Skip to main content
SearchLoginLogin or Signup

Medicine and Autonomy in Early Modern Europe

A research paper on how women exercised autonomy in medicine during early modern Europe.

Published onApr 25, 2023
Medicine and Autonomy in Early Modern Europe

During early modern Europe, women played an important role in the practice of medicine, particularly as healers and midwives. Women were often called upon to care for the sick in their homes, and they used a variety of herbal remedies and other traditional healing techniques to treat a range of illnesses. However, women's participation in the medical profession was often limited by social and cultural norms that restricted their access to formal education and professional opportunities. As a result, women's contributions to medicine and healthcare during this period have often been overlooked or marginalized. Women had limited access to formal education and were often excluded from medical institutions. Consequently, they had to rely on their own experiences and knowledge passed down from other women to manage their health and well-being. Women of the time collected and shared knowledge on herbal remedies, childbirth practices, and other health-related topics through various means such as oral traditions, manuscripts, and printed books. This sharing of knowledge helped empower women to take control of their bodies and health, as well as challenged the dominant medical authorities of the time. Overall, the sharing of medical knowledge among early modern European women played a significant role in their empowerment and agency over their own bodies and health.

Grace Mildmay, a wealthy Englishwoman who lived in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, was a prolific writer of recipes for medicinal remedies and culinary dishes. As a woman who spent most of her life in Northamptonshire, Grace Mildmay is one of the best-known English female medical practitioners of the seventeenth century.1 Her recipes drew on a range of sources, including classical and contemporary medical texts, as well as her own observations and experiments. Many of her recipes were intended to treat common ailments such as coughs, fevers, and stomach complaints, while others were more exotic, incorporating ingredients such as saffron, ambergris, and musk.2 In addition to her recipes, Mildmay also collected knowledge from Indigenous peoples whom she encountered during her travels in the Americas. She recorded their traditional remedies for various ailments, as well as their culinary practices, which included the use of ingredients such as maize, beans, and squash.3 Together, Mildmay's recipes and her documentation of Indigenous knowledge offer a glimpse into the complex cultural encounters that characterized the early modern Atlantic world. Her recipes provide an opportunity to consider the role of European female and Indigenous knowledge-makers, two groups often appearing only at the margins of histories focused on European men, but whose knowledge of medical uses for American plants was part of European medical practice.4 Grace Mildmay has been widely known as a leading Medical practitioner of early modern England but her recipes have attained little to no attention. While Mildmay has been acknowledged for her success, it is evident that male scholars rarely value her medicinal contributions within academia. 

As a woman living in early modern England, Grace Mildmay had little autonomy outside of the domestic sphere. As a way to gain bodily and intellectual agency, Mildmay gathered knowledge for culinary and medicinal recipes. It should be noted that not all women had the privilege of obtaining autonomy within the home. Grace Mildmay holds the title of lady, indicating that she is of high status in society. Due to the wealth of Grace Mildmay’s husband, she has access to more resources in which to obtain knowledge of medicinal and culinary recipes. Women often shared recipes, prices, locations, and remedies with each other through informal networks such as word of mouth or passed down between women in a household. Through Mildmay’s extensive research and knowledge within early modern medicine, she was able to create a safe space for women to learn how to care for their bodies and protect their families from disease. Mildmay’s recipes demonstrate how knowledge and practices were exchanged and adapted as European and Indigenous peoples navigated the challenges of living together in a new and unfamiliar environment as well as showcased the autonomy women gained through creating recipe books. 

Another noteworthy woman was Elizabeth Freke, an early modern European woman devoted to recording and creating medicinal recipes. Freke has three surviving manuscripts that contain detailed medicinal remedies, culinary recipes, notes on the history and geography of medicine, and household inventories. Freke’s reading notes are located in the “medical section” of her notebook.5 She includes notes from her sister’s recipe book, Nicolas Culpeper’s translation of Pharmacopoeia Londinensis, and Gerard’s Herbal.6 Freke’s extensive research into medicine shows her own personal interests and practical needs for medicinal remedies. It is clear that Freke compiled her own knowledge of medicine in order to care for her family and act as a healer. While at this point in time, Freke is a widow and has an adult son, it is evident she remains a caretaker of her family and aims to have the knowledge to take care of her body.7 In her note-taking of medicinal remedies, Freke omits ailments of children and instead focuses on herbs and physical ailments that affect adults. Through Freke’s extensive knowledge of medicine, she is able to obtain a sense of agency over her own body and rely on herself rather than male doctors. 

Freke would often review her knowledge of medicine by comparing her writing with other women.8 Freke’s manuscripts also offered other women the ability to learn about medicine and home remedies for ailments. It is important to acknowledge the impact of Freke’s extensive knowledge of medicine. Through documenting her recipes, Freke was able to create a network in which women could share medicinal remedies and learn how to practice medicine in the home. This informal cohort of women sharing information created a sense of autonomy for all women within the household. Women worked within the confines of the patriarchy to make places wholly their own and recipe manuscripts acted as a vessel through which women had full autonomy. For women, knowledge of their bodies and remedies for illness created confidence within themselves and diminished reliance on male doctors. 

Additionally, there were countless manuscripts written by early modern women that contained both medicinal remedies and culinary recipes. These manuscripts provide us with first-hand accounts of women exercising agency over their bodies. Most recipe manuscripts remain anonymous, and few manuscripts found have been signed with a woman’s name. It can be assumed that when manuscript recipe books are anonymous that they were written by an Early Modern European woman.  Within a manuscript titled “A Book of fruits & flovvers” there are many culinary recipes alongside medicinal remedies (A Book of fruits & flovvers). At the beginning of the book, the author includes a disclaimer of the contents of the book,

For Medicines.

