Maria Jansson, known in history as ''Kisamor'' (English: The Mother of Kisa), (30 July 1788 – 27 February 1842), was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

natural

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

, one of the most notable and well-known of 19th-century physicians in Sweden. She is also a prominent example of a

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in her country. Her name is Maria Jansson, but she is known in history as Kisamor ("Mother from Kisa") after the place where she worked.

Biography

Born in

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as the daughter of a healer in natural medicine, she had an early wish to follow in her father's profession. She was active as a natural healer occasionally from early years, but eventually, her father forced her to marry a farmer, Anders Olsson, in 1807. The marriage was unhappy and childless, and she

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d her husband in 1819. By this time, she functioned as a doctor in natural medicine, and made a living visiting and nursing people. She was widely reputed, and called upon from far away. In 1814,Lindorm, Erik (Swedish): Carl XIV Johan - Carl XV och deras tid 1810-1872. En bokfilm (English:Charles XIV John - Charles XV and their time 1810-1872 (1979) she was given a home in

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

, Katrinebergs gård, as a gift by some rich female patients in recognition of successful treatment. She made house calls and visited the sick in their cottages. Sometimes, they came to her at an inn called Kisa, and thereby, she became known as Kisamor : "Mother from Kisa". She was described as temperamental and firm, and she is known to have enjoyed alcohol. Kisamor became famous for her skill, and people came to her from all over the country for consultation and treatment. She was called to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1824, 1825, 1826, 1840 and 1841. On one occasion, she was asked to the royal court to attend one of the female members of the royal family. Tradition says that she was to have been granted a medical license by in 1825 after having successfully treated the king and the

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. This has been disputed, however, and the license is not completely confirmed. If it was a reality, she was quite unique, as the profession of a physician was formally barred to her gender in Sweden before 1870.

References

Sources

* Österberg, Carin et al., ''Svenska kvinnor: föregångare, nyskapare'' (Swedish women:Predecessors, pioneers). Lund: Signum 1990. () * http://art-bin.com/art/akisamo.html * Karl Henrik Tallmo: ''Kisamor: Läkarinna där vetenskapen knappt mer hoppas'' (Kisamor:Doctoress where science dare no longer hope9 (1972) * Pia Höjeberg: ''Kisamor'' (1990) * https://web.archive.org/web/20091003150847/http://www.edu.linkoping.se/lokalhistoria/oden/2002/maria_jaenson_kisamor.htm

External links

* http://art-bin.com/art/akisamen.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Kisamor 1788 births 1842 deaths 19th-century Swedish physicians Swedish women physicians Swedish physicians 19th-century Swedish people Cunning folk

Biography

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links