The Abbe Claude Henri de Fusee de Voisenon was legendary for his dramatic writings, his numerous love affairs, his hard living, and his attempts at reforming his life by becoming a cleric. In the years leading up to his death in 1775, he took a rather unusual step to try to rejuvenate himself. According to at least one biographer, the Abbe took a young woman known only as "Mademoiselle Huchon" into his home. Described as a "file de grande beaute", Mademoiselle Huchon became his constant companion and always slept by his side at night. And no, it wasn't for the reason that you were thinking. The Abbe's writing were quite emphatic that "elle dormait toujors a cote de lui, et il laissa toujours vierge" (she slept always at his side and left always virgin). While unusual, the practice of elderly men taking virgin girls into their households (and their beds) to rejuvenate themselves by the girl's very presence has a very old history.
In the first book of Kings, King David is described as "old and stricken in years" who "got no heat" despite being thoroughly covered. The passage continues: "Therefore his servants said unto him, "Let there be sought for my
lord the king a young virgin; and let her stand before the king, and
let her comfort him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the
king may get heat. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the region of Israel, and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king and ministered to him; but the king knew her not." The woman, Abishag, was known as a Shunamite since she came from the village of Shunem and it was in her honour that women recruited for rejuvenation purposes became known as Shunammites (also spelled sunamites).
It's hard to be certain just how common Shunnamitism actually was although the practice wasn't exclusively limited to young girls. In his classic work, The Mystery of Sex, Charles Waldemar wrote that early Jewish doctors often prescribed the body warmth of girls, boys, and even small animals to help elderly patients. Medical explanations for the therapeutic value of Shunnamitism usually dealt with the life-giving properties of the Shunnamite's breath or warmth on the patient's health. The notion that maturing virgins had a "divine innocence" that could rejuvenate elderly men seemed to occur in many cultures and led to the popularity of practices such as child marriages and harems. Various medical authorities throughout the Renaissance wrote in support of Shunnamitism including Marsilio Ficino and Francis Bacon. As Bacon himself wrote, "The spirits of young people can, when they enter an older body, restore life to it, or at least keep it in good health for a long time thereafter".
According to one noted French writer,; some procurers kept entire stables of French virgins to be hired out as Shunnamites during the 18th and 19th century. One of the biggest of these was a certain "Madame Janus" who was legendary for combing the suburbs of Paris and nearby cities every spring for new girls. Each of her girls was described as having "fresh pink cheeks and attractive figures". The girls, usually forty at a time, were ordered to exercise daily and given a wholesome diet as well as special training. The elderly clients were charged one louis d'or (about 20 francs) for each night of Shunnamite treatment. The girls (who always worked in pairs) got six francs each for their services, Madame Janus kept the rest. She also took great care that her clients were safely "muzzled" to protect the girls from being molested at night.
Madame Janus' clients were mostly aristocrats and wealthy businessmen who could afford to pay her hefty rates. There also seemed to be a careful methodology at work with the Shunnamites being paired by hair colour (blonde-brunette pairs seemed to work best due to their opposing "radiations"). Each girl only spent eight nights with one client before being sent for a two-week rest to be "replenished". The average working lifetime of a Shunnamite was three years which was why Madame Janus was continually searching for new workers.
In addition to Shunnamitism, similar practices were also advocated including the use of "wet nurses" in elderly patients to help maintain longevity. Cornelius Agrippa wrote that "nature has given women such potent milk that not only children may be fed and cured by drinking it, but the health of all adults may be restored". Although Shunnamitism eventually went out of style (as medical fads do), the notion that virgins have a mysterious healing power hasn't entirely gone away. The incidence of child rape in Third World countries seem to stem from a persistent belief that sex will a virgin will cure various sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Certainly child marriage remains popular despite the medical risks involved.
Virginity still carries a price tag in many cultures.
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