medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
A little more on 'groaning':
OED, s.v. _groaning_, n.:
2. A lying-in. Now only dial.[1603 Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 237 It would cost you a groning to take them off.]
Diary 1724 S. Sewall 9 Jan. (1973) II. 1011 She came from a Groaning very cheerfull.
<SNIP>
Compounds C1. General attrib.
a. groaning-time n.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch 11 When her groninge time was come..she [Ariadne] dyed..in labour.1881 I. of W. Gloss., Groanin time, the time of a woman's accouchment.
b. Esp. of food and drink provided for attendants and vistors at a lying-in.
groaning-beer n.
1677 S. Sewall Diary 16 Feb. (1973) I. 36 Brewed my Wives Groaning Beer.
groaning-bread n.
1893 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words, Groanin-breed..is the cake provided on the occasion.
groaning-cake n.
1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk I. 71 Caudle and groaning-cake were handed round.
1896 W. W. Skeat & T. Hallam Pegge's Two Coll. Derbicisms 103 Groaning-cake, [cake] given to the assisting women, after the good woman is brought to bed.
groaning-cheese n.
1636 W. Sampson Vow-breaker iv. 1 H, Bring the groaning cheece and all requisites.
1822 Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. iii. 63 To taste a glass of anniseed, and a bit of the groaning cheese.
****
Here's an example of the sort of thing Meg's informant may have read:
http://milksleap.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/baptism-by-cheese/
I could find nothing to establish either that the baby will always have been male (note "his christening" rather than "its christening" or "her or his christening") or that the passing of the baby through the rind was a _medieval_ custom. See, for example, the explanations here, all failing to specify when in past time the practice of passing the baby will have been observed (NB: The first two are from Google Books and so may be less than universally available):
http://tinyurl.com/n3v4qnu
http://tinyurl.com/m66wen5
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192829160.001.0001/acref-9780192829160-e-701
Best,
John Dillon
On 01/16/14, Jane Stemp Wickenden wrote:
> I couldn't give as detailed an answer as I would have liked, earlier, having
> only a mobile phone to work with.
>
> Back at the PC - there is a brief entry in three sources:
>
> Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions
> Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) online
> http://www.bartleby.com/81/7673.html http://www.bartleby.com/81/3334.html
> And, http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/GroaningCheese.htm
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Jane
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious
> culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]](javascript:main.compose() On Behalf Of Cormack,
> Margaret Jean
> Sent: 16 January 2014 16:28
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [M-R] groaning cheese / childbirth
>
> I was recently told of a belief, said to be medieval, according to which
> when a woman was pregnant she would make a special cheese that would mature
> in 9 months. When the baby was born, the family would eat the cheese and
> pass the child through the empty rind. (No mention of why the cheese is said
> to "groan".)
> This sounds suspicious to me on many levels, but has anyone heard of
> anything remotely similar?
> Meg
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