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Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance
John Riddle uncovers the obscure history of contraception and abortifacients from ancient Egypt to the seventeenth century with forays into Victorian England―a topic that until now has evaded the pens of able historians.
Riddle’s thesis is, quite simply, that the ancient world did indeed possess effective (and safe) contraceptives and abortifacients. The author maintains that this rich body of knowledge about fertility control―widely held in the ancient world―was gradually lost over the course of the Middle Ages, becoming nearly extinct by the early modern period. The reasons for this he suggests, stemmed from changes in the organization of medicine. As university medical training became increasingly important, physicians’ ties with folk traditions were broken. The study of birth control methods was just not part of the curriculum.
In an especially telling passage, Riddle reveals how Renaissance humanists were ill equipped to provide accurate translations of ancient texts concerning abortifacients due to their limited experience with women’s ailments. Much of the knowledge about contraception belonged to an oral culture―a distinctively female-centered culture. From ancient times until the seventeenth century, women held a monopoly on birthing and the treatment of related matters; information passed from midwife to mother, from mother to daughter. Riddle reflects on the difficulty of finding traces of oral culture and the fact that the little existing evidence is drawn from male writers who knew that culture only from a distance. Nevertheless, through extraordinary scholarly sleuthing, the author pieces together the clues and evaluates the scientific merit of these ancient remedies in language that is easily understood by the general reader. His findings will be useful to anyone interested in learning whether it was possible for premodern people to regulate their reproduction without resorting to the extremities of dangerous surgical abortions, the killing of infants, or the denial of biological urges.
Riddle’s thesis is, quite simply, that the ancient world did indeed possess effective (and safe) contraceptives and abortifacients. The author maintains that this rich body of knowledge about fertility control―widely held in the ancient world―was gradually lost over the course of the Middle Ages, becoming nearly extinct by the early modern period. The reasons for this he suggests, stemmed from changes in the organization of medicine. As university medical training became increasingly important, physicians’ ties with folk traditions were broken. The study of birth control methods was just not part of the curriculum.
In an especially telling passage, Riddle reveals how Renaissance humanists were ill equipped to provide accurate translations of ancient texts concerning abortifacients due to their limited experience with women’s ailments. Much of the knowledge about contraception belonged to an oral culture―a distinctively female-centered culture. From ancient times until the seventeenth century, women held a monopoly on birthing and the treatment of related matters; information passed from midwife to mother, from mother to daughter. Riddle reflects on the difficulty of finding traces of oral culture and the fact that the little existing evidence is drawn from male writers who knew that culture only from a distance. Nevertheless, through extraordinary scholarly sleuthing, the author pieces together the clues and evaluates the scientific merit of these ancient remedies in language that is easily understood by the general reader. His findings will be useful to anyone interested in learning whether it was possible for premodern people to regulate their reproduction without resorting to the extremities of dangerous surgical abortions, the killing of infants, or the denial of biological urges.
245 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 13, 2026
Eigentlich diente dieses Buch "nur" zur Recherche, aber ich hatte hier mehr Spaß als erwartet. Sehr interessant, wenn man sich dafür interessiert, wie (und ob) Frauen früher verhütet oder auch abgetrieben haben. Wird für den Laien zwar irgendwann etwas repetitiv, weil der Autor hauptsächlich versucht, eine Wissenssammlung zu präsentieren. Trotzdem, ich habe es mit großem Gewinn gelesen.
(Allerdings nicht zur Nachahmung empfohlen. Zwar werden hier Rezepte für Verhütung/Abtreibung aufgeführt, allerdings haben sich die Mediziner der Antike und des Mittelalters nur selten mit Mengen und Verhältnissen abgegeben. Also im Ernstfall vielleicht doch besser beim Kondom bleiben.)
(Allerdings nicht zur Nachahmung empfohlen. Zwar werden hier Rezepte für Verhütung/Abtreibung aufgeführt, allerdings haben sich die Mediziner der Antike und des Mittelalters nur selten mit Mengen und Verhältnissen abgegeben. Also im Ernstfall vielleicht doch besser beim Kondom bleiben.)
September 27, 2008
Interesting and very academically written... Lots of insight on the earliest written documents pertaining to abortifacients and contraceptives. The author never prescribes anything or gives any formulaic way to administer the plants, however he does list quite a few herbs and substances that have been historically used. At times he sources current studies on particular herbs and draws parallels to historical records and modern scientific data. Basically, the authors purpose is to prove the usage of plants for birth control and how there is great potential in these ancient documents to provide more methods of birth control
August 21, 2008
I bought it off some used book vendor on Hudson. Only did it because he threw it in with the Kavalier and Clay that I got for $3. Surprised to read what a bunch of crafty little trollops we have in our history books. Dang those girls got around!
February 9, 2011
Not an easy read but useful if you're in need of daft points to raise when giving talks on contraception. How about Dr Condom - was he fictional or not?
Did Cassanova really use an "English riding coat"?
Did Cassanova really use an "English riding coat"?
February 23, 2022
"take drugs and be careful"
wow. lots of new information to me .
wow. lots of new information to me .
December 3, 2008
Densely written academic analysis of historical texts regarding the use of contraceptives and abortifacients, correlated with modern scientific research. I didn't make it all the way through, just far enough to learn a few things about some of the plants and methods used (and how surprisingly effective they could be -- which might've been a lot more interesting to me when I was younger! :D) and that the abortion argument is much older than I ever knew -- abortion here referring more to chemically-induced miscarriage than that achieved by mechanical means.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews