In the 18th century they were mentioned in a book of Memoirs by a somewhat 'frivolous romantic'. 200 years earlier they were made popular by a canon/physician who specialised in ear anatomy who subsequently gave his name to a body part. What are they, what were they referred to as by the romantic, and what was the name of the reference in which the first modern account of these has been found?

lanfranco

I'm going to guess that you are referring to condoms, mentioned in the Memoirs of Casanova but also in a book by physician/canon and ear anatomist Gabriele Faloppio (or Falloppio, d. 1562) in a treatise on syphilis called -- not surprisingly for the time --"De morbo gallico." We all know to what important body part Faloppio gave his name: http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah/ocbcond.htm Mar 02 06, 10:03 PM

peasypod

Nice One Miss Frankie, Falloppio did research the sheath in his 'De Morbo Gallico Liber Absolutissimus', but before the Golden banana is officially issued I need the colloquial account from Casanova. Mar 03 06, 3:28 PM

lanfranco

Always a problem with these complex questions -- one neglects to answer one part. And I must say that I encountered some riveting sites while researching this thing. Anyway, Casanova apparently called the condom the "Redingote Anglaise," or "English riding coat." Very colorful of him. It reminds me of the fact that syphilis, while called the French disease by the English, was called the English disease by the French, and the Italians called it either the French or the Spanish disease.... http://www.ripnroll.com/condomhistory.htm Mar 03 06, 5:12 PM

peasypod

Alrighty, now you can brandish that killer banana and use it to its full potential. British 'raincoats' was another translation I came across too, whilst researching this one, but I have a feeling the raincoat bit was added a little after the fact, don't you? Mar 04 06, 4:46 PM

lanfranco

Absolutely. A slippery bit of slyness. Mar 04 06, 5:38 PM