An illustrated talk by Dr Joy Hawkins, Lecturer in Humanities, University of East Anglia
Until very recently, historians have ignored the wide range of medieval female healers, who mopped up bodily fluids and provided remedies for every ache, pain and illness.
Yet women were the primary carers of their household’s health, midwives delivering babies were always female, and in the medieval hospital, it was female nurses who provided daily care for patients.
Surviving documentation shows women successfully operating on the body but they have received very little attention from scholars. Drawing on illustrations from the medieval period this talk will provide examples of some of the tasks women healers performed and demonstrate the level of skill they achieved.
Sunday 13th April, 3.00pm. Free entry but donations welcome. Tea and coffee served from 2:30pm.