The Distaff Gospels: A First Modern English Edition of Les Évangiles Des Quenouilles

by Madeleine Jeay (Translator), Kathleen Garay (Editor)

The Distaff Gospels (Les Évangiles des Quenouilles), a fascinating fifteenth-century collection of more than 250 popular beliefs, constitutes a kind of encyclopedia of late medieval women's wisdom. The women's beliefs and experiences are recounted within the narrative frame of traditional gatherings where women meet with their spindles and distaffs to spin. They share advice on such important matters as how to control errant husbands, how to predict the gender of future offspring, how to cure common diseases, and ways to deal with evil spirits, providing a rare look into the intimate lives of medieval peasant women.

This edition includes a facing-page translation (the first in English since 1510) of the two Old French manuscripts of the text. The critical introduction discusses the literary context, textual history, and cultural significance of The Distaff Gospels, while the rich selection of appendices includes translations of the names of the women storytellers and excerpts from works by Giovanni Boccaccio, Jean de Meun, Francois Villon, and Christine de Pizan.

Genres: Medieval, Folklore

325 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Lucy Barnhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and complex text, whose ironical narrator presents a compilation of women's wisdom, presented in parodic form. The extent to which it reflects folk belief and practice is, of course, debatable, but the ways in which it shows learned theology and medicine intersecting with localized and oral traditions are fascinating.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

men will try absolutely anything to convince you women are the problem

[Karen Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the original old wives tales - very interesting!

[Heather Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a facing-page bilingual edition of several versions of a 15th century French text that wavers between documenting superstition and folk-magic and satirizing the women who perpetuate and transmit it. The "framing story" of the text asserts that the writer has stumbled on the regular social get-togethers of a group of old spinsters (in the sense of "women engaged in spinning", not at all in the sense of "unmarried women" -- they are all quite sexually experienced). The women have asked him to transcribe their conversations over the course of a series of evenings as they share their traditional lore with each other. The set-up is reminiscent of (and perhaps, again, satirizing) the story-telling framework of the Decameron, with the women electing a leader for each evening's discussion who presents the primary material, which other women then comment on and supplement.

The "gospels" of the title is not the modern editor's label but part of the original text. The shared lore is specifically framed as "gospels", complete with distinct chapters and commentaries, providing a stark contrast with the carnal and often borderline-heretical content of the lore. This content covers relations between men and women, how to manage a husband's behavior, medical advice, practices regarding the divination and/or shaping of the attributes of infants (e.g., gender, personality, health), managing the everyday supernatural (e.g., what to do if your husband is a werewolf), and practical issues around the salvation of one's soul.

Despite the satirical attitude of the author, one practical value of these texts is in providing examples of folk beliefs and practices that are likely close -- if not identical -- to those actually currant at the time. Example:

Another woman said: 'A long time ago I heard one of my relatives relate that she feared that her husband could be a werewolf. But as she had been advised, as soon as night was falling, she would drag her belt or her apron behind her and that way, he could not approach her.'

'This is not a bad strategy,' said another one, 'because it has been proven. But when he is following you, you must have a consecrated candle with you and hold it in your hands without lighting it, and instantly he will turn away and will go elsewhere in search of adventure.'

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a translation of a 15th century French text Les Evangiles des Quenouilles. It's chock-full of bizarre old wives' tales. I was familiar with a few of these superstitions, such as putting butter on a cats paws to reduce the likelihood of them wandering away. But wow, there's a lot of downright wacky advice concerning the day-to-day management of supernatural causality. Examples:

- "If a woman's throat itches, it is a sign of good news, that she will soon have a good meal at a wedding or a churching feast. But if her head it itching, it is a bad sign because she could be beaten by her husband.

- "If you avoid wiping your rear end with grass, leaves or other greenery, you will never have back pain in the upper or lower back."

- "if a woman goes to bed without moving the seat on which she took off her shoes, she is in danger of been ridden by an incubus that night."

- "When you see a cat sitting in the sun in a window, licking its behind and rubbing its ear with its leg, be sure that it will rain that very day.
Dame Mehault Caillotte got up and said that there were no executions to this, indeed her washing is still in the laundry vat, and she dares not wash it because her cat does not stop licking its behind."

- "If a woman wants her husband to love one of the children more than the others, she must have him eat one of the tips of his dog's ears and give the other one to the child, and as true as the gospel, they will love each other so much that they will hardly endure being separated."

- "When a sexually inexperienced man marries a virgin, it is certain that their first child is bound to be simple."

[Amy Jarecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The distaff Gospels is an excellent tool for authors. I'm presently working on a series that takes place in the fifteenth century, and find The Distaff Gospels inspiring. The French version is followed by the English translation of each "gospel" truth. Definitely worth the read. I'm keeping this one beside my bed!