Gender differences in the licensing and practice of female and male surgeons in early modern England

Medical History

Volumn 42, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 194-216

  Evenden, Doreen A ^a  

^a MOUNT SAINT VINCENT UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; FEMALE; FEMALE PHYSICIAN; HISTORY; HUMAN; LICENSING; MALE; SEX DIFFERENCE; SURGEON; UNITED KINGDOM;

BARBER SURGEONS; ENGLAND; FEMALE; HISTORY, 16TH CENTURY; HISTORY, 17TH CENTURY; HUMANS; LICENSURE, MEDICAL; MALE; PHYSICIANS, WOMEN; SEX FACTORS;

EID: 0032039711     PISSN: 00257273     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0025727300063675     Document Type: Article

References (172)

1. Feminist historians stress the importance of the comparative approach to women's history, particularly from the perspective of gender. See ch. 7, 'What is women's history . . .?, in Juliet Gardiner (ed.), What is history today?, Atlantic Highlands, NJ, Humanities Press International, 1988, pp. 82-93 passim.
2. Although an argument could be made for the dispensability of a licence, this paper adopts the position that inclusion in the medical hierarchy brought with it tangible benefits to the licensed practitioner. See also David Harley, '"Bred up in the study of that faculty": licensed physicians in northwest England, 1660-1760', Med. Hist., 1994, 38: 398-420. Licensed physicians, regardless of their qualifications, were generally protected from harassment by rivals and church officials according to Harley.
3. The tripartite division was complicated by many variations and combinations of medical practice. See below, p. 203, and Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, passim. In some instances, surgeons were able to accumulate substantial wealth. Margaret Pelling, 'Appearance and reality: barber-surgeons, the body and disease', in A L Beier and Roger Findlay, (eds), London 1500-1700, London, Longman, 1986, pp. 82-112, on p. 86. Doreen Evenden Nagy, Popular medicine in seventeenth-century England, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988, pp. 22-34. Medical practitioners were perceived as charging unreasonable fees for their services and this led to numerous calls for reform, especially in the civil war period. Despite their ranking in the informal hierarchy, and a dearth of information about practitioners' incomes generally, apothecaries' incomes were, based on available evidence, higher than surgeons'. For a comment on the social status of apothecaries see Margaret Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired: the education of unlicensed medical practitioners in early modern London', in Vivian Nutton and Roy Porter (eds), The history of medical education in Britain, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1995, pp. 259-60.
4. The tripartite division was complicated by many variations and combinations of medical practice. See below, p. 203, and Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, passim. In some instances, surgeons were able to accumulate substantial wealth. Margaret Pelling, 'Appearance and reality: barber-surgeons, the body and disease', in A L Beier and Roger Findlay, (eds), London 1500-1700, London, Longman, 1986, pp. 82-112, on p. 86. Doreen Evenden Nagy, Popular medicine in seventeenth-century England, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988, pp. 22-34. Medical practitioners were perceived as charging unreasonable fees for their services and this led to numerous calls for reform, especially in the civil war period. Despite their ranking in the informal hierarchy, and a dearth of information about practitioners' incomes generally, apothecaries' incomes were, based on available evidence, higher than surgeons'. For a comment on the social status of apothecaries see Margaret Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired: the education of unlicensed medical practitioners in early modern London', in Vivian Nutton and Roy Porter (eds), The history of medical education in Britain, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1995, pp. 259-60.
5. The tripartite division was complicated by many variations and combinations of medical practice. See below, p. 203, and Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, passim. In some instances, surgeons were able to accumulate substantial wealth. Margaret Pelling, 'Appearance and reality: barber-surgeons, the body and disease', in A L Beier and Roger Findlay, (eds), London 1500-1700, London, Longman, 1986, pp. 82-112, on p. 86. Doreen Evenden Nagy, Popular medicine in seventeenth-century England, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988, pp. 22-34. Medical practitioners were perceived as charging unreasonable fees for their services and this led to numerous calls for reform, especially in the civil war period. Despite their ranking in the informal hierarchy, and a dearth of information about practitioners' incomes generally, apothecaries' incomes were, based on available evidence, higher than surgeons'. For a comment on the social status of apothecaries see Margaret Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired: the education of unlicensed medical practitioners in early modern London', in Vivian Nutton and Roy Porter (eds), The history of medical education in Britain, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1995, pp. 259-60.
6. The tripartite division was complicated by many variations and combinations of medical practice. See below, p. 203, and Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, passim. In some instances, surgeons were able to accumulate substantial wealth. Margaret Pelling, 'Appearance and reality: barber-surgeons, the body and disease', in A L Beier and Roger Findlay, (eds), London 1500-1700, London, Longman, 1986, pp. 82-112, on p. 86. Doreen Evenden Nagy, Popular medicine in seventeenth-century England, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988, pp. 22-34. Medical practitioners were perceived as charging unreasonable fees for their services and this led to numerous calls for reform, especially in the civil war period. Despite their ranking in the informal hierarchy, and a dearth of information about practitioners' incomes generally, apothecaries' incomes were, based on available evidence, higher than surgeons'. For a comment on the social status of apothecaries see Margaret Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired: the education of unlicensed medical practitioners in early modern London', in Vivian Nutton and Roy Porter (eds), The history of medical education in Britain, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1995, pp. 259-60.
7. Pelling, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 250-79.
8. John H Raach, A directory of English country physicians 1603-1643, London, Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1962, and idem, 'English medical licensing in the early seventeenth century', Yale J. Biol. Med., 1949, 16: 267-88, on p. 283. One of the two provincial female practitioners was licensed to practise in the dioceses of Lincoln, Ely, and London but not in the City or within seven miles.
9. John H Raach, A directory of English country physicians 1603-1643, London, Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1962, and idem, 'English medical licensing in the early seventeenth century', Yale J. Biol. Med., 1949, 16: 267-88, on p. 283. One of the two provincial female practitioners was licensed to practise in the dioceses of Lincoln, Ely, and London but not in the City or within seven miles.
10. J Harvey Bloom, R Rutson James, Medical practitioners in the Diocese of London, licensed under the act of 3 Henry VIII, C.11; an annotated list 1529-1725, Cambridge University Press, 1935.
11. Sidney Young, Annals of the Barber-Surgeons of London, London, Blades, East and Blades, 1890. For a comparison with the barber-surgeons of York see Margaret C Barnet, 'The barber-surgeons of York', Med. Hist., 1968,12: 19-30. The York records refer to one woman who practised surgery in 1572, evidently with the company's permission and evidence of continued "good behaviour" (p. 27). Joan Lane's study of provincial medical apprentices and practitioners contains no names of females. Joan Lane, 'Provincial medical apprentices and masters in early modern England', Eighteenth-Century Life, 1988, 12: 14-27.
12. Sidney Young, Annals of the Barber-Surgeons of London, London, Blades, East and Blades, 1890. For a comparison with the barber-surgeons of York see Margaret C Barnet, 'The barber-surgeons of York', Med. Hist., 1968,12: 19-30. The York records refer to one woman who practised surgery in 1572, evidently with the company's permission and evidence of continued "good behaviour" (p. 27). Joan Lane's study of provincial medical apprentices and practitioners contains no names of females. Joan Lane, 'Provincial medical apprentices and masters in early modern England', Eighteenth-Century Life, 1988, 12: 14-27.
13. Sidney Young, Annals of the Barber-Surgeons of London, London, Blades, East and Blades, 1890. For a comparison with the barber-surgeons of York see Margaret C Barnet, 'The barber-surgeons of York', Med. Hist., 1968,12: 19-30. The York records refer to one woman who practised surgery in 1572, evidently with the company's permission and evidence of continued "good behaviour" (p. 27). Joan Lane's study of provincial medical apprentices and practitioners contains no names of females. Joan Lane, 'Provincial medical apprentices and masters in early modern England', Eighteenth-Century Life, 1988, 12: 14-27.
14. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 260.
