tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post3942942024529330067..comments2023-10-12T02:21:40.102-07:00Comments on English Historical Fiction Authors: Midwives, Infanticide, and the LawDebra Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-7250858833671695522012-12-06T23:30:13.871-08:002012-12-06T23:30:13.871-08:00Sorry. The first sentence should read, "if S...Sorry. The first sentence should read, "if SHE revisits."David Harleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08413790397478016046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-75014749070811866452012-12-06T23:28:45.343-08:002012-12-06T23:28:45.343-08:00I couldn't find Sam's page on midwives and...I couldn't find Sam's page on midwives and the law, so I'll just add, for SR's benefit if he revisits this page, that midwives were specialists in "searching the body".<br /><br />They could be involved in cases of impotence and virginity, in connection with a marriage being annulled. <br /><br />Women faced with imminent execution might "plead the belly", staving off the gallows by claiming pregnancy, which had to be certified by midwives and matrons. <br /><br />Specifically English witchcraft beliefs involved demonic familiars, in the form of small animals, suckling from a special teat, concealed about the witch's body. This was often to be found in or around "the privities", so midwives and matrons would have to examine the woman in search of unnatural excrescences. A famous case involved witches sent from Lancaster to London, by royal command, to be examined by a team of midwives and surgeons, under the command of the royal physician and anatomist, William Harvey.<br /><br />In cases of rape, especially those involving young children, a midwife might be summoned by parents or officials to look for signs of violence and penetration. The details of this were crucial, as rape was a capital crime whereas attempted rape was not.<br /><br />In cases of ante-nuptial fornication, brought before a church court because a child was born suspiciously soon after the marriage, the midwife would testify that the child was born prematurely, on the basis of whether it had hair, fingernails, and so on.David Harleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08413790397478016046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-1541800251412171152012-12-04T12:38:58.200-08:002012-12-04T12:38:58.200-08:00I had no idea midwives had such wider ranging resp...I had no idea midwives had such wider ranging responsibilities. Thank you for sharing, Sam! And I've enjoyed learning even more from all the prior comments.Sophia Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07909417504496472472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-76863524556595127522012-12-04T10:44:55.668-08:002012-12-04T10:44:55.668-08:00It's difficult to find a good set of court rec...It's difficult to find a good set of court records for the 17th century, but I went through a fairly large county, Lancashire, for the 18th century, and there were hardly any convictions. The long reign of George II saw none, I think. Comparing cases with the coroners' records, it was clear that strong evidence from the women, led by the midwife, who testified at the time would not suffice.<br /><br />Two factors appear to have been involved in this discrepancy. One concerned the difference between the origina evidence and the trial evidence. The woman's friends would fix the evidence before trial, especially by getting together a bundle of children's clothes to show that the accused had intended to take care of the newborn. <br /><br />The other related to the trial jury, known as the petty jury. The coroners' jury consisted of men from the same and adjacent parishes. The case affected them personally, and some would know the reputation of the woman. The grand jury consisted of gentry, who weighed the coroners' reports. The petty jury, however, consisted of ordinary householders from all over the county, who had no connection with the woman, less concern for the maintenance of good order in some faraway parish, and no familiarity with the original evidence. They were, therefore, far more open to appeals to sympathy. The rhetoric of "He done me wrong," and "I was ashamed," appealed to them as mitigating explanations for concealment, as there was difficulty proving live birth.<br /><br />As for midwives, I suspect that we know too little about uinlicensed midwives, especially in large conurbations, to know how much they were involved in getting rid of bastards, either by giving/selling them to a woman who wanted to produce a suppositious birth, for one of several possible reasons, by abandoning the child on a church porch, or by destroying the newborn and hiding the body. Indeed, it may be that licensed midwives were not always averse to this. Wherever in Europe there were foundling hospitals, the infants were usually brought anonymously by midwives.<br /><br />Here we get into the problematic notion of a "black figure" of unreported cases, seen today in discussions of several types of crime but especially rape. We cannot form clear estimates of secret activities. There are 17th-century London court cases which indicate the existence of the networks required, at all levels of society, and there are 18th-century examples of coy newspaper advertisements offering discreet deliveries for the well-to-do. There are also examples of late 18th-century menmidwives such as the Hunter brothers performing secret deliveres for the aristocracy.David Harleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08413790397478016046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-28727232962256693512012-12-04T06:17:13.760-08:002012-12-04T06:17:13.760-08:00Wow--fascinating stuff! I wish there were some mo...Wow--fascinating stuff! I wish there were some more specific dates in the essay to place it more firmly in time. When did this practice begin?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-64454520650150364832012-12-04T02:26:04.282-08:002012-12-04T02:26:04.282-08:00Tim,
Great question! In theory, the woman should ...Tim,<br /><br />Great question! In theory, the woman should be executed once the child is born. In practice it appears that she was given a reprieve. I found one woman who was convicted of infanticide, plead the belly, and years later charged with ANOTHER infanticide. <br /><br />Of course only a tiny number of women plead the belly, and most then disappear from the historical record, so it's hard to know what standard practice was, of if there was one.Sam Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03059524216536846003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-84516414688018734932012-12-04T02:22:10.008-08:002012-12-04T02:22:10.008-08:00Hi Linda - thanks for your comment!
I'm not s...Hi Linda - thanks for your comment!<br /><br />I'm not sure I agree with that the duty to interrogate bastard-bearers was necessarily imposed on the midwives. As you note, these are usually respectable, and would not have much patience for "loose" women who became a burden on the parish.<br /><br />You could also look at it from the mother's perspective. If the mother wanted to guarantee that the father would pay to support HIS child, the midwife was an ally. <br /><br />But there are times when the relationship was more tense, that's for sure!Sam Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03059524216536846003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-16673160904891882202012-12-04T01:17:51.537-08:002012-12-04T01:17:51.537-08:00Dear me. Fascinating, indeed. I would like to know...Dear me. Fascinating, indeed. I would like to know - is the woman in the picture dreaming about what might have happened to her, or what is going to happen to her? If a woman was spared the gallows because she was pregnant, did that mean she was hanged soon after giving birth, or had she usually escaped hanging for good?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-79235595281679187042012-12-04T01:14:51.685-08:002012-12-04T01:14:51.685-08:00Midwives. Legends.Midwives. Legends.Krishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10899529770607677014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-40363524085862048312012-12-03T23:23:25.844-08:002012-12-03T23:23:25.844-08:00Another gestapo-like function imposed upon early m...Another gestapo-like function imposed upon early modern midwives in Britain was ascertaining the identity of the father of the newborn. They were the equivalent of current Child Support Division investigators, and if they failed, they faced punishments and sanctions ranging from banishment to temporary restrictions on their ability to practice. In most early modern cities, they performed other quasi-municipal functions including that of medical examiners, and often were middle class women, some with prominent husbands. At least in England and Scotland, the practice dwindled in the 17th century for a variety of socioeconomic reasons. Some writers cite the use of instruments such as the forceps,and procedures that attracted surgeons to the medical aspects of childbirth. Linda Fetterly Roothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05679025414115279660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-14681303060399185692012-12-03T23:10:01.026-08:002012-12-03T23:10:01.026-08:00I wish this novel was available on kindle. It look...I wish this novel was available on kindle. It looks superb. Loved the post, Sam.Carol McGrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11072696398820339640noreply@blogger.com