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Pictured
(left) is a detail from the 1450s "Portrait of a Man And Woman"
by Lippi showing an ideal of the beautiful medieval woman. Generally,
the fashionable lady's look for the bulk of the medieval period was- high
forehead, plucked eyebrows, small even teeth, a fair complexion, long
neck, narrow chest, low sloping shoulders, high small waist and in some
cases, a prominent stomach. Women were often described as "fair"
regardless of their natural colouring because "fair" was the
idealised idea of beauty.
One
of the first manuals of feminine beauty was written at Salerno around
1100, is widely believed to be of the lady physician and author, Trota.
Trota was credited to be the author of three treatises, but according
to Henrietta Leyser in her book "Medieval Women- A Social History
of Women in England 450 - 1500" the authorship of them is doubtful.
Although Trota did write on the subject in "The Practice According
To Trota", it is believed that Trota herself did not write any
of the works widely credited to her. Her treatise was little known in
Europe and not translated into any vernacular. The three treatises accredited
to her which were widely distributed are, according to Henrietta Leyser,
works of other authors. More information can be read in her book where
she goes on to explain where the texts are believed to have originated
and why. Those treatises are known as- "Trotula A", "Trotula
B" (which is distinctive for its large number of cosmetic recipes
for the face and hair), and "Trotula C" or "The
Book of Rota".