15. Young also failed to distinguish between those who practised barbery or surgery and those who were free of the Company, but were engaged in other crafts and trades, particularly instrument making, which may have been directly related to surgeons' tools. GL MS 5266A (unfol.) Oct. 13, 1659, Dec. 20, 1664, Feb. 14, 1664, Dec. 7, 1669, April 6, 1669, Oct. 17, 1671. See Alice Clark, Working life of women in the seventeenth century, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982, pp. 176-7.
16. A L Wyman, 'The surgeoness', Med. Hist., 1984, 28: 22-41, p. 26. For similar acceptance see Margaret Pelling and Charles Webster, 'Medical practitioners', in Charles Webster (ed.), Health, medicine, and mortality in the sixteenth century, Cambridge University Press, 1979, pp. 165-235, on p. 174. Diane Willen's study of York Guildswomen has not distinguished between female barbers and surgeons. Diane Willen, 'Guildswomen in the city of York, 1560-1700', The Historian, 1984, 43: 204-28, p. 217.
17. A L Wyman, 'The surgeoness', Med. Hist., 1984, 28: 22-41, p. 26. For similar acceptance see Margaret Pelling and Charles Webster, 'Medical practitioners', in Charles Webster (ed.), Health, medicine, and mortality in the sixteenth century, Cambridge University Press, 1979, pp. 165-235, on p. 174. Diane Willen's study of York Guildswomen has not distinguished between female barbers and surgeons. Diane Willen, 'Guildswomen in the city of York, 1560-1700', The Historian, 1984, 43: 204-28, p. 217.
18. A L Wyman, 'The surgeoness', Med. Hist., 1984, 28: 22-41, p. 26. For similar acceptance see Margaret Pelling and Charles Webster, 'Medical practitioners', in Charles Webster (ed.), Health, medicine, and mortality in the sixteenth century, Cambridge University Press, 1979, pp. 165-235, on p. 174. Diane Willen's study of York Guildswomen has not distinguished between female barbers and surgeons. Diane Willen, 'Guildswomen in the city of York, 1560-1700', The Historian, 1984, 43: 204-28, p. 217.
19. Not only was the apprentice, who wished to learn the craft or trade, legally obligated to serve the Company member, the employer was also obligated or "bound" to instruct him or her. The only woman who I was able to establish as having been apprenticed to a surgeon was Mary Jollard, daughter of a gentleman from Lincoln, who was bound to a surgeon in 1691. There is no other mention of her, indicating that she did not complete her apprenticeship. GL MS 5274/2/312.
20. For example, the records of apprenticeship bindings between 1600 and 1635 distinguish between those admitted by service or patrimony but provide no indication whether the practice was in surgery or barbery. After 1635 there is sporadic indication of status differentiation which shows that female barbers bound apprentices.
21. Margaret Pelling has noted the "feminized" role of the barber. Margaret Pelling, 'Compromised by gender: the role of the male medical practitioner in early modern England', in Hilary Marland and Margaret Pelling (eds), The task of healing: medicine, religion and gender in England and the Netherlands, 1450-1800, Rotterdam, Erasmus Publishing, 1996, pp. 101-33, p. 117. For examples of women who were bound as barbers see GL MS 5266A (unfol.) Sept. 5, 1667 (Lucy Vaughan), June 1, 1670, (Ann Wood).
22. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 270.
23. Ibid., p. 270. Part of the difficulty in this case arises from the name "William Bennett", which was very common. In addition, in some cases, women's names appear in the records of apprenticeship bindings but not in the registers of freedom. This is not surprising in view of the high "dropout" rate among apprentices overall: in the years 1603-1674 of an average of 133 apprentices "presented" annually, only 48 were admitted to freedom. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 259.
24. Ibid., p. 270. Part of the difficulty in this case arises from the name "William Bennett", which was very common. In addition, in some cases, women's names appear in the records of apprenticeship bindings but not in the registers of freedom. This is not surprising in view of the high "dropout" rate among apprentices overall: in the years 1603-1674 of an average of 133 apprentices "presented" annually, only 48 were admitted to freedom. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 259.
25. Jessie Dobson and R Milnes Walker, Barbers and barber-surgeons of London, London, Blackwell Scientific Publications for the Worshipful Company of Barbers, 1979, p. 34.
26. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, pp. 339-40.
27. Peter Earle, A city full of people, London, Methuen, 1994, pp. 85, 206, 218.
28. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 8. Young notes an exceptional case in 1557 when William Thomlyn was admitted to the Company and given permission to "drawe teeth and to make cleane teethe and no more" (p. 178). In 1597, four freemen of the Company were reported for practising barbery and surgery but the Company chose not to press charges (p. 189). London differs from Norwich in this respect. See Margaret Pelling, 'Occupational diversity: barbersurgeons and the trades of Norwich, 1550-1640', Bull. Hist. Med., 1982, 56: 484-511, p. 503.
29. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 8. Young notes an exceptional case in 1557 when William Thomlyn was admitted to the Company and given permission to "drawe teeth and to make cleane teethe and no more" (p. 178). In 1597, four freemen of the Company were reported for practising barbery and surgery but the Company chose not to press charges (p. 189). London differs from Norwich in this respect. See Margaret Pelling, 'Occupational diversity: barbersurgeons and the trades of Norwich, 1550-1640', Bull. Hist. Med., 1982, 56: 484-511, p. 503.
30. GL MS 5257/5/351.
31. GL MS 5257/5/353. At the time of union, legislation provided for the surgeons to have the bodies of four executed criminals annually to be used for anatomy demonstrations and accompanying lectures. All surgeons who were Company members were expected to attend. See Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, pp. 34, 45.
32. See the case of Oliver vs. Bray in Thomas R Forbes, 'Apprentices in trouble: some problems in the training of surgeons and apothecaries in seventeenth century London', Yale J. Biol. Med., 1979, 52: 227-37, pp. 235-6. R S Roberts has commented on instances where surgeons trespassed into the realm of the barber and the resulting prosecutions, particularly in the first two decades of the seventeenth century. R S Roberts, 'The personnel and practice of medicine in Tudor and Stuart England, Part II, London', Med. Hist., 1962, 6: 217-34, pp. 225-6.
33. See the case of Oliver vs. Bray in Thomas R Forbes, 'Apprentices in trouble: some problems in the training of surgeons and apothecaries in seventeenth century London', Yale J. Biol. Med., 1979, 52: 227-37, pp. 235-6. R S Roberts has commented on instances where surgeons trespassed into the realm of the barber and the resulting prosecutions, particularly in the first two decades of the seventeenth century. R S Roberts, 'The personnel and practice of medicine in Tudor and Stuart England, Part II, London', Med. Hist., 1962, 6: 217-34, pp. 225-6.
34. Women who aspired to be surgeons could be excluded on the basis of their (perceived) innate inferiority as well as by the traditions, laws, and beliefs of the English Renaissance. According to Betty S Travitsky, the patriarchal and hierarchical mindset of the English Renaissance brought a shrinking sphere of activity for women which extended to the professions. Anne M Haselkorn, Betty S Travistky (eds), The Renaissance Englishwoman in print: counterbalancing the canon, Amherst, University of Massachusetts Press, 1990, p. 12. While not "professionalized" in the twentieth-century sense, surgeons, as possessors of a particular body of knowledge could be considered "professionals".
35. Jonathan Sawday, The body emblazoned: dissection and the human body in Renaissance culture, London, Routledge, 1994, pp. 9, 10, 183-229 passim.
36. Ibid., pp. 230, 242. Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, regretted not having seen a dissection but evidently accepted the gender barriers erected around the dissecting theatres by the surgeons which have been seen as part of the "masculinization" of science. Not only were female writers of the period careful to assert their personal "modesty", but women's excessive modesty was seen, in some cases, as contributing to a denial of sound medical care. Elaine Hobby, Virtue of necessity: English women's writing 1649-88, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1989, pp. 9, 181; Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 71-3.
37. Ibid., pp. 230, 242. Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, regretted not having seen a dissection but evidently accepted the gender barriers erected around the dissecting theatres by the surgeons which have been seen as part of the "masculinization" of science. Not only were female writers of the period careful to assert their personal "modesty", but women's excessive modesty was seen, in some cases, as contributing to a denial of sound medical care. Elaine Hobby, Virtue of necessity: English women's writing 1649-88, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1989, pp. 9, 181; Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 71-3.
38. Ibid., pp. 230, 242. Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, regretted not having seen a dissection but evidently accepted the gender barriers erected around the dissecting theatres by the surgeons which have been seen as part of the "masculinization" of science. Not only were female writers of the period careful to assert their personal "modesty", but women's excessive modesty was seen, in some cases, as contributing to a denial of sound medical care. Elaine Hobby, Virtue of necessity: English women's writing 1649-88, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1989, pp. 9, 181; Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 71-3.
39. Pelling, op. cit., note 13 above, p. 117.
40. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, pp. 309, 312; BS Trans. 5257/1/13; G Parker, The early history of surgery in Great Britain, London, A & C Black, 1920, p. 119. The requirement for proficiency in Latin must have been seen as an unrealistic one in some quarters since the dedication of an anatomy book published in English in 1553 noted that it was for the benefit of "unlatined surgeons" and that it would benefit, ultimately, a much greater number of individuals than a treatise in Latin. See Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 39. One hundred years later a translation of a treatise by John Pecquet, New anatomical experiments of John Pecquet of Deip, London, 1653, voiced a similar concern, noting that it was "for the benefit of those whose Latine is weaker than their Hands". The re-imposition of the requirement may have been linked to the fact that the Royal College of Physicians granted surgeons the right to "practise medicine as far as it was required in surgical cases" in 1627. See Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 226. In the late sixteenth century the ambivalence of surgeons regarding the requirement for Latin was reflected in the will of Robert Balthrop, two of whose three apprentices spoke Latin and who bequeathed to the Company Latin treatises as well as his own English translations for his "bretheren practisinge Chiurgerie and not understandinge the latin Tounge . . . for theire Dayly use and Readinge both in lattin and Englishe", Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 354. For the requirement of Latinity and the London College of Physicians, see Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired', op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 251, 267.
41. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, pp. 309, 312; BS Trans. 5257/1/13; G Parker, The early history of surgery in Great Britain, London, A & C Black, 1920, p. 119. The requirement for proficiency in Latin must have been seen as an unrealistic one in some quarters since the dedication of an anatomy book published in English in 1553 noted that it was for the benefit of "unlatined surgeons" and that it would benefit, ultimately, a much greater number of individuals than a treatise in Latin. See Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 39. One hundred years later a translation of a treatise by John Pecquet, New anatomical experiments of John Pecquet of Deip, London, 1653, voiced a similar concern, noting that it was "for the benefit of those whose Latine is weaker than their Hands". The re-imposition of the requirement may have been linked to the fact that the Royal College of Physicians granted surgeons the right to "practise medicine as far as it was required in surgical cases" in 1627. See Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 226. In the late sixteenth century the ambivalence of surgeons regarding the requirement for Latin was reflected in the will of Robert Balthrop, two of whose three apprentices spoke Latin and who bequeathed to the Company Latin treatises as well as his own English translations for his "bretheren practisinge Chiurgerie and not understandinge the latin Tounge . . . for theire Dayly use and Readinge both in lattin and Englishe", Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 354. For the requirement of Latinity and the London College of Physicians, see Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired', op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 251, 267.
42. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, pp. 309, 312; BS Trans. 5257/1/13; G Parker, The early history of surgery in Great Britain, London, A & C Black, 1920, p. 119. The requirement for proficiency in Latin must have been seen as an unrealistic one in some quarters since the dedication of an anatomy book published in English in 1553 noted that it was for the benefit of "unlatined surgeons" and that it would benefit, ultimately, a much greater number of individuals than a treatise in Latin. See Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 39. One hundred years later a translation of a treatise by John Pecquet, New anatomical experiments of John Pecquet of Deip, London, 1653, voiced a similar concern, noting that it was "for the benefit of those whose Latine is weaker than their Hands". The re-imposition of the requirement may have been linked to the fact that the Royal College of Physicians granted surgeons the right to "practise medicine as far as it was required in surgical cases" in 1627. See Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 226. In the late sixteenth century the ambivalence of surgeons regarding the requirement for Latin was reflected in the will of Robert Balthrop, two of whose three apprentices spoke Latin and who bequeathed to the Company Latin treatises as well as his own English translations for his "bretheren practisinge Chiurgerie and not understandinge the latin Tounge . . . for theire Dayly use and Readinge both in lattin and Englishe", Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 354. For the requirement of Latinity and the London College of Physicians, see Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired', op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 251, 267.
43. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, pp. 309, 312; BS Trans. 5257/1/13; G Parker, The early history of surgery in Great Britain, London, A & C Black, 1920, p. 119. The requirement for proficiency in Latin must have been seen as an unrealistic one in some quarters since the dedication of an anatomy book published in English in 1553 noted that it was for the benefit of "unlatined surgeons" and that it would benefit, ultimately, a much greater number of individuals than a treatise in Latin. See Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 39. One hundred years later a translation of a treatise by John Pecquet, New anatomical experiments of John Pecquet of Deip, London, 1653, voiced a similar concern, noting that it was "for the benefit of those whose Latine is weaker than their Hands". The re-imposition of the requirement may have been linked to the fact that the Royal College of Physicians granted surgeons the right to "practise medicine as far as it was required in surgical cases" in 1627. See Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 226. In the late sixteenth century the ambivalence of surgeons regarding the requirement for Latin was reflected in the will of Robert Balthrop, two of whose three apprentices spoke Latin and who bequeathed to the Company Latin treatises as well as his own English translations for his "bretheren practisinge Chiurgerie and not understandinge the latin Tounge . . . for theire Dayly use and Readinge both in lattin and Englishe", Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 354. For the requirement of Latinity and the London College of Physicians, see Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired', op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 251, 267.
44. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, pp. 309, 312; BS Trans. 5257/1/13; G Parker, The early history of surgery in Great Britain, London, A & C Black, 1920, p. 119. The requirement for proficiency in Latin must have been seen as an unrealistic one in some quarters since the dedication of an anatomy book published in English in 1553 noted that it was for the benefit of "unlatined surgeons" and that it would benefit, ultimately, a much greater number of individuals than a treatise in Latin. See Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 39. One hundred years later a translation of a treatise by John Pecquet, New anatomical experiments of John Pecquet of Deip, London, 1653, voiced a similar concern, noting that it was "for the benefit of those whose Latine is weaker than their Hands". The re-imposition of the requirement may have been linked to the fact that the Royal College of Physicians granted surgeons the right to "practise medicine as far as it was required in surgical cases" in 1627. See Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 226. In the late sixteenth century the ambivalence of surgeons regarding the requirement for Latin was reflected in the will of Robert Balthrop, two of whose three apprentices spoke Latin and who bequeathed to the Company Latin treatises as well as his own English translations for his "bretheren practisinge Chiurgerie and not understandinge the latin Tounge . . . for theire Dayly use and Readinge both in lattin and Englishe", Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 354. For the requirement of Latinity and the London College of Physicians, see Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired', op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 251, 267.
45. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, pp. 309, 312; BS Trans. 5257/1/13; G Parker, The early history of surgery in Great Britain, London, A & C Black, 1920, p. 119. The requirement for proficiency in Latin must have been seen as an unrealistic one in some quarters since the dedication of an anatomy book published in English in 1553 noted that it was for the benefit of "unlatined surgeons" and that it would benefit, ultimately, a much greater number of individuals than a treatise in Latin. See Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 39. One hundred years later a translation of a treatise by John Pecquet, New anatomical experiments of John Pecquet of Deip, London, 1653, voiced a similar concern, noting that it was "for the benefit of those whose Latine is weaker than their Hands". The re-imposition of the requirement may have been linked to the fact that the Royal College of Physicians granted surgeons the right to "practise medicine as far as it was required in surgical cases" in 1627. See Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 226. In the late sixteenth century the ambivalence of surgeons regarding the requirement for Latin was reflected in the will of Robert Balthrop, two of whose three apprentices spoke Latin and who bequeathed to the Company Latin treatises as well as his own English translations for his "bretheren practisinge Chiurgerie and not understandinge the latin Tounge . . . for theire Dayly use and Readinge both in lattin and Englishe", Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 354. For the requirement of Latinity and the London College of Physicians, see Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired', op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 251, 267.
46. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, pp. 309, 312; BS Trans. 5257/1/13; G Parker, The early history of surgery in Great Britain, London, A & C Black, 1920, p. 119. The requirement for proficiency in Latin must have been seen as an unrealistic one in some quarters since the dedication of an anatomy book published in English in 1553 noted that it was for the benefit of "unlatined surgeons" and that it would benefit, ultimately, a much greater number of individuals than a treatise in Latin. See Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 39. One hundred years later a translation of a treatise by John Pecquet, New anatomical experiments of John Pecquet of Deip, London, 1653, voiced a similar concern, noting that it was "for the benefit of those whose Latine is weaker than their Hands". The re-imposition of the requirement may have been linked to the fact that the Royal College of Physicians granted surgeons the right to "practise medicine as far as it was required in surgical cases" in 1627. See Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 226. In the late sixteenth century the ambivalence of surgeons regarding the requirement for Latin was reflected in the will of Robert Balthrop, two of whose three apprentices spoke Latin and who bequeathed to the Company Latin treatises as well as his own English translations for his "bretheren practisinge Chiurgerie and not understandinge the latin Tounge . . . for theire Dayly use and Readinge both in lattin and Englishe", Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 354. For the requirement of Latinity and the London College of Physicians, see Pelling, 'Knowledge common and acquired', op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 251, 267.
47. GL MS 5257/5/427.
48. Lane, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 19.
49. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 354.
50. Dr Thomas Winston, Anatomy lectures at Gresham Colledge, London, 1659.
51. Suzanne W Hull has noted that girls were generally excluded from the grammar schools where Latin was taught to boys in the early seventeenth century. Suzanne W Hull, Chaste, silent and obedient: English books for women 1475-1640, San Marino, Huntington Library, 1982, pp. 3, 25-6. See also Hobby, op. cit., note 25 above, p. 192, on this point. In the years 1640-60, the majority of medical treatises directed to licensed medical practitioners (physicians and surgeons) were, however, printed in English, making them available to literate women. Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 45-6.
52. Suzanne W Hull has noted that girls were generally excluded from the grammar schools where Latin was taught to boys in the early seventeenth century. Suzanne W Hull, Chaste, silent and obedient: English books for women 1475-1640, San Marino, Huntington Library, 1982, pp. 3, 25-6. See also Hobby, op. cit., note 25 above, p. 192, on this point. In the years 1640-60, the majority of medical treatises directed to licensed medical practitioners (physicians and surgeons) were, however, printed in English, making them available to literate women. Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 45-6.
53. Suzanne W Hull has noted that girls were generally excluded from the grammar schools where Latin was taught to boys in the early seventeenth century. Suzanne W Hull, Chaste, silent and obedient: English books for women 1475-1640, San Marino, Huntington Library, 1982, pp. 3, 25-6. See also Hobby, op. cit., note 25 above, p. 192, on this point. In the years 1640-60, the majority of medical treatises directed to licensed medical practitioners (physicians and surgeons) were, however, printed in English, making them available to literate women. Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 45-6.
54. Walter Ong has argued that women were excluded from the "Latin world" of the humanist educators. He notes that Sir Thomas More and a few other humanists advocated the teaching of Latin to girls in the home, an approach which was generally unsuccessful, and that up to the present, Latin has never held the same importance in female educational institutions as in those educating boys. Walter J Ong, 'Latin language study as a Renaissance puberty rite', Studies in Philology, 1959, 56: 103-24, pp. 110-11. See also Anthony Fletcher, Gender, sex and subordination in England 1500-1800, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1995, ch. 18, 'Educating girls', pp. 364-75. Susan Groag Bell has suggested that women who wanted to enter the professions in the Renaissance period were handicapped by their inability to acquire a knowledge of Latin. Susan Groag Bell, 'Medieval women book owners: arbiters of lay piety and ambassadors of culture', in Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski (eds), Women and power in the Middle Ages, Athens, Ga., University of Georgia Press, 1988, p. 166. For examples of well-educated women of the aristocracy and upper class who were familiar with, and in some cases translators of, the classics: Elaine V Beilin, Redeeming Eve: women writers of the Renaissance, Princeton University Press, 1987; Daniel R Woolf, 'A feminine past: women and history in early modern England', 1994, unpublished paper. In commenting on the formidable obstacles which female writers had to overcome, Louise Schleiner has noted the "meagerness of usual female education even among aristocrats" in her recent study Tudor and Stuart women writers, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1994, p. 2. The expectation that surgeons should have a knowledge of Latin was not unique to the English experience in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Wyman has noted that in fourteenth-century Italy, two women were granted surgeon's licences because of their competence and despite the fact (as the licensing authorities were careful to note) that they knew no Latin. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 24.
55. Walter Ong has argued that women were excluded from the "Latin world" of the humanist educators. He notes that Sir Thomas More and a few other humanists advocated the teaching of Latin to girls in the home, an approach which was generally unsuccessful, and that up to the present, Latin has never held the same importance in female educational institutions as in those educating boys. Walter J Ong, 'Latin language study as a Renaissance puberty rite', Studies in Philology, 1959, 56: 103-24, pp. 110-11. See also Anthony Fletcher, Gender, sex and subordination in England 1500-1800, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1995, ch. 18, 'Educating girls', pp. 364-75. Susan Groag Bell has suggested that women who wanted to enter the professions in the Renaissance period were handicapped by their inability to acquire a knowledge of Latin. Susan Groag Bell, 'Medieval women book owners: arbiters of lay piety and ambassadors of culture', in Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski (eds), Women and power in the Middle Ages, Athens, Ga., University of Georgia Press, 1988, p. 166. For examples of well-educated women of the aristocracy and upper class who were familiar with, and in some cases translators of, the classics: Elaine V Beilin, Redeeming Eve: women writers of the Renaissance, Princeton University Press, 1987; Daniel R Woolf, 'A feminine past: women and history in early modern England', 1994, unpublished paper. In commenting on the formidable obstacles which female writers had to overcome, Louise Schleiner has noted the "meagerness of usual female education even among aristocrats" in her recent study Tudor and Stuart women writers, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1994, p. 2. The expectation that surgeons should have a knowledge of Latin was not unique to the English experience in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Wyman has noted that in fourteenth-century Italy, two women were granted surgeon's licences because of their competence and despite the fact (as the licensing authorities were careful to note) that they knew no Latin. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 24.
56. Walter Ong has argued that women were excluded from the "Latin world" of the humanist educators. He notes that Sir Thomas More and a few other humanists advocated the teaching of Latin to girls in the home, an approach which was generally unsuccessful, and that up to the present, Latin has never held the same importance in female educational institutions as in those educating boys. Walter J Ong, 'Latin language study as a Renaissance puberty rite', Studies in Philology, 1959, 56: 103-24, pp. 110-11. See also Anthony Fletcher, Gender, sex and subordination in England 1500-1800, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1995, ch. 18, 'Educating girls', pp. 364-75. Susan Groag Bell has suggested that women who wanted to enter the professions in the Renaissance period were handicapped by their inability to acquire a knowledge of Latin. Susan Groag Bell, 'Medieval women book owners: arbiters of lay piety and ambassadors of culture', in Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski (eds), Women and power in the Middle Ages, Athens, Ga., University of Georgia Press, 1988, p. 166. For examples of well-educated women of the aristocracy and upper class who were familiar with, and in some cases translators of, the classics: Elaine V Beilin, Redeeming Eve: women writers of the Renaissance, Princeton University Press, 1987; Daniel R Woolf, 'A feminine past: women and history in early modern England', 1994, unpublished paper. In commenting on the formidable obstacles which female writers had to overcome, Louise Schleiner has noted the "meagerness of usual female education even among aristocrats" in her recent study Tudor and Stuart women writers, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1994, p. 2. The expectation that surgeons should have a knowledge of Latin was not unique to the English experience in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Wyman has noted that in fourteenth-century Italy, two women were granted surgeon's licences because of their competence and despite the fact (as the licensing authorities were careful to note) that they knew no Latin. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 24.
