Word: marjoram
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...exceptional woman was forced to assert herself against all the odds. Annual pregnancy was the general rule; contraceptives were not widely introduced until the 18th century. Until then, couples relied on recipes−marjoram, "thyme, parsley, the juice of the herb savin−that did little good. A study of aristocratic women suggests that 45% died before 50, one-quarter of those in childbirth. If perpetual pregnancy did not do a woman in, smallpox well might. Life expectancy was 35. If a 17th century woman should survive to old age, she was in danger of being taken for a witch...