Egda žena otročęmь xoditъ. On the 5th prescription in the Old Church Slavic Folia medicinalia

Abstract

The interpretation of prescription No 5 of the Old Church Slavic Folia medicinalia crucially depends on the reading of the two phrasemes otročęmь xoditъ and ne puštaetъ sę kry. In this paper, we present hitherto unnoticed evidence from East and West Slavic that confirms the earlier reading of otročęmь xoditъ as ‘is pregnant’. As for the second phraseme, we explore both a middle (‘blood does not release’) and a passive reading (‘blood is not let’). Invoking philological evidence from ancient and medieval sources, we conclude that both readings allow for plausible interpretations. We suggest that regardless of whether the middle or the passive reading is preferred, the purpose of prescription No 5 can be identified with providing cleansing of the female body during pregnancy. Finally, we discuss the ingredients occurring in the prescription. We conclude that existing identifications of the phytonym *osъtъ are problematic and suggest that the characteristics of the plant described in the prescriptions as well as the adjective attribute velikъi could provide clues for identifying it in future research.