Secreta Mulierum et Virorum:

The foundation of witchcraft hysteria. An early edition of the 'misogynist masterpiece' The Secrets of Women, an influential and widely disseminated work of natural philosophy that laid the intellectual foundations for early modern witch persecution (Cabre, review of Women's Secrets, ISIS, vol. 85, no. 3, 1994). The present edition exists in two issues, one with the imprint of Bonnemère, as here, and one with that of Pierre Sergent. It is not listed in the Wellcome catalogue or Durling's bibliography of 15th century books in the National Library of Medicine.

Long attributed to Albertus Magnus, Secreta Mulierum was probably composed by one of his followers during the late 13th or early 14th century, and survives in around 83 manuscript copies, of which 50 were printed in the 15th century and over 70 in the 16th (Lemay, Women's Secrets, p. 1). Though the contents cover what would now be considered obstetrics and gynaecology, including menstruation, spermatogenesis, conception, foetal development, and infertility, the text is not a practical medical manual but a philosophical exploration of the human body and its relation to the cosmos. It was likely 'designed to be used within a religious community as a vehicle for instructing priests' and a 'strong subtext of the Secrets is the evil nature of women and the harm they can cause to their innocent victims: young children and their male consorts' (Lemay, p. 16).

Among the concepts popularised here were the idea that women's menstrual blood was poisonous, that post-menopausal women were more 'venomous' because they could no longer expel the toxins, and that women were inherently lascivious beings with a physiological need to absorb the heat and life force of men. 'It is these misogynistic ideas about women's sexuality that seeded their demonization in the years that followed, as the Secrets served as a direct source for the Malleus maleficarum' (McLemore, Medieval Sexuality, 'Medical Misogyny, and the Makings of the Modern Witch', University of Notre Dame blog, October 20, 2020).

Early edition; 8vo (14 x 8.5 cm); woodcut initials, pencilled ownership signature to front blank, some spotting and toning of contents; 18th-century calf, spine gilt in compartments, red morocco label, gilt ribbon roll to boards, marbled endpapers, edges sprinkled red, binding worn with loss from the spine ends, headcap damaged, joints loose, good condition; 59 leaves.

BP16_109140; USTC 186129.