birth. Christian women stayed at home for several weeks after birth. The du-
ration of the lying-in period depended on custom and on the financial abili-
ties of the family in question, and was usually one month long. Women usu-
ally did not wait the forty or eighty days mentioned in Leviticus 12 after birth.
Rather, they went to church four or five weeks post partum.^69
During the lying-in period, friends and relatives took care of the new mother
and her infant. The lying-in period can be divided into three distinct stages:
The first stage was about two or two and a half weeks long and began with birth.
At the time of birth, the father called the midwives and the other women who
had been asked in advance to attend the birth. Together, they prepared the
room for birth, hanging amulets to protect the mother and the newborn. After
birth, the new mother lay in bed and was washed and cared for by her care-
takers. She did not change her sheets or get out of bed. Only close friends came
to visit her during this period. In addition, women who could afford the ex-
pense hired a servant to take care of all the household needs. The lying-in
chamber and the Kindbettin this chamber were surrounded by amulets meant
to protect the mother and child from evil spirits. One of the main spirits from
whom the mother and child were being protected, at least in Germany, was
Frau Holle, who was known to harm unbaptized babies.^70 The infant was often
baptized during this period, but the mother did not attend the baptism.
During the second stage after birth, one that lasted ten days to two weeks,
the parturient was allowed to get out of bed, and her bedding was changed, but
she did not leave her room. Groups of female friends came to visit her during
this period, and, at times, a festive meal took place in her room. Following this
period, the parturient remained in her home for an additional period of a week
or ten days. During this period, she was allowed to leave her room, but not her
house. At the end of this period, she left her home accompanied by her mid-
wife and friends, wearing a veil and her best clothing. In Germany, women
often brought the infant to church with them, while in England the custom
varied. In some places, she then passed the child’s christening cloth on to the
priest. The parturient knelt in church, and the officiating priest or pastor read
Psalm 121 (“By day the night will not strike you, nor the moon by night. The
Lord will guard you from harm; He will guard your life. The Lord will guard
your going and your coming now and forever” [121:6 – 8] as well as the post-
partum blessing for women. All the women carried candles, a symbol of their
devotion to Mary. After the ceremony, the parturient went back to her home
and enjoyed a celebratory meal with her companions. This ritual was a rite of
purification from childbirth and from the pollution of intercourse. After it, the
women returned to their roles as wives and members of their communities.
Until their churching, they did not return to the conjugal bed, nor did they re-
sume their household responsibilities.^71
Gail McMurray Gibson has recently studied the relationship between the
churching ritual and the Feast of Purification of the Virgin Mary. She argues
rick simeone
(Rick Simeone)
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