Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Only a handful of medieval birth scrolls survive today, and those that exist are immensely fragile. This video is a rare opportunity to see one such parchment scroll (MS.632) unravelled and interpreted with the help of experts, Dr Kierri Price and Dr Elma Brenner.
Made in England around 1500 CE, this birth scroll is adorned with Christian prayers and religious illustrations that cover the parchment’s 3-metre length.
The scroll could be wrapped around the body for protection during childbirth and at other moments of danger, and it illustrates the protective practices and beliefs around pregnancy, childbirth and infertility that existed in medieval times.
The real 500-year-old scroll can be visited in-person, at Wellcome Collection, until 19 April 2026 (and the replica one can also be held and played with on-site). For more information visit:
wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/expecting-birth-belief-and-protection
0:00: intro
0:14: Up close with this rare birth scroll (MS.632)
01:24: Why is the scroll adorned with Christian symbols of pain and suffering?
02:35: How scientific analysis showed this was object was used in childbirth
03:48: 547,500 drops of blood are inked on the parchment. Was this a kind of medieval CBT therapy?
05:11: What's on the back of the scroll?
07:00: Conclusion
Follow us on our other channels:
Instagram: instagram.com/wellcomecollection
TikTok: tiktok.com/@wellcomecollection
Facebook: facebook.com/wellcomecollection
Threads: threads.net/@wellcomecollection
#childbirth #childbirthhistory #history #historyfacts #medievalhistory #medievalmedicine #parchment #medievalwomen #medievalworld #rareobjects #museumonline #museumcollections #museum #wellcomecollection
Only a handful of medieval birth scrolls survive today, and those that exist are immensely fragile. This video is a rare opportunity to see one such parchment scroll (MS.632) unravelled and interpreted with the help of experts, Dr Kierri Price and Dr Elma Brenner.
Made in England around 1500 CE, this birth scroll is adorned with Christian prayers and religious illustrations that cover the parchment’s 3-metre length.
The scroll could be wrapped around the body for protection during childbirth and at other moments of danger, and it illustrates the protective practices and beliefs around pregnancy, childbirth and infertility that existed in medieval times.
The real 500-year-old scroll can be visited in-person, at Wellcome Collection, until 19 April 2026 (and the replica one can also be held and played with on-site). For more information visit:
wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/expecting-birth-belief-and-protection
0:00: intro
0:14: Up close with this rare birth scroll (MS.632)
01:24: Why is the scroll adorned with Christian symbols of pain and suffering?
02:35: How scientific analysis showed this was object was used in childbirth
03:48: 547,500 drops of blood are inked on the parchment. Was this a kind of medieval CBT therapy?
05:11: What's on the back of the scroll?
07:00: Conclusion
Follow us on our other channels:
Instagram: instagram.com/wellcomecollection
TikTok: tiktok.com/@wellcomecollection
Facebook: facebook.com/wellcomecollection
Threads: threads.net/@wellcomecollection
#childbirth #childbirthhistory #history #historyfacts #medievalhistory #medievalmedicine #parchment #medievalwomen #medievalworld #rareobjects #museumonline #museumcollections #museum #wellcomecollection
