On 2016 Nov 30, Monica Green commented:

It is useful for Pařízek and colleagues to have presented this hypothetical scenario of an alleged Caesarean section. It was surprising, however, that the study did not engage with the other published literature on the medieval history of C-section (a bibliography is available here: https://www.academia.edu/30089387/Bibliography_on_Caesarean_Section_in_the_Middle_Ages). There is also considerable literature on the history of surgery in medieval Europe and the history of anesthesia.

What is puzzling about this study is that it is nothing but a hypothetical scenario. The authors have found no testimony contemporary with Beatrice herself to confirm that she had any complications at all with the birth, let alone that it ended in a C-section. The only hint they have found that anything was amiss is her (or her scribe's) use of the phrase salva incolumitate in referring to herself after the birth. Incolumis (and derivative forms) is not a common word in medieval medical texts, but it is not at all rare in diplomatic documents. In my searches (DuCange's Glossarium, http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/ducange.html; the Epistolae collection of medieval women's letters: https://epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/), the phrase comes up commonly simply to confirm one's general health and fitness for office. In other words, there is nothing at all unusual here. Given that obstetrical mishaps were common in the Middle Ages (Green MH, 2008), the principle of lex parsimoniae would have asked that analysis be given first to other complications. Given Beatrice's age at the time of the birth (19), obstetric fistula would likely be high on that list.

It is a separate question why a legend surrounding Wenceslaus' birth arose, which this study has traced back no further than the 15th century, nearly 100 years after the birth itself. Stories of Caesar were very popular in royal circles at that time, and his birth (by C-section, allegedly, because of a medieval misunderstanding of classical sources) was often depicted in quite elaborately decorated manuscripts. A more interesting question, therefore, is why the legend arose, and why the vernacular histories of the Caesars might have been so influential in this imaginary.

Finally, it may be important for readers of this post to note that most work in the history of medicine is never registered in the PubMed database. Most historians publish in Humanities venues, and those are not indexed here. So please remember to look beyond PubMed if you are researching historical questions.

On 2016 Nov 30, Monica Green commented:

It is useful for Pařízek and colleagues to have presented this hypothetical scenario of an alleged Caesarean section. It was surprising, however, that the study did not engage with the other published literature on the medieval history of C-section (a bibliography is available here: https://www.academia.edu/30089387/Bibliography_on_Caesarean_Section_in_the_Middle_Ages). There is also considerable literature on the history of surgery in medieval Europe and the history of anesthesia.

What is puzzling about this study is that it is nothing but a hypothetical scenario. The authors have found no testimony contemporary with Beatrice herself to confirm that she had any complications at all with the birth, let alone that it ended in a C-section. The only hint they have found that anything was amiss is her (or her scribe's) use of the phrase salva incolumitate in referring to herself after the birth. Incolumis (and derivative forms) is not a common word in medieval medical texts, but it is not at all rare in diplomatic documents. In my searches (DuCange's Glossarium, http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/ducange.html; the Epistolae collection of medieval women's letters: https://epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/), the phrase comes up commonly simply to confirm one's general health and fitness for office. In other words, there is nothing at all unusual here. Given that obstetrical mishaps were common in the Middle Ages (Green MH, 2008), the principle of lex parsimoniae would have asked that analysis be given first to other complications. Given Beatrice's age at the time of the birth (19), obstetric fistula would likely be high on that list.

It is a separate question why a legend surrounding Wenceslaus' birth arose, which this study has traced back no further than the 15th century, nearly 100 years after the birth itself. Stories of Caesar were very popular in royal circles at that time, and his birth (by C-section, allegedly, because of a medieval misunderstanding of classical sources) was often depicted in quite elaborately decorated manuscripts. A more interesting question, therefore, is why the legend arose, and why the vernacular histories of the Caesars might have been so influential in this imaginary.

Finally, it may be important for readers of this post to note that most work in the history of medicine is never registered in the PubMed database. Most historians publish in Humanities venues, and those are not indexed here. So please remember to look beyond PubMed if you are researching historical questions.