This monograph, the first detailed study of seventeenth-century popular medicine, depicts the major role which lay or popular medical practitioners played in the provision of seventeenth-century health care in England.

This book is the first comprehensive and detailed study of early modern midwives in seventeenth-century London. Midwives, as a group, have been dismissed by historians as being inadequately educated and trained for the task of child delivery. The Midwives of Seventeenth-Century London rejects these claims by exploring the midwives' training and their licensing in an unofficial apprenticeship by the Church. Dr. Evenden also offers an accurate depiction of the midwives in their socioeconomic context by examining a wide range of seventeenth-century sources. This expansive study not only recovers the names of almost one thousand women who worked as midwives in the twelve London parishes, but also brings to light details about their spouses, their families and their associates.

This book is a survey of personal illness as described in various forms of early modern manuscript life-writing. How did people in the seventeenth century rationalise and record illness? Observing that medical explanations for illness were fewer than may be imagined, the author explores the social and religious frameworks by which illness was more commonly recorded and understood. The story that emerges is of illness written into personal manuscripts in prescriptive rather than original terms. This study uncovers the ways in which illness, so described, contributed to the self-patterning these texts were set up to perform.

Medical Investigation in Seventeenth Century England is a seminal collection that critically examines the transformative period of medical practice and theory. Through a meticulously curated selection of essays, the anthology navigates the vast terrain of 17th-century medical advancements, from the burgeoning of anatomical studies to the early inklings of empiricism shaping the methodologies of investigation. The collection stands out for its comprehensive analysis and inclusion of pieces that collectively highlight the evolution of medical thought, underscored by an interdisciplinary approach that marries historical insights with the intricacies of medical science. The anthology provides an invaluable literary context that showcases the era's diversity in thought and practice, making significant contributions to the understanding of early modern medicine. The editors, Charles W. Bodemer and Lester S. King, bring together contributing authors whose backgrounds span a broad spectrum of expertise. These contributors, through their unique lenses, shed light on the historical and cultural underpinnings of 17th-century medical investigations, offering a cohesive narrative that aligns with pivotal movements of the time. The anthology encapsulates the essence of collaboration among pioneers of medicine, whose collective endeavors significantly pushed the boundaries of contemporary medical knowledge and practice. Scholars, students, and enthusiasts of medical history and early modern studies are the primary audience for this collection. Medical Investigation in Seventeenth Century England presents a unique opportunity to delve into a critical epoch that shaped modern medical inquiry. Through its array of perspectives and thematic depth, the anthology invites readers to explore the confluence of historical events, cultural contexts, and scientific thought that characterized the period. It is an essential read for those keen on understanding the continuum of medical evolution, offering a platform for education, reflection, and further research into the multifaceted landscape of medical history.

This book provides an introduction to the sociological study of midwifery. The readings have been selected to highlight the interplay between midwifery and medicine, reflecting the medicalization of childbirth. It highlights the major themes in both a historical and a current context, as well as western and non-western societies. Two major themes underlie the organization of this book: that the conception of midwifery must be broadened to encompass a sociological perspective; and that the ongoing trend toward the medicalization of midwifery is crucial to an understanding of the historical, current, and future status of midwifery. By medicalization of childbirth and midwifery the author mean the increasing tendency for women to prefer a hospital delivery to a home delivery, the increasing trend toward the use of technology and clinical intervention in childbirth, and the determination of medical practitioners to confine the role played by midwives in pregnancy and childbirth, if any, to a purely subordinate one.

Through close analysis of texts, cultural and civic communities, and intellectual history, the papers in this collection, for the first time, propose a dynamic relationship between rhetoric and medicine as discourses and disciplines of cure in early modern Europe. Although the range of theoretical approaches and methodologies represented here is diverse, the essays collectively explore the theories and practices, innovations and interventions, that underwrite the shared concerns of medicine, moral philosophy, and rhetoric: care and consolation, reading, policy, and rectitude, signinference, selfhood, and autonomy-all developed and refined at the intersection of areas of inquiry usually thought distinct. From Italy to England, from the sixteenth through to the mid-eighteenth century, early modern moral philosophers and essayists, rhetoricians and physicians investigated the passions and persuasion, vulnerability and volubility, theoretical intervention and practical therapy in the dramas, narratives, and disciplines of public and private cure. The essays are relevant to a wide range of readers, including cultural, literary, and intellectual historians, historians of medicine and philosophy, and scholars of rhetoric.