The care of women's health and beauty: an experience shared by medieval Jewish and Christian women

Caballero-Navas, Carmen

doi:10.1016/j.jmedhist.2008.03.007

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 1 publication

(2 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Even though there were limitations with regard to consulting physicians of a different faith, both for Jews and their Christian neighbors, the desire to cure ailments with the help of medical practitioners, irrespective of religious affiliation, was stronger than the perceived need to observe rules enacted for the purpose of preventing such contacts. 36 In addition to the arena of medicine, evidence of such defiant behavior exists in many other areas of interfaith encounters. We see this defiance above all in the economic realm.…”

Section: Journal Of Jewish Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defying the Binary: Relationships Between Jews and Non-Jews

Hödl¹

2020

Journal of Jewish Identities

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

R. Schainker's thorough research demonstrates, Ivan Bondarev was one of almost one hundred thousand converts from Judaism to Christianity in Imperial Russia during the nineteenth century. He abandoned his faith in 1867 while serving as a soldier in the Russian Army. After being discharged from the military, he settled in the Bialystok region. Due to a medical impairment, he had difficulty eking out a living and establishing permanent residency. He drifted from one job to another and constantly relocated. His social life was similarly restless and volatile. Bondarev socialized with Jews and non-Jews, and although-as a Christian-he never went to a synagogue, he kept tzizit and a Jewish prayer book in his pocket. 1 There seemed to be no religious or ethnic boundaries that Bondarev did not cross.Bondarev lacked distinguishing features that would have allowed others to categorize him as unequivocally Jewish or non-Jewish. One could also say that he shared so many traits with people comprising his immediate social environment that differences between them receded beyond recognition. Bondarev defied the numerous laws, decrees, and ordinances issued by religious and state authorities to keep Jews and non-Jews separate and distinguishable. He was, in other words, similar to all of them. This similarity proved to be highly troublesome to officials, because it called into question normative rules. It also caused confusion among ordinary people, because it posed a radical challenge to how they conceived of their social environment. People usually comprehend their surroundings through binary categorizations. 2 According to some scholars, such as the late Harvard evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, the disposition toward bifurcating classifications "may lie deep within the architecture of the human mind." 3 Dichotomous reasoning thus seems to be an anthropological constant that is difficult, if not impossible, to discard. 4 In keeping with this tendency, the absence of classificatory traits allowing for binary categorizations (often) confounds people's sense of order.Thinking in dichotomous terms resonates in the works of historians, particularly in the case of historiographical work on the Jewish past, as well. We

show abstract

Section: Journal Of Jewish Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defying the Binary: Relationships Between Jews and Non-Jews

Hödl¹

2020

Journal of Jewish Identities

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A rare case of Medieval cosmetic treatise written by a woman, Trotula de Ruggiero, at the Schola Medica Salernitana (southern Italy), reports various uses of honey, such as skin moisturizer, hair dye, lip softener, and face mask . An anonymous Anglo‐Norman treatise on body adornment, written in the XIII century, describes the use of honey mixed with parsley juice, pig blood, and white wine, for the preparation of a conditioner to make hair grow …”

Section: Ancient Usesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey in dermatology and skin care: a review

Burlando

Cornara

2013

J of Cosmetic Dermatology

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Honey is a bee-derived, supersaturated solution composed mainly of fructose and glucose, and containing proteins and amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and other minor components. Historical records of honey skin uses date back to the earliest civilizations, showing that honey has been frequently used as a binder or vehicle, but also for its therapeutic virtues. Antimicrobial properties are pivotal in dermatological applications, owing to enzymatic H2 O2 release or the presence of active components, like methylglyoxal in manuka, while medical-grade honey is also available. Honey is particularly suitable as a dressing for wounds and burns and has also been included in treatments against pityriasis, tinea, seborrhea, dandruff, diaper dermatitis, psoriasis, hemorrhoids, and anal fissure. In cosmetic formulations, it exerts emollient, humectant, soothing, and hair conditioning effects, keeps the skin juvenile and retards wrinkle formation, regulates pH and prevents pathogen infections. Honey-based cosmetic products include lip ointments, cleansing milks, hydrating creams, after sun, tonic lotions, shampoos, and conditioners. The used amounts range between 1 and 10%, but concentrations up to 70% can be reached by mixing with oils, gel, and emulsifiers, or polymer entrapment. Intermediate-moisture, dried, and chemically modified honeys are also used. Mechanisms of action on skin cells are deeply conditioned by the botanical sources and include antioxidant activity, the induction of cytokines and matrix metalloproteinase expression, as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition in wounded epidermis. Future achievements, throwing light on honey chemistry and pharmacological traits, will open the way to new therapeutic approaches and add considerable market value to the product.

show abstract

“…La historiografía reciente ha puesto en valor la función de las mujeres como proveedoras de cuidados de salud, especialmente hacia otras mujeres (Green, 2008;Cabré, 2005;Cabré, 2008, Caballero, 2008aCaballero, 2008b), pero en este trabajo destacaré, a través del caso de la impotencia, que los tratamientos que aparecen en los tratados médicos eruditos fueron los mismos que se recopilaron en los manuales de medicina práctica y los que utilizaron las mujeres para curar al hombre impotente. Pensar que gran parte de la sociedad utilizaba remedios provenientes de la cultura popular y que los medicamentos del saber ilustrado fueron accesibles sólo para unos pocos, es una asunción que poco tuvo que ver con las estrategias que se emplearon para afrontar la curación, y la impotencia masculina no fue una excepción.…”

unclassified

Frígidos y maleficiados. Las mujeres y los remedios contra la impotencia en la Edad Media

Calatrava¹

2012

Asclepio

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

RESUMENEn la Edad Media las causas y origen de la impotencia masculina no sólo se atribuyó a diversas causas naturales, sino que también al poder de la brujería. Los médicos podían utilizar recetas antiguas, pero también recogieron remedios que fueron conocidos y utilizados por las mujeres. De modo que el mismo remedio era aceptable cuando lo respaldaba la medicina académica o se consideraba hechicería si lo utilizaban las viejas sabias (vetulae). Este trabajo explora los conocimientos de las mujeres sobre los tratamientos disponibles y su papel como sanadoras del cuerpo y la masculinidad de los hombres.PALABRAS CLAVE: Impotencia. Mujeres. Masculinidad. Brujas. Coito. Satirión. FRIGID AND BEWITCHED: WOMEN AND REMEDIES AGAINST IMPO-TENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES ABSTRACTDuring the Middle Ages, the causes and origin of male impotence were attributed not only to various natural causes but also to the power of witchcraft. Physicians could refer to treatments prescribed in the traditional medical canon but could also use remedies that were known to, and used by, women. As a result, the same cure could, in effect, be sanctioned when detailed by a male physicians but be condemned as witchcraft if it were to be prescribed by a female (vetulae). This study considers the knowledge that women had concerning available treatments for impotence, and their role in restoring feelings of male empowerment and masculinity.KEY WORDS: Impotence. Women. Masculinity. Witches. Intercourse. Satirion.----1 Este trabajo se enmarca en el proyecto 08827/PHCS/08 de la Fundación Séneca. Agradezco a Montserrat Cabré sus comentarios y sugerencias.

show abstract

The care of women's health and beauty: an experience shared by medieval Jewish and Christian women

Cited by 11 publications

References 1 publication

Defying the Binary: Relationships Between Jews and Non-Jews

Defying the Binary: Relationships Between Jews and Non-Jews

Honey in dermatology and skin care: a review

Frígidos y maleficiados. Las mujeres y los remedios contra la impotencia en la Edad Media

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About