[Women and the practice of health in the "Register of counsels' speeches in the Parlement of Paris, 1346-1427"].
The study of women in medieval medical practice is a recent area of research plagued by method, sources, and interpretation problems. The main obstacle is probably the paucity of the documentation, the underrepresentation of women in the sources. Studying the judiciary sources of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Paris reveals women tried by the highest court of justice in France for illicit practice of medicine. Of 34 trials pertaining to health in the "Registre des plaidoiries du Parlement de Paris 1364-1427," eight cases involve women. Two of these trials are particularly instructive because they give many details on certain aspects of women's practice in the Middle Ages. Perette la Pétone is brought to justice by the "corporation des chirurgiens de Paris" for illicit practice of surgery and Jeanne Pouquelin is tried by the "communauté des barbiers de la ville de Paris" for illicit practice of "barbery." This article includes a transcript of the unpublished sources used for the study of these two cases. They shed some light on questions such as: What is the place and role of women in the medical guilds? How do they acquire the expertise required for these crafts? How are they perceived by their peers and society in general? And what is the extent of their medical knowledge?
Dumas
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Département des sciences humaines, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec.
D005602:France; D006076:Government; D049691:History, Medieval; D007603:Jurisprudence / Q000266:history*; D008007:Licensure, Medical / Q000266:history*; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000266:history*
Les femmes et les pratiques de la santé dans le "Registre des plaidoiries du Parlement de Paris, 1364-1427".