Cursu menstruo sanguinis - cont'd...

I was able to get my hands on the full text of the article on Jewish Male Menstruation...

Fascinating stuff - I will paraphrase the main ideas in a later post. However, something for me to chase down next is this:

The Jewish sources record the use of their own blood-menstrual or otherwise-for special purposes. A cloth soaked in menstrual blood hung on the hearth by a long rod would guard the house against fire. Such a cloth would also protect against fever. In order to become invisible, one might soak watermelons in menstrual blood and then plant them. The new fruits which then grew would make the person who carried one invisible. Illness could be alleviated by smearing menstrual blood from a woman who had had her first child. On the other hand, if a midwife was visited by a menstruating woman, the child would contract leprosy on the head and face. Jews might use blood painted on doorposts to keep away witches and demons. Oriental Jews would use the blood of circumcision for writing the name of God on talismans, which would protect them from the plague.