Live Science by email. “It also has a lot of blemishes and blemishes, giving the overall appearance of a document that has been actively used.”
Related: 12 bizarre medieval trends
Fiddyment is the lead author of the new study, which was published this Wednesday (March 10) in the journal. Royal Society Open Science.
The long, narrow parchment was originally made, probably in the late 15th century, with four strips of sheepskin that were scraped and sewn together. The resulting strip is illustrated with Christian images, including photos of the nails of the crucifixion; the holy IHS monogram, which is a way of writing the name of Jesus; a standing figure, possibly Jesus; and his crucifixion wounds, dripping blood. The text of Christian prayers also appears on both sides.
Childbirth straps
The birth belt described in the study is a rare surviving example kept in the Wellcome Collection, a museum and library of science, medicine, life and art in London.
These straps were once common as magical remedies to protect women from the dangers of childbirth, which was a major cause of death for women in the medieval period.
There are several references to their use in medieval England, and churches and monasteries often lent them to pregnant women in exchange for a donation; when the wife of the English king Henry VII became pregnant, the sum of six shillings and eight pence was paid “to a monk who brought our lady gyrdelle to the queen”, according to historical records.
Women would use the scrolls of illustrated parchment or silk wrapped around the waist and the belly stamped in one of several configurations; the rollers were about 4 inches (10 centimeters) wide and exactly about 11 feet (3.3 m) long – it was thought that such a belt would serve Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Related: The 10 most controversial miracles
But childbirth rolls and other church rituals were destroyed during Henry VIII’s so-called “Dissolution of Monasteries”, which began in 1536. Protestant reformers regarded childbirth rituals as “sanctuaries for prohibited religious practices” and actively tried to suppress them – although recalcitrant midwives continued to use birth belts on the sly, the researchers wrote.
“One of the great anxieties of the Reformation was the addition of help from supernatural sources beyond the Trinity,” explained co-author Natalie Goodison, a historian at Durham and Edinburgh universities. “The birth belt itself appears to have been of particular concern, because it appears to control both ritualistic and religious powers.”
Revealing proteins
The researchers did a non-invasive examination of the delivery belt by applying small, moistened plastic film discs to its surface, so that chemical traces of a material are transferred to the disc – a technique that was previously used to study fragile and even paper documents even old mummified skin.
The tests showed traces of proteins from honey, cereals, vegetables – such as beans – and sheep or goat milk, all ingredients of medieval treatments for childbirth and their associated health problems.
For example, beans were said to heal uterine lesions and initiate the flow of breast milk; and goat’s milk is believed to give strength after blood loss, a frequent occurrence in childbirth, the researchers wrote.
The researchers also found traces of 55 human proteins on the parchment parchment scroll, but only two in a parchment control sample that was known not to have been used in childbirth.
The proteins in the delivery parchment were predominantly those found in human cervico-vaginal fluid, the researchers wrote: “This may provide a possible indication that the paper was actually actively used during delivery.”
This particular birth belt dates from the early 15th century and was forgotten or quietly kept during the dissolution of the monasteries some 60 years later.
It is now one of the few birthing belts that survived the initial purge and fluctuations in power between the Catholic monarchs and subsequent Protestants in England that influenced birthing practices during their reigns, including the use of birthing belts.
“If it had been used by midwives on the sly, it could have been used for 150 years, but we think the longer date is less likely,” said Goodison. “The very fact that this manuscript is so obviously worn indicates that it was used very well. … My impression is that it was used in hundreds of deliveries.”
Originally published on Live Science.