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Catherine Rider, Professor of Medieval History, University of Exeter

THE TRUTH ABOUT: How medieval infertility was experienced and understood - Caught on Camera

Two lovers, from a 14th-century manuscript of the Le Roman de la Rose. Bibliothèque nationale de France

Infertility was a source of stress and sadness for some medieval couples, as it is for modern ones. It was a personal matter, but also a public one. Both families and the church assumed that the purpose of marriage was to have children. Couples who did not conceive often faced questions and scrutiny.

My research on infertility in the middle ages uncovers the ways in which medieval people explained reproductive problems and tried to enhance their fertility.

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