of Pregnancy, Birth and Motherhood in Ireland and Iberian Peninsula between 6th and 13th centuries
This project analysed medieval documents addressing themes related to pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood, with the aim of understanding the rights and obligations these sources defined for individuals. The research focused primarily on Irish and Iberian societies, seeking to compare how each regulated these subjects. Legal sources formed the core of the investigation, whether secular or canonical, to explore how human reproduction and parental responsibilities were treated within their legal frameworks.
Keywords: Law, penitentials, representations, gender, women, pregnancy, birth, motherhood, Ireland, Iberian Peninsula
Timeline: from 01/12/2022 until 31/10/2023
Research team:
Dr Elaine Pereira Farrell, (senior postdoctoral fellow)
Prof Dr Andréia Cristina Lopes Frazão da Silva, (mentor)
Mr Carlos Eduardo Beda, (co-supervised undergraduate student)
Institutional affiliation: Institute of History, Postgraduate Program for Comparative History – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Funding body: FAPERJ – Research Support Foundations of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
UFRJ History Insitute, Largo de São Francisco de Paula, RJ 
Dr Elaine Pereira Farrell and Prof Dr Andréia Frazão da Silva 
Launck of the Book Gender & Sexuality, contributors from the Center for Comparative Studies da UFRJ 
Members of the Medieval Studies Programme of UFRJ 
Lecturers & students of the Postgradute Course on Gender Studies 
Dr Elaine Pereira Farrell with her students of the undegraduate course on Motherhood 2023 
Dr Elaine Pereira Farrell with her students of the undegraduate course on Motherhood 2024 
Nutricionist Ariane Pereira teaching about Breastfeeding in the course on Motherhood 
Brazlian colleagues at a Workshop at TCD 
Mphil defense of a student at UFBA
Medieval Penitential Literature 