Spyderz wrote;
You may be right about 70s guys...but in a medievel setting...if
comparable
to our world... people weren't nearly so cautious about procreation...and
historically I think it would be more accurate to say that people
tended to
get married because of procreation...the opposing view is a puritanical on
that was brought to this country by people who had the lovely
courting beds
with a board down the middle so you could sleep together without having
sex...ignoring the logic that you could have sex just fine if you
did it on
one side of the bed...or not even on the bed...

One of the things that fascinates me more than the fantasy setting, is the
gritty detail that we go into to explain the fantasy :-)
Just nit-picking on detail, but medieval man was concerned about procreation
for a couple of reasons. Too many children too soon meant more hungry mouths
than workers to feed them. Too many daughters was also a problem as they were
considered incapable of taking on any great workload and also there was the
expense of the dowry (payment made to the grooms family for taking away the
daughter). A sign of wealth or good financial planning was a large family that
could then support you in your old age.
I am aware that the above is not true for all medieval cultures, but for
several it is.
I'd heard of the courting beds, but I believe that after the couple had had
enough kids born, the husband would sleep in a separate room. Also there was
an equivalent to condoms mad of fish-gut or other animal internal organs
(icky!), though I'm not sure as to how widespread this method was used.

Regards,

Dubhghaill (Doyle)
Victoria, Australia, 613 9563 5085
enq@completesystems.com.au
"I love large shields, I want all my opponents to have them" - Graewolfe