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Fantasy Contraception: Difference between revisions
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"There is an herb in Charter wood
Will twine you an the bairn."'' }}
* "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme", which is the refrain to, but [[Refrain From Assuming|not the title of]], ''Scarborough Fair'', is [[Common Knowledge|often said]] to be a list of herbal abortificients, though since the list [[Newer Than They Think|wasn't actually added to the ballad until the nineteenth century]], it probably isn't.
** I'd say it's not, since those are extremely common cooking herbs.
*** While it's true the list probably isn't intended to be a list of abortificients, all those herbs do have abortificient properties, to the point where some pregnant women are discouraged from eating rosemary.
**** This troper didn't know that (neither the info about rosemary, nor the idea that the listed herbs were a recipe/guide), but ''has'' run into a lot of websites with herbal tea recipes for parsley tea, specifically "to induce menstruation"... Most sites were none too clear on whether it was for those with an irregular cycle, or those with a specific [*ahem*] irregularity.
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** It is implied a big part of magicians' incomes stem from production of aphrodisiacs, birth control, and magical cosmetics.
** Speaking of magicians: they are all infertile in the setting, too, as one of the side-effects of heavy magic use. Which is [[Played for Drama]] with Yennefer, who desperately wants a child but has long passed the point of no return where mages become utterly barren (and her lover is Geralt, see above). It is one of the reasons she will go to suicidal lengths for Ciri, Geralt's (and hers) ward and surrogate daughter.
* Jean Auel's ''[[Clan of the Cave Bear]]'' has the herbal method. Which realistically reduces the chance of pregnancy rather than eliminates it. Only one of three women who take it doesn't get pregnant eventually and that woman had only miscarriages/stillbirths prior to the herbs.
* In Steven Brust's [[Dragaera]], it is stated that essentially, [[A Wizard Did It|some kind of magic exists]] by which women (or at least [[Our Elves Are Better|Drageran]] ones) can determine exactly when they want to be pregnant. The only illegitimate children come from marriages where one partner is sterile, and the term "bastard" is a lot more insulting for Dragaerans than for humans. This helps enforce the [[Fantastic Caste System]], since while relationships between members of different Houses are not unknown, they almost never produce offspring, and when they do they are shunned and houseless.
** To be clear: while inter-House 'relationships' per se are not unknown, it seems to be tolerated only in casual or short-term circumstances: one night stands, flings, or hired company is okay, but serious romance is not. An inter-House couple who "live together as husband and wife" are looked upon as shameful and as bad influences, and canon makes it clear that marriage between Houses is ''prohibited by law''.
* Tea made from [[wikipedia:Tansy|tansy]] (a flowering herb) pops up in a number of works, such as ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' and the ''[[Night Angel]]'' trilogy, although this induces abortions rather than prevents pregnancy in the first place. Although it can sound like the authors invented it, this one is actually based on real life - people used tansy in the Middle Ages.
** Still do.
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* In [[Randall Garrett]] and Vicki Heydron's ''Gandalara Cycle'', the women of a [[Human Subspecies]] are completely aware of their own fertility.
* In the ''[[Void Trilogy]]'' by [[Peter F. Hamilton]] contraceptives are mentioned a few times; outside the void it is implied that one of the features of bionics is a built-in contraceptive and inside the void a concoction is ingested by the males to make them temporarily infertile.
* In a [[What Do You Mean It's for Kids?]] example: the [[Green-Sky Trilogy]] makes a point of this. A common, parasitic shrub that grows in the tops of the city-trees has a contraceptive effect, and wafers made from the shrub are freely available among the Kindar. In fact, the Ol-Zhaan social elite and those between 13-25 are required to take them, ostensibly so they can concentrate on their social responsibilities (apprenticeships for ordinary Kindar, administrative tasks for Ol-Zhaan). More sinisterly, making sure the Ol-Zhaan cannot have families keeps them from passing on potentially dangerous knowledge and keeps them isolated from ordinary Kindar. The fact that contraceptive herbs do not grow underground is part of the reason for the Erdlings' food shortages, as they are simply too many and the food sources too few. As a result, sex is one of the few things the Kindar are much more open about than Erdlings.
* ''The Case of the Toxic Spelldump'' by [[Harry Turtledove]] had the main character commenting on various forms of contraceptives in the [[Magitek]] [[Urban Fantasy]] world of his, including the traditional (involving Crocodile dung), before saying his was a jar with a rooster's cock and a few other things stuffed under his bed. His girlfriend has a different method.
* In [[Black Jewels|The Black Jewels Trilogy]] there are several references to a "contraceptive brew".
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* An article on hedge wizards in ''[[Dungeons
** A similar herb is included in the [[Ravenloft]] supplement ''Gazetteer IV'', where it's listed alongside various poisons used in Borca. Justified, in that Borca was created to meet the needs of a [[Black Widow]] darklord, so its native plant life naturally fulfills ''all'' her toxicological needs.
** Contraceptive herbs (such as nararoot, which is effectively maidenweed) are hidden away in the mundane equipment list in the 3.0/3.5e ''[[Forgotten Realms]] Campaign Setting'' book.
** ''The Book of Erotic Fantasy'' provides a few more possibilities, from spells to 'sheaths' and even birth screens.
* In ''[[Exalted]]'', there is a potion called Maiden Tea that renders someone who drinks a dose infertile for a month (if female) or a week (if male). It's moderately expensive and therefore not available to most people - but [[A God Is You|most player characters]] in ''Exalted'' don't have any problem making the big bucks.
** There's also a Merit in the ''Player's Guide'' that allows one complete control of one's own fertility.
* ''[[Werewolf: The Forsaken]]'' has a magical Rite that will render a werewolf sterile for one month. It's often used on female werewolves during risky times, as the fetus isn't protected by the shapeshifting process. The fiction section dealing with the Rite involves a pregnant werewolf forced to deal with a mage who wants to claim a werewolf fetus for magical power; she takes a humongous risk to shift and tears the mage to pieces, crying all the while.
* In a living campaign setting for [[Dungeons
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== [[Real Life]] ==
* [[wikipedia:Silphium|Silphium]], a plant commonly used as an oral contraceptive in Ancient Greece and Rome. So commonly used in fact that its now believed to be extinct. Its seeds are speculated as a possible origin for the ♥ symbol.
* Similarly, various recipes for contraceptives were found in ancient Egyptian texts; and while the efficiency of some of those is questionable (drinks made of celery base and beer), there are some which were probably effective as they contained effective spermicides such as acacia gum ([[Older Than Feudalism|which is still used in modern birth control pills]]). In fact, the oldest known document refering to birth control is the Kuhn gynaecological papyrus (around 1850 BC).
** The Egyptians also had reasonably effective "barrier" contraceptives and reasonably effective spermicides, although in both cases part of the contraceptive value may have been from the [[Squick]] factor. A cervical cap made from crocodile dung and full-wax honey ''would'' be a good barrier and the honey is going to be a good spermicide by dehydrating sperm and reducing motility... but may have dampened everyones spirits as well.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Pregnancy Tropes]]
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