Age has long been recognized in both medieval and modern medicine as one of the many factors that might delay or prevent the conception of a child. In modern culture the effects of age on fertility are often presented as an issue for women in particular. Since the 1970s, the image of the ‘biological clock’ and the dangers of ‘leaving it too late’ have centred on women, while contemporary media stories about older parents have also often focused on women having children in their forties or after the menopause. Medieval medical writers also noted the negative effects of old age on fertility but their approach to gender was rather different. While they generally paid special attention to women, their discussions also regularly included men in a way that might seem surprising to a modern reader.

This topic has received relatively little discussion from medievalists. There is a growing body of work on aging and old age in the Middle Ages, but it often says comparatively little about fertility, instead focusing on the question of when one was considered ‘old’ (variable, but often around the age of 60) and on life for those aged 60 and over, including examinations of retirement, disability, and impairment. Meanwhile, the essays collected in Sue Niebrzydowski's edited volume on middle-aged women focus primarily on issues other than fertility.