Keeping It Real Even When No One Believes You - By Sharan Newman

I write (mostly) about the Middle Ages.  I spend weeks in archives, hunched over Latin and Old French documents; I read books in strange languages printed in 17^th century type.  That doesn’t mean I find all the information I need, but most of my mistakes are only noticed by experts.  And yet, I am often told that my “women are too modern” or that quotes from genuine medieval people are “too liberal.”  How do I combat this? 

I yell a lot.  I would put footnotes in the mysteries but my editor won’t let me.  And I post on my blog and others like this. Just for example, one of the most dearly held myths about the Middle Ages is that women were put in chastity belts when their husbands or fathers were off looting and raping.

OK, hey, those things must have been real because many museums have them and everyone knows that until the 20^th century, women were just chattel.

WRONG-O.

Look at this picture I took from the web that’s supposed to be a genuine article.  You will note that there are holes for elimination.  Too bad if it wasn’t in your size.  I particularly wonder about the sharp teeth at the back.  A month in this would result in a serious infection.  And what if one’s husband gave one a parting gift before setting off?  I don’t think anyone could deliver a baby through that.

But the most important reason why these didn’t exist is that women, particularly upper-class women, weren’t chattel.  They had rights, owned their own property and spoke their own minds.  They wouldn’t have allowed such behavior.  Not to mention that anyone with a file and a hairpin could get out in about five minutes.

So, logically, no one should think that chastity belts ever existed.  People do because they don’t think logically and because the idea plays into already established beliefs.

This doesn’t just happen to me but to people in every line of work.  But the good news is that the mystery form is ideal for dispelling myths.  Many mystery authors use common assumptions as part of the plot, like G. K. Chesterton making the postman the murderer because no one counts him as a person.  Charlotte MacLeod in THE RECYCLED CITIZEN, took the idea of the old bag lady and turned it upside down, making the other characters, and the readers, look at her in a new light.  The work of solving the puzzle of who did it, how and why, opens the reader to an acceptance of other ideas, ones that might contradict common assumptions.

In my experience, many writers have chosen to write mysteries set in their area of expertise, not because of the adage “write what you know”, but to tell the world the real story.

Comments

[Staci]

I must confess, Sharan, I never gave a lot of thought to chastity belts and just assumed they were real. I've seen them in movies -- that proves they exist! = )
That's definitely part of the fun of reading mysteries. Not only is it enjoyable to try and solve the crime, but you never know what interesting bits of trivia and enlightening information you'll pick up along the way.

[Susan Shea]

Sharan, Is that picture, then, of a fake (modern) artifact? How does a myth like that get to be so accepted that there are fake antiquities? I have to say I am GLAD it's only a myth.

[Ann]

Hi Sharan!
I have the same question as Susan: Is the photo a fake? Is there no such thing as a chastity belt at all, then?

[Michael A. Black]

Hey, Sharan, are you sure that picture isn't of one of Lady Gaga's thongs? I, too, am glad those things were real, although they probably would have made the job of medieval locksmithing very interesting.