Guillemette du Luys ( fl. 1479), was a French surgeon in service of king

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...

. She was one of two women to have served as royal physicians in France. She is documented as a surgeon in service of the king in the year of 1479. She is described as in charge of the "lower stews" (''estuver... par dessoubs''), and may have been active as a

phlebotomist Phlebotomy is the process of making a puncture in a vein, usually in the arm, with a cannula for the purpose of drawing blood. The procedure itself is known as a venipuncture, which is also used for intravenous therapy. A person who performs a ph ...

.Monica H. Green, ''Making Women's Medicine Masculine: The Rise of Male Authority in Pre-Modern Gynaecology'', 2008 Her position was unusual for her sex. While there had been many female physicians in Paris in the 13th century, new laws in England, France and Spain from the mid-14th century had limited and restricted the existence of female medical practitioners, and Guillemette du Luys was reportedly the first female surgeon known in Paris since

Peretta Peronne Peretta Peronne was an unlicensed female surgeon operating in Paris in the early fifteenth century. Background The legacy of Peretta Peronne is known exclusively through her prosecution by the Parisian medical faculty in 1411. The ''Commentar ...

, who was tried for unlawful practice in the 1400s. She was furthermore the only contemporary female physician in France, except for Martinette, who was permitted to treat the poor of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

References

* Biographical Index of the Middle Ages * Irene M. Franck, David M. Brownstone, Women's world: a timeline of women in history, 1995 * Jean Porcher, Humanisme et renaissance, 1938 * Monica H. Green, ''Making Women's Medicine Masculine: The Rise of Male Authority in Pre-Modern Gynaecology'', 2008 Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown French surgeons Medieval women physicians 15th-century French physicians 15th-century French people French courtiers 15th-century French women 15th-century French scientists French women physicians Medieval surgeons {{France-med-bio-stub

See also

References

Further reading