An Impure Occurrence

From ancient times, Jews attributed importance to premarital virginity. A bride who did not bleed following her first intercourse with her husband was likely to be shamed. The issue of proving virginity is discussed in the Talmud and other rabbinic writings. According to early halakhic sources, the bloodied bedsheet was to be presented (in a ceremony accompanied by a blessing) as a sign that the bride’s hymen was intact prior to the wedding. Yet, understanding that the reality was often complicated, the rabbis discussed exceptions (i.e., mikreh bilti tahor; see 1 Samuel 20:26), and many communities developed formulas documenting accidental loss of virginity (for example, due to a fall) to safeguard a woman’s future marriage prospects or avoid shaming her. Such statements were generally verified by the testimony of adult women who had witnessed the accident or examined the girl. This document, dated August 1539, is an example of such a formula, documenting that Marchigiana, daughter of Aron di Joab, lost her virginity during a fall, so that she “will not be shamed when she marries.”