To make all sorts of Poultisses, and Serecloaths for any member swell'd or inflamed, Ointments, Waters for all Wounds, and Cancers, Salves for Aches, to take the Ague out of any place Burning or Scalding; For the stopping of suddain Bleeding, curing the Piles, Ulcers, Ruptures, Coughs, Consumptions, and killing of Warts, to dissolve the Stone, killing the Ring-worme, Emroids, and Dropsie, Paine in the Ears and Teeth, Deafnesse.9

It is clear that the author has done extensive research on a medicine based on the introduction. The author designed the book to be about a certain ingredient and then dishes and remedies made with the item. There are sections about lemons including both dishes with lemons and medicinal remedies with lemons. The author discusses how to make lemon syrup and then has a section titled, “Medicines made of lemmons”.10 Underneath this title are two remedies, one on how to get rid of redness and pimples on the face and the other is how to help with kidney stones. It is clear within this recipe that food and medicine go hand in hand. This author also has a section dedicated to remedies that cure ailments. Within this section, there are remedies for both women and children. Some of the remedies state that they are, “easie to be made by any countrey housewife”, this statement shows that women were discussing medical advice with one another.11 It is clear within this manuscript that women were documenting medicinal remedies pertaining to their bodies and children. Women have the most knowledge of how their bodies work and what their kids need, therefore, women wanted to exercise agency over caring for themselves and their families in any way possible. The only way to obtain medical remedies for women would have been to consult with other women. Male doctors during this time would often characterize women’s illness as a “fit of the mother” or crazy. 

Another example of a medicinal recipe book is an anonymously written manuscript titled, “The admirable vertue, property and operation of the quintessence of Rosemary flowers, and the meanes to vse it for the sicknesses and diseases herein mentioned.”  This manuscript examines the use of rosemary in early modern medicine and quotes many medical books of the time. The “quintessence of Rosemary flowers” was used in medicinal remedies for pregnancy as well, 

“It is an admirable medicament for women which are brought to bed before their full time, by reason of ouer much humiditie, being ouer fleshie and fat by reason it skoureth and cleanseth the matrix, and helpeth the conception: besides it faciliteth the menstruall purgations, it driueth out the griefe and suffocation of the matrix, mildeneth the pangs of childbirth, and cutteth off all sinister accidents which vexe the woman, vsing thereof as abouesaid.”12

 The inclusion of this recipe indicates that the book was created for a largely female audience or for a woman of the home. It was extremely important for women to gather medical knowledge amongst themselves in order to properly take care of and have agency over their bodies. 

The manuscript titled, “The admirable vertue, property and operation of the quintessence of Rosemary flowers, and the meanes to vse it for the sicknesses and diseases herein mentioned.”, includes uses of rosemary for both culinary and medicinal purposes.

The manuscript, “The Queen’s closet opened”, is a complete guide to medicinal remedies used in Queen Elizabeth I’s recipe books. The book includes all kinds of treatments for men, women, and children. The recipes within the book were written by both men and women.13 For this book to be mass-produced at the time is extremely valuable for women and their bodily autonomy. By making information more accessible, women were able to educate themselves and participate in formal medicine. Male doctors during early modern Europe undermined women’s health and often misdiagnosed women instead of actually treating their symptoms. Additionally, women were excluded from formal medical practices due to the patriarchy’s control over women’s work.14 Even midwifery failed to have the same social support as male midwives and doctors.15 Thus, by having access to medicinal remedies, women are able to have more agency over the health of their bodies. Access to information is especially helpful for women due to upper-class and lower-class women sharing and spreading knowledge.  Ultimately, access to medical information via print culture, allowed women to exercise bodily autonomy and participate in formal medicine.

“The Queen’s closet opened”, is a complete guide to medicinal remedies used in Queen Elizabeth I’s recipe books. This is an image of the title page of the manuscript.

In conclusion, the sharing and collecting of medical knowledge among early modern European women played a significant role in granting them agency over their bodies and health. Despite the prevailing patriarchal attitudes of the time, women were able to access and exchange medical knowledge through various means, including informal networks, midwifery manuals, and medical treatises. This knowledge allowed women to take greater control over their reproductive health, childbirth, and the treatment of various illnesses. By sharing their experiences and knowledge, early modern European women were able to challenge the prevailing gender norms and assert their agency in matters of health and wellbeing. Today, we can look back at their efforts as a testament to the power of collective knowledge and the enduring legacy of women's activism and advocacy.


Works Cited

Anonymous. “The Admirable Vertue, Property and Operation of the Quintessence of Rosemary Flowers and the Meanes to Vse It for the Sickesses and Diseases Herein Mentioned.” 1615, pp. 1 sheet ([1] p.). Early English Books Online, https://wake.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/books/admirable-vertue-property-operation-quintessence/docview/2240881881/se-2?accountid=14868. Accessed 24 Apr. 2023. 

Anonymous. ”The Book of fruits & flowers”, [12], 296, [24] p. London: Printed for Nathaniel Brook at the Angel in Cornhill, 1655. Early English Books.

Anonymous. ”The Queens Closet Opened”, [2], 49, [1] p. London: Printed by M.S. for Tho: Jenner at the south entrance of the Royall Exchange, London, 1653. Early English Books.

Edith Snook (2022), “Grace Mildmay’s recipes and Indigenous knowledge in the early modern Atlantic world”, Atlantic Studies, 19:2, 224-254, DOI: 10.1080/14788810.2021.1923386

Leong, E. (2014), “Reading medicine in early modern England. Renaissance Studies”, 28: 556-578. https://doi.org/10.1111/rest.12079

Whaley, Leigh. "Women and the Practice of Medical Care in Early Modern Europe, 1400-1800." Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 81, no. 3, 2007, pp. 1-115.



Comments
0
comment
No comments here
Why not start the discussion?