Here to ruin the meme. The topic got my interest so I did a bit of looking around for the actual original woodcut and story. It's less detailed than this recreation, and given the ballad/story that it goes along with, this is very likely the scene where the wife is cheating with another man. Not to say there wasn't other stuff going on in the "platonic" sharing of beds normally done, but this isn't a "picture" of that.
Rule of thumb - if you want illustrations to go along with your book, pay for a good artist.
Adding another tidbit of grounded reality - descriptions like the above should often be taken as tongue-in-cheek. Historians are only using the information given, so they can't say FOR SURE it's depicting two women lovers, but given the surrounding context it may be the most reasonable assumption.
"Who knows what these wacky ladies might be up to. Maybe they're eating soup. Maybe some light lesbianism. Maybe it's mercury poisoning. Who are we to say?"
NOTHING TO SEE HERE JUST TWO FRIENDS NAKED HUGGING IN BED AS PLATONIC FRIENDS OFTEN DO
Sharing a bed with a friend doesn't usually involve our titties out, in my experience. Maybe I'm just weird.
But then how do you play Nipple Pat-A-Cake?
Literal spit-take
This is not what I was told about slumber parties.
Was I misled?
You’re missing out!
Were bras as common in the 1600s?
Here to ruin the meme. The topic got my interest so I did a bit of looking around for the actual original woodcut and story. It's less detailed than this recreation, and given the ballad/story that it goes along with, this is very likely the scene where the wife is cheating with another man. Not to say there wasn't other stuff going on in the "platonic" sharing of beds normally done, but this isn't a "picture" of that.
Rule of thumb - if you want illustrations to go along with your book, pay for a good artist.
Adding another tidbit of grounded reality - descriptions like the above should often be taken as tongue-in-cheek. Historians are only using the information given, so they can't say FOR SURE it's depicting two women lovers, but given the surrounding context it may be the most reasonable assumption.
"Who knows what these wacky ladies might be up to. Maybe they're eating soup. Maybe some light lesbianism. Maybe it's mercury poisoning. Who are we to say?"
historians and archeologists should just start using this in place of a description
I was wondering what made people think those were two women. Males have nipples, too.
Such a complete mystery. Nobody could possibly guess what this means.
“Oh well, guess we’ll never know.”
Scissors hadn’t been invented then so science was stumped
I know it's a joke, but I was curious: the cross blade style of scissors was invented around 100 AD in Ancient Rome.
but now how do they get their rocks off
And they were fish-women.
and they were fjordmates
Gay mergirls?
And they were roommates.
Oh my God they were roommates...
Like whenever they find a dildo its for “ceremonial use.”
Used in fertility rites
They where roommates
They're just fiscally responsible room mates, saving money on heating and by having one bed.
I don't know what the Roxburghe Ballads sound like but I'm sure they're at least as good as Phoebe Bridgers' Punisher