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Body
hair
Trends with body hair in the middle ages
THIS PAGE CONTAINS ADULT THEMES!
 Body
hair of any kind on women is a state which appears to have been shunned
during the medieval period. This is widely reflected in artwork of the
time.
Pictured at right is a detail from the illuminated Book Of Hours For
Bourges Use dated 1500 and made in France. Although the time period
is towards the end of the medieval and start of the renaissance periods,
the woman still upholds the traits deemed desirable and beautiful- pale,
white skin, small upright breasts, generous hips, high forehead and blonde
hair.
Even though plucking the eyebrows and hairline at the top of the forehead
was commonplace for many women, the church was extremely unhappy about
this. In Confessionale, clergymen are encouraged to ask those who
came to confession:
If she has plucked hair from her neck,
or brows or beard for lavisciousness or to please men... This is a mortal
sin unless she does so to remedy severe disfigurement or so as not to
be looked down on by her husband.
 Many
books cite small tweezers made from copper alloy or silver as part of
medieval toiletry sets. The tweezers at left are dated from the 15th century
and feature brass tweezers, an earscoop and a nail pick, all hinged to
fold away when not in use.
Contemporary artworks, when
they show the female pudenda at all, show it clear from any growth of
hair. Since the general practice of tweezing the face and hairline to
achieve a fashionable look was popular, it is not a far stretch to imagine
that women removed the unwanted hair which they grew at the onset of puberty.
Written information in this area is exceedingly sparse. A written reference
to female pubic hair I have found is in the telling of the tale of Griselda,
a popular story many times retold, of a cruel husband and his submissive
and enduring wife. In one version, the husband Gualtieri discusses the
type of woman who when turned out of her house in only a chemise would
'warm her wool' or 'rub her pelt' against another man to
procure fine clothing. It is fairly certain the the wool and pelt referred
to is the woman's pubic hair. From this we can ascertain that at least
some women retained their hair.
To counter this view, Erasmus in his work The Praise of Folly speaks
of an old woman buying herself a younger lover saying:
Nowadays any old dotard with one foot
in the grave can marry a juicy young girl, even if she has no dowry..
But best of all is to see the old women, almost dead and looking like
skeletons who have crapt out of their graves, still mumbling "Life
is sweet!" As old as they are, they are still in heat still seducing
some young Phaon they have hired for large sums of money. Every day
they plaster themselves with makeup and tweeze their pubic hairs; they
expose their sagging breasts and try to arouse desire with their thin
voices.
Even though this text was written
in 1509, it shows that at that point, it was normal for a woman to be
sans pubic hair. Whether this extended to the peasantry is doubtful and
whether it extended to all of the European countries can only be guessed
at.
Copyright
© Rosalie Gilbert
All text & photographs within this site are the property of Rosalie
Gilbert unless stated.
Artifact images remain the property of the owner.
Images and text may not be copied and used without permission.
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