57. Walter Ong has argued that women were excluded from the "Latin world" of the humanist educators. He notes that Sir Thomas More and a few other humanists advocated the teaching of Latin to girls in the home, an approach which was generally unsuccessful, and that up to the present, Latin has never held the same importance in female educational institutions as in those educating boys. Walter J Ong, 'Latin language study as a Renaissance puberty rite', Studies in Philology, 1959, 56: 103-24, pp. 110-11. See also Anthony Fletcher, Gender, sex and subordination in England 1500-1800, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1995, ch. 18, 'Educating girls', pp. 364-75. Susan Groag Bell has suggested that women who wanted to enter the professions in the Renaissance period were handicapped by their inability to acquire a knowledge of Latin. Susan Groag Bell, 'Medieval women book owners: arbiters of lay piety and ambassadors of culture', in Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski (eds), Women and power in the Middle Ages, Athens, Ga., University of Georgia Press, 1988, p. 166. For examples of well-educated women of the aristocracy and upper class who were familiar with, and in some cases translators of, the classics: Elaine V Beilin, Redeeming Eve: women writers of the Renaissance, Princeton University Press, 1987; Daniel R Woolf, 'A feminine past: women and history in early modern England', 1994, unpublished paper. In commenting on the formidable obstacles which female writers had to overcome, Louise Schleiner has noted the "meagerness of usual female education even among aristocrats" in her recent study Tudor and Stuart women writers, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1994, p. 2. The expectation that surgeons should have a knowledge of Latin was not unique to the English experience in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Wyman has noted that in fourteenth-century Italy, two women were granted surgeon's licences because of their competence and despite the fact (as the licensing authorities were careful to note) that they knew no Latin. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 24.
58. Walter Ong has argued that women were excluded from the "Latin world" of the humanist educators. He notes that Sir Thomas More and a few other humanists advocated the teaching of Latin to girls in the home, an approach which was generally unsuccessful, and that up to the present, Latin has never held the same importance in female educational institutions as in those educating boys. Walter J Ong, 'Latin language study as a Renaissance puberty rite', Studies in Philology, 1959, 56: 103-24, pp. 110-11. See also Anthony Fletcher, Gender, sex and subordination in England 1500-1800, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1995, ch. 18, 'Educating girls', pp. 364-75. Susan Groag Bell has suggested that women who wanted to enter the professions in the Renaissance period were handicapped by their inability to acquire a knowledge of Latin. Susan Groag Bell, 'Medieval women book owners: arbiters of lay piety and ambassadors of culture', in Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski (eds), Women and power in the Middle Ages, Athens, Ga., University of Georgia Press, 1988, p. 166. For examples of well-educated women of the aristocracy and upper class who were familiar with, and in some cases translators of, the classics: Elaine V Beilin, Redeeming Eve: women writers of the Renaissance, Princeton University Press, 1987; Daniel R Woolf, 'A feminine past: women and history in early modern England', 1994, unpublished paper. In commenting on the formidable obstacles which female writers had to overcome, Louise Schleiner has noted the "meagerness of usual female education even among aristocrats" in her recent study Tudor and Stuart women writers, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1994, p. 2. The expectation that surgeons should have a knowledge of Latin was not unique to the English experience in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Wyman has noted that in fourteenth-century Italy, two women were granted surgeon's licences because of their competence and despite the fact (as the licensing authorities were careful to note) that they knew no Latin. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 24.
59. Walter Ong has argued that women were excluded from the "Latin world" of the humanist educators. He notes that Sir Thomas More and a few other humanists advocated the teaching of Latin to girls in the home, an approach which was generally unsuccessful, and that up to the present, Latin has never held the same importance in female educational institutions as in those educating boys. Walter J Ong, 'Latin language study as a Renaissance puberty rite', Studies in Philology, 1959, 56: 103-24, pp. 110-11. See also Anthony Fletcher, Gender, sex and subordination in England 1500-1800, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1995, ch. 18, 'Educating girls', pp. 364-75. Susan Groag Bell has suggested that women who wanted to enter the professions in the Renaissance period were handicapped by their inability to acquire a knowledge of Latin. Susan Groag Bell, 'Medieval women book owners: arbiters of lay piety and ambassadors of culture', in Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski (eds), Women and power in the Middle Ages, Athens, Ga., University of Georgia Press, 1988, p. 166. For examples of well-educated women of the aristocracy and upper class who were familiar with, and in some cases translators of, the classics: Elaine V Beilin, Redeeming Eve: women writers of the Renaissance, Princeton University Press, 1987; Daniel R Woolf, 'A feminine past: women and history in early modern England', 1994, unpublished paper. In commenting on the formidable obstacles which female writers had to overcome, Louise Schleiner has noted the "meagerness of usual female education even among aristocrats" in her recent study Tudor and Stuart women writers, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1994, p. 2. The expectation that surgeons should have a knowledge of Latin was not unique to the English experience in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Wyman has noted that in fourteenth-century Italy, two women were granted surgeon's licences because of their competence and despite the fact (as the licensing authorities were careful to note) that they knew no Latin. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 24.
60. Walter Ong has argued that women were excluded from the "Latin world" of the humanist educators. He notes that Sir Thomas More and a few other humanists advocated the teaching of Latin to girls in the home, an approach which was generally unsuccessful, and that up to the present, Latin has never held the same importance in female educational institutions as in those educating boys. Walter J Ong, 'Latin language study as a Renaissance puberty rite', Studies in Philology, 1959, 56: 103-24, pp. 110-11. See also Anthony Fletcher, Gender, sex and subordination in England 1500-1800, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1995, ch. 18, 'Educating girls', pp. 364-75. Susan Groag Bell has suggested that women who wanted to enter the professions in the Renaissance period were handicapped by their inability to acquire a knowledge of Latin. Susan Groag Bell, 'Medieval women book owners: arbiters of lay piety and ambassadors of culture', in Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski (eds), Women and power in the Middle Ages, Athens, Ga., University of Georgia Press, 1988, p. 166. For examples of well-educated women of the aristocracy and upper class who were familiar with, and in some cases translators of, the classics: Elaine V Beilin, Redeeming Eve: women writers of the Renaissance, Princeton University Press, 1987; Daniel R Woolf, 'A feminine past: women and history in early modern England', 1994, unpublished paper. In commenting on the formidable obstacles which female writers had to overcome, Louise Schleiner has noted the "meagerness of usual female education even among aristocrats" in her recent study Tudor and Stuart women writers, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1994, p. 2. The expectation that surgeons should have a knowledge of Latin was not unique to the English experience in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Wyman has noted that in fourteenth-century Italy, two women were granted surgeon's licences because of their competence and despite the fact (as the licensing authorities were careful to note) that they knew no Latin. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 24.
61. See An essay in defence of the female sex (1696), in Vivien Jones (ed.), Women in the eighteenth century, London and New York, Routledge, 1990, pp. 211-13.
