I subscribe to the wonderful Medievalists.net newsletter, The Medievalverse. Invariably, I find their posts fascinating, even though their historical focus is many hundred of years before “mine.” Here are some recent posts to give you an idea:
On Amicitia, a 1205 guide to friendship — or rather, a guide to 23 types of friends to stay away from: The Powerful, the Vocal, the Here & There, the Conditional, the Imaginary, the Shadowy, the Counterfeit, the Haughty, the Hunter … etc.
On this last, Amicitia advises: “Nearly all women are hunter friends since they do not cease to set up nets and lay snares in order to catch the souls, and the money, of the unwary.”
On what can be gleaned from urine: lots! By look, by taste, by smell.
On birthing rituals: “The postnatal ‘churching’ of a woman occurred forty days after the birth, when she attended mass … this time bringing a candle with her. The unclean nature of childbirth even applied to the Virgin Mary herself … and Mary’s churching was celebrated with a widespread holiday, called “Candlemas” in England, which occurred forty days after Christmas.”
If you are interested in history, I highly recommend The Medievalverse.
