INVESTIGATING INFANTICIDE IN 18TH CENTURY CLUJ
INVESTIGATING INFANTICIDE IN 18TH CENTURY CLUJ

Summary/Abstract: Investigating infanticide in 18th century Cluj. In the traditional percep-tion, married life was unthinkable without the blessing of God, without births. Motherhood changed also the role played by women in the family, the children were seen as God’s gift, and as an evidence of the wife’s love and devotion to her husband. The birth has become over the centuries the most important obligation of the wife, fertility marking, in fact, her usefulness in the community. The situa-tion was different, however, for women who had extramarital relations or had a certain sexual history, and Transylvanian laws prove that childbirth was in-fluenced not only by divine will, but also by women. In this presentation we will discuss the violent birth as it is revealed by the Court Protocols of 18th century Cluj.

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