62. Woolf, op. cit., note 33 above, p. 14.
63. For an example of a particularly vitriolic attack by a physician on women's inherent deficiencies as well as those imposed by their lack of formal education see John Cotta, A short discoverie . . . (1612), in Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 71-2. Nor were these ideas unique to the medical profession. See Robert Michel, 'English attitudes towards women', Canadian J. Hist., 1978, 13 (1): 35-60 passim. Michel points out the enduring influence of the theories of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen regarding women's inherent bodily and mental weaknesses which placed them in an inferior position to men. According to Suzanne Hull's study of books for Englishwomen which covered the years 1475-1640, women were bombarded with male-authored prescriptive literature emphasizing women's inferior and subservient status and the need for male instruction on everything from domestic duties to personal conduct. Hull, op. cit., note 32 above, p. 134. See also Fletcher, op. cit., note 33 above, ch. 4, 'The weaker vessel', pp. 60-82. Vern Bullogh's pioneering work on the medieval period indicts the church as well as the ancients in the formation of enduring perceptions of women. Vern Bullough, 'Medieval and scientific views of women', Viator, 1973, 4: 484-501.
64. For an example of a particularly vitriolic attack by a physician on women's inherent deficiencies as well as those imposed by their lack of formal education see John Cotta, A short discoverie . . . (1612), in Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 71-2. Nor were these ideas unique to the medical profession. See Robert Michel, 'English attitudes towards women', Canadian J. Hist., 1978, 13 (1): 35-60 passim. Michel points out the enduring influence of the theories of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen regarding women's inherent bodily and mental weaknesses which placed them in an inferior position to men. According to Suzanne Hull's study of books for Englishwomen which covered the years 1475-1640, women were bombarded with male-authored prescriptive literature emphasizing women's inferior and subservient status and the need for male instruction on everything from domestic duties to personal conduct. Hull, op. cit., note 32 above, p. 134. See also Fletcher, op. cit., note 33 above, ch. 4, 'The weaker vessel', pp. 60-82. Vern Bullogh's pioneering work on the medieval period indicts the church as well as the ancients in the formation of enduring perceptions of women. Vern Bullough, 'Medieval and scientific views of women', Viator, 1973, 4: 484-501.
65. For an example of a particularly vitriolic attack by a physician on women's inherent deficiencies as well as those imposed by their lack of formal education see John Cotta, A short discoverie . . . (1612), in Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 71-2. Nor were these ideas unique to the medical profession. See Robert Michel, 'English attitudes towards women', Canadian J. Hist., 1978, 13 (1): 35-60 passim. Michel points out the enduring influence of the theories of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen regarding women's inherent bodily and mental weaknesses which placed them in an inferior position to men. According to Suzanne Hull's study of books for Englishwomen which covered the years 1475-1640, women were bombarded with male-authored prescriptive literature emphasizing women's inferior and subservient status and the need for male instruction on everything from domestic duties to personal conduct. Hull, op. cit., note 32 above, p. 134. See also Fletcher, op. cit., note 33 above, ch. 4, 'The weaker vessel', pp. 60-82. Vern Bullogh's pioneering work on the medieval period indicts the church as well as the ancients in the formation of enduring perceptions of women. Vern Bullough, 'Medieval and scientific views of women', Viator, 1973, 4: 484-501.
66. For an example of a particularly vitriolic attack by a physician on women's inherent deficiencies as well as those imposed by their lack of formal education see John Cotta, A short discoverie . . . (1612), in Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 71-2. Nor were these ideas unique to the medical profession. See Robert Michel, 'English attitudes towards women', Canadian J. Hist., 1978, 13 (1): 35-60 passim. Michel points out the enduring influence of the theories of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen regarding women's inherent bodily and mental weaknesses which placed them in an inferior position to men. According to Suzanne Hull's study of books for Englishwomen which covered the years 1475-1640, women were bombarded with male-authored prescriptive literature emphasizing women's inferior and subservient status and the need for male instruction on everything from domestic duties to personal conduct. Hull, op. cit., note 32 above, p. 134. See also Fletcher, op. cit., note 33 above, ch. 4, 'The weaker vessel', pp. 60-82. Vern Bullogh's pioneering work on the medieval period indicts the church as well as the ancients in the formation of enduring perceptions of women. Vern Bullough, 'Medieval and scientific views of women', Viator, 1973, 4: 484-501.
67. For an example of a particularly vitriolic attack by a physician on women's inherent deficiencies as well as those imposed by their lack of formal education see John Cotta, A short discoverie . . . (1612), in Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 71-2. Nor were these ideas unique to the medical profession. See Robert Michel, 'English attitudes towards women', Canadian J. Hist., 1978, 13 (1): 35-60 passim. Michel points out the enduring influence of the theories of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen regarding women's inherent bodily and mental weaknesses which placed them in an inferior position to men. According to Suzanne Hull's study of books for Englishwomen which covered the years 1475-1640, women were bombarded with male-authored prescriptive literature emphasizing women's inferior and subservient status and the need for male instruction on everything from domestic duties to personal conduct. Hull, op. cit., note 32 above, p. 134. See also Fletcher, op. cit., note 33 above, ch. 4, 'The weaker vessel', pp. 60-82. Vern Bullogh's pioneering work on the medieval period indicts the church as well as the ancients in the formation of enduring perceptions of women. Vern Bullough, 'Medieval and scientific views of women', Viator, 1973, 4: 484-501.
68. GL MS 5257/5/261.
69. Thomas Vicary, The Englishman's treasure with the true anatomie of man's body, 9th ed., London, 1641, pp. 3-5. There were also traditional perceptions of somewhat different requisite qualities relating to the surgeon's courage, eyesight, and again, the hands, which should be like a lady's. Pelling, op. cit., note 13 above, p. 117.
70. Thomas Vicary, The Englishman's treasure with the true anatomie of man's body, 9th ed., London, 1641, pp. 3-5. There were also traditional perceptions of somewhat different requisite qualities relating to the surgeon's courage, eyesight, and again, the hands, which should be like a lady's. Pelling, op. cit., note 13 above, p. 117.
71. Richard Banister, A treatise of one hundred and thirteene diseases of the eyes, and eye liddes, London, 1622.
72. David Cressy, Literacy and the social order, Cambridge University Press, 1979, p. 145.
73. Harley , op. cit., note 2 above, p. 398.
74. For a full discussion of this point see Clark, op. cit., note 9 above, ch. 5, 'Crafts and trades' passim.
75. BS Trans. 5257/4/783.
76. BS Trans. 5257/4/24.
77. BS Trans. 5257/4/4 Sept. 15, 1607. According to the bylaws of 1606, no barber could use more than one shop. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 119.
78. GL MS 5266A May 9, 1665, March 2, 1669, July 16, 1668. Brownell bound two apprentices.
79. BS Trans. 5257/4/18.
80. GL MSS 5257/4/394, 5266A Dec. 1, 1658.
81. GL MS 5257/1/287.
82. BS Trans. 5257/4/1034.
83. GL MS 5257/1/5/356.
84. The wife of Kent surgeon John Causabon assisted him in his practice. Richard Hunter and Ida MacAlpine, 'The diary of John Causabon', Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London, 1966, 21: 31-57, p. 37. Numerous diaries and letters from the period contain descriptions of, and references to, females who, without the benefit of a close association with a surgeon, successfully carried out surgical procedures. These women, like countless others, demonstrated that females lacked neither the necessary courage nor the skill to perform as surgeons. For examples of unlicensed female surgical practice see Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 54-78 passim; Lucinda Beier, Sufferers and healers: the experience of illness in seventeenth-century England, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987, p. 223.
85. The wife of Kent surgeon John Causabon assisted him in his practice. Richard Hunter and Ida MacAlpine, 'The diary of John Causabon', Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London, 1966, 21: 31-57, p. 37. Numerous diaries and letters from the period contain descriptions of, and references to, females who, without the benefit of a close association with a surgeon, successfully carried out surgical procedures. These women, like countless others, demonstrated that females lacked neither the necessary courage nor the skill to perform as surgeons. For examples of unlicensed female surgical practice see Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 54-78 passim; Lucinda Beier, Sufferers and healers: the experience of illness in seventeenth-century England, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987, p. 223.
