The study of history highlights the differences and disparity of knowledge between the past and the present, yet certain practices across all cultures have remained unchanged.
What unites all individuals, for example, is our need to eat, stay hydrated, and procreate. Whether they are enacted out of necessity or for the sole purpose of pleasure, this trio exists as some of life's most obvious bare necessities and form the robust foundations for the continuation of a population. This article will speak to different forms of birth control in the Medieval Period, a form of medicine that societies continue to dispute today.
When considering sex in history, there tends to be a rather generalist view that it was a taboo subject. Past societies had limited knowledge pertaining to contraception, birth control, and even the act of sexual intercourse itself. Although comprehension of these subjects was undoubtedly less compared to the present day, the notion that people in the past were uninformed is simply not true.
One era particularly demonstrative of this notion is the Medieval period, where medicine (including sexual medicine) is typically considered as something that was dictated by superstition and magic and practiced by occupations tinged with elements of the fantastical such as herbalists, witches, quacks, and charlatans
However, this is incorrect. Medieval historians have extensively studied sex and contraception, while the critical examination of contemporary sources from this period has demonstrated that society had a relatively good understanding of these topics and employed an extensive range of birth control practices.