86. The wife of Kent surgeon John Causabon assisted him in his practice. Richard Hunter and Ida MacAlpine, 'The diary of John Causabon', Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London, 1966, 21: 31-57, p. 37. Numerous diaries and letters from the period contain descriptions of, and references to, females who, without the benefit of a close association with a surgeon, successfully carried out surgical procedures. These women, like countless others, demonstrated that
87. The records of the company do not support the view that women were not permitted to practise surgery because of actual negligence or malpractice: their threat was more perceived than actual. Four women were fined for practising surgery between 1606 and 1640, but there is no indication of whether they were Company members or whether actual negligence was involved. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 392; BS Trans. 5257/4/468,496; GL MS 5257/5/265. There are on the other hand examples of malpractice among (male) Company members which resulted in the death of the patient. See GL MS 5257/5/331, 345.
88. For an exhaustive discussion of the process as it applied to midwifery candidates see Doreen Evenden-Nagy, 'Seventeenth-century London midwives: their training, licensing and social profile', PhD dissertation, McMaster University, 1991.
89. Raach, Directory, op. cit., note 5 above, p. 279. Raach has uncovered only one female, Katherine Greene of Royston, Hertfordshire, who was licensed in physic in 1626 (p. 283).
90. Joan Lane has noted that the category of physician and surgeon would be replaced by the surgeon-apothecary in the eighteenth century, the latter forming the majority of medical practitioners in the provinces by 1783. See Joan Lane, 'The medical practitioners of provincial England in 1783', Med. Hist., 1984, 28: 353-71 passim. David Harley, however, has argued for a more sophisticated classification of medical practitioners which would lessen the importance of the surgeon-apothecary in the development of the general practitioner. Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 419.
91. Joan Lane has noted that the category of physician and surgeon would be replaced by the surgeon-apothecary in the eighteenth century, the latter forming the majority of medical practitioners in the provinces by 1783. See Joan Lane, 'The medical practitioners of provincial England in 1783', Med. Hist., 1984, 28: 353-71 passim. David Harley, however, has argued for a more sophisticated classification of medical practitioners which would lessen the importance of the surgeon-apothecary in the development of the general practitioner. Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 419.
92. The testimonial certificates from the Bishop of London's court cover the years 1661-1700 while the Lambeth records from the Archbishop of Canterbury's court are from roughly the last decade of the century.
93. Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 46. Since to practise in London one had to have the freedom of the city, surgeons who had apprenticed with Company members were spared the very substantial levy imposed on surgeons with only an ecclesiastical licence, who had to purchase their freedom. See Parker, op. cit., note 27 above, p. 87.
94. Dobson and Walker, op. cit., note 16 above, p. 46. Since to practise in London one had to have the freedom of the city, surgeons who had apprenticed with Company members were spared the very substantial levy imposed on surgeons with only an ecclesiastical licence, who had to purchase their freedom. See Parker, op. cit., note 27 above, p. 87.
95. John Deavenish of St Lawrence Jewry and William Layfield (who had served the company in its top administrative positions), had served their apprenticeships with members of the Barber-Surgeons Company and were freemen of the company, GL MSS 10,116/1,3. A study of practitioners licensed to practise in the diocese of London has acknowledged the friction between the two licensing bodies but contended that the bulk of the ecclesiastical licences were granted to men who were already members of the Barber-Surgeons Company. See Bloom and James, op. cit., note 6 above, p. 8. There is evidence that in Bristol, also, the Church was pre-empting the role of the Barber-Surgeons Company. In this case the Bishop declared the licence issued by the Barber-Surgeons invalid unless accompanied by an ecclesiastical licence. See Parker, op. cit., note 27 above, p. 86; Harley and Guy also note the problems between the bishop and the Barber-Surgeons Company in Bristol, Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 399; John R Guy, The episcopal licensing of physicians, surgeons and midwives'. Bull. Hist. Med., 1982, 56: 528-42, p. 533.
96. John Deavenish of St Lawrence Jewry and William Layfield (who had served the company in its top administrative positions), had served their apprenticeships with members of the Barber-Surgeons Company and were freemen of the company, GL MSS 10,116/1,3. A study of practitioners licensed to practise in the diocese of London has acknowledged the friction between the two licensing bodies but contended that the bulk of the ecclesiastical licences were granted to men who were already members of the Barber-Surgeons Company. See Bloom and James, op. cit., note 6 above, p. 8. There is evidence that in Bristol, also, the Church was pre-empting the role of the Barber-Surgeons Company. In this case the Bishop declared the licence issued by the Barber-Surgeons invalid unless accompanied by an ecclesiastical licence. See Parker, op. cit., note 27 above, p. 86; Harley and Guy also note the problems between the bishop and the Barber-Surgeons Company in Bristol, Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 399; John R Guy, The episcopal licensing of physicians, surgeons and midwives'. Bull. Hist. Med., 1982, 56: 528-42, p. 533.
97. John Deavenish of St Lawrence Jewry and William Layfield (who had served the company in its top administrative positions), had served their apprenticeships with members of the Barber-Surgeons Company and were freemen of the company, GL MSS 10,116/1,3. A study of practitioners licensed to practise in the diocese of London has acknowledged the friction between the two licensing bodies but contended that the bulk of the ecclesiastical licences were granted to men who were already members of the Barber-Surgeons Company. See Bloom and James, op. cit., note 6 above, p. 8. There is evidence that in Bristol, also, the Church was pre-empting the role of the Barber-Surgeons Company. In this case the Bishop declared the licence issued by the Barber-Surgeons invalid unless accompanied by an ecclesiastical licence. See Parker, op. cit., note 27 above, p. 86; Harley and Guy also note the problems between the bishop and the Barber-Surgeons Company in Bristol, Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 399; John R Guy, The episcopal licensing of physicians, surgeons and midwives'. Bull. Hist. Med., 1982, 56: 528-42, p. 533.
98. John Deavenish of St Lawrence Jewry and William Layfield (who had served the company in its top administrative positions), had served their apprenticeships with members of the Barber-Surgeons Company and were freemen of the company, GL MSS 10,116/1,3. A study of practitioners licensed to practise in the diocese of London has acknowledged the friction between the two licensing bodies but contended that the bulk of the ecclesiastical licences were granted to men who were already members of the Barber-Surgeons Company. See Bloom and James, op. cit., note 6 above, p. 8. There is evidence that in Bristol, also, the Church was pre-empting the role of the Barber-Surgeons Company. In this case the Bishop declared the licence issued by the Barber-Surgeons invalid unless accompanied by an ecclesiastical licence. See Parker, op. cit., note 27 above, p. 86; Harley and Guy also note the problems between the bishop and the Barber-Surgeons Company in Bristol, Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 399; John R Guy, 'The episcopal licensing of physicians, surgeons and midwives'. Bull. Hist. Med., 1982, 56: 528-42, p. 533.
99. In some cases candidates overtly referred to their status as freemen, in others, they referred to their examinations by the masters at Barber-Surgeons Hall. None of the surgeons licensed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the closing decade of the century claimed membership in the Barber-Surgeons Company but Thomas Nevett, citizen of London and barber-surgeon, was licensed in 1698 as a physician and surgeon. LP VX 1A/10/308.
100. For examples of men who had trained with surgeons, apparently without an association with the Barber-Surgeons Company see GL MSS 10,116/13,14.
101. GL MS 10,116/3, LP VX 1A/10/291. It is unusual for a Quaker to receive an ecclesiastical licence, but, as was the case with an occasional midwife, an applicant might compromise his position on oath-taking. Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, pp. 407-8.
102. GL MS 10,116/9.
103. Parker, op. cit., note 27 above, p. 118.
104. Forbes, op. cit., note 22 above, pp. 229, 233.
105. Young, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 220.
106. GL MS 10,116/7/14, LP VX 1A/10/337. Service as an army surgeon was also cited in support of an application for an ecclesiastical licence. Francis DeLaze, a Huguenot surgeon who had completed his apprenticeship in France, served as a surgeon to Col. Mackay's regiment in Scotland and Flanders for three years. GL MS 10,116/13. See GL MS 10,116/14 for two other applicants (Nicholas Lawless and John Browne) who cited military service in their testimonials.
107. Six other successful candidates for a licence in surgery received their backing from physicians who were willing to vouch for their competence in carrying out surgical procedures. GL MS 10,116/3, 6, 13, 14. Only two men sought testimonial support from apothecaries. John Drinkwater of New Brentford included the testimony of a surgeon and apothecary in 1697, while Joseph Freeman of Little Waltham, licensed in 1692, obtained the signatures of two apothecaries, GL MS 10,116/13,14.
108. GL MS 10,116/3. Both blood-letting and tooth-pulling were tasks of barbers.
109. GLMS 10,116/8.
110. In his study of provincial physicians, Harley has also noted the great diversity in requirements for obtaining an ecclesiastical licence. Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 400.
111. GL MS 10,116/6. Lockyer has been described as a "quack" who gained a reputation by virtue of pills which bore his name and were claimed to be a "universal" cure. See Hector A Colwell, 'Lionel Lockyer', Proc. R. Soc. Med., 1915, 3: 126-34. No confirmation of his licensing by ecclesiastical authorities has been found suggesting the claim to it was fictitious, but the Church accepted his endorsement of a candidate for a medical licence in 1661. See J K Crellin and J R Scott, 'Lionel Lockyer and his pills', Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of the History of Medicine, London, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1974, vol. 2, 1182-5, p. 1184.
112. GL MS 10,116/6. Lockyer has been described as a "quack" who gained a reputation by virtue of pills which bore his name and were claimed to be a "universal" cure. See Hector A Colwell, 'Lionel Lockyer', Proc. R. Soc. Med., 1915, 3: 126-34. No confirmation of his licensing by ecclesiastical authorities has been found suggesting the claim to it was fictitious, but the Church accepted his endorsement of a candidate for a medical licence in 1661. See J K Crellin and J R Scott, 'Lionel Lockyer and his pills', Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of the History of Medicine, London, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1974, vol. 2, 1182-5, p. 1184.
113. The supporting signatures were added by curate Andrew Colwell, obviously a relative, two vicars, two yeomen, a butcher and another unidentified male. LP MS VX 1A/10/276.
114. GL MS 10,116/13.
115. Evidence from ecclesiastical archives is at odds with Bloom and James who argued that only those who had "a long course of apprenticeship to a recognised medical man . . . and proved by their own practice . . ." stood much of a chance of getting a licence. Bloom and James, op. cit., note 6 above, p. 9.
116. Excluding the patient's view from medical history has been criticized by historians. See Roy Porter (ed.), Patients and practitioners: lay perceptions of medicine in pre-industrial society, Cambridge University Press, 1985; Dorothy Porter and Roy Porter, Patient's progress: doctors and doctoring in eighteenth-century England, Stanford University Press, 1989, p. 13; Beier, op. cit., note 52 above, p. 7.
117. Excluding the patient's view from medical history has been criticized by historians. See Roy Porter (ed.), Patients and practitioners: lay perceptions of medicine in pre-industrial society, Cambridge University Press, 1985; Dorothy Porter and Roy Porter, Patient's progress: doctors and doctoring in eighteenth-century England, Stanford University Press, 1989, p. 13; Beier, op. cit., note 52 above, p. 7.
118. Excluding the patient's view from medical history has been criticized by historians. See Roy Porter (ed.), Patients and practitioners: lay perceptions of medicine in pre-industrial society, Cambridge University Press, 1985; Dorothy Porter and Roy Porter, Patient's progress: doctors and doctoring in eighteenth-century England, Stanford University Press, 1989, p. 13; Beier, op. cit., note 52 above, p. 7.
119. Raach, 'Licensing', op. cit., note 5 above, p. 280. Although loss of documents is always a possibility, it would be difficult to accept that testimonial evidence of "cures" had been lost for all of more than 160 male candidates and preserved for only the handful of female candidates.
120. Roberts has also noted the laxity of church officials which enabled incompetent practitioners to obtain licences in surgery. Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 220. This stands in direct contrast to the Church's policy on the licensing of midwives where the testimony of satisfied clients was required. See Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, ch. 1, 'Ecclesiastical licensing of midwives', passim.
121. Roberts has also noted the laxity of church officials which enabled incompetent practitioners to obtain licences in surgery. Roberts, op. cit., note 22 above, p. 220. This stands in direct contrast to the Church's policy on the licensing of midwives where the testimony of satisfied clients was required. See Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, ch. 1, 'Ecclesiastical licensing of midwives', passim.
122. GL MS 10,116/2. See also James Vaughan, Theophilus Aylmer, Thomas Newman, GL MS 10,116/8,10,14; Robert Colwell, Thomas Silvester LP MS VX 1A/10/276, 312.
123. GL MS 10,116/8. Although Cambridge's testimonial was signed by a surgeon and two churchwardens, there is no indication of formal training. This suggests that he was entirely self-taught.
124. LP MS Abbot 1, fols. 170v, 169v-70.
125. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 29.
126. LP Acts Book VB1/1/3.
127. LP VX 1A/10/247.
128. Dr Sherlocke was William Sherlock, dean of St Paul's and Master of the Temple (chief minister of the Temple Church).
129. After examining more than 500 midwives' testimonials in London and Lambeth archives, midwife Francis is the only one whom I found licensed in surgery. GL MS 10,116/13.
130. LP VX 1A/10/259.
131. Scrofula or the King's evil was the name given to chronically inflamed glands, usually associated with the tubercle bacillus, and believed to be curable by the touch of the Queen or King. Some of the cases treated by Moore, however, were probably the result of other chronic infections including osteomyelitis and eye infections.
132. Surfitt or surfeit was the name given to illness believed to result from excessive indulgence in food or drink.
133. For "official" documents of this nature, most ordinary people would pay to have a scribe draft their remarks. Therefore, the fact that a relative acted as scribe in no way invalidates the claims but reflects somewhat positively on Moore's social status. The Edward Moore whose signature appeared on the first page was also probably a close relative who lived in the nearby village of Slawston.
134. By way of comparison, the records of a provincial doctor who practised early in the century in Yorkshire reveal much the same patterns of distribution; none of his patients, however, were found at more than a distance of twenty-five miles. See W R Le Fanu, 'A North-Riding doctor in 1609', Med. Hist., 1961, 5: 178-88.
135. For examples of patients residing with their surgeon, see Hunter and MacAlpine, op. cit., note 52 above, p. 44. For other examples of the way in which provincial doctors carried out their practices within the constraints of distance and time see Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 4-19.
136. For examples of patients residing with their surgeon, see Hunter and MacAlpine, op. cit., note 52 above, p. 44. For other examples of the way in which provincial doctors carried out their practices within the constraints of distance and time see Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 4-19.
137. See Doreen Evenden, 'Mary Rose a seventeenth-century Portsmouth surgeon', Mariner's Mirror, 1993, 79: 33-4. For comment on the practice of putting ailing seamen ashore for treatment and convalescence see J D Alsop, 'Sea surgeons, health and England's maritime expansion: the West African trade 1553-1660', Mariner's Mirror, 1990,76: 215-21, p. 220.
138. See Doreen Evenden, 'Mary Rose a seventeenth-century Portsmouth surgeon', Mariner's Mirror, 1993, 79: 33-4. For comment on the practice of putting ailing seamen ashore for treatment and convalescence see J D Alsop, 'Sea surgeons, health and England's maritime expansion: the West African trade 1553-1660', Mariner's Mirror, 1990,76: 215-21, p. 220.
139. Both the quality of the handwriting and the use of the Latin form of her name are indications of her educational attainments. Although male candidates, especially those who were university graduates, frequently Latinized their first names, as did clerks who recorded women's licensing information for midwifery (or, occasionally, surgery) in the bishop's registers, this is the first time I have found a woman who Latinized her own name. I suspect also that she had nonconformist leanings since a separate oath of conformity, a full page in length, was demanded by the Church court at the time of her licensing as a physician and surgeon in the province of Canterbury. LP VX 1A/10/297. The oath was very strongly anti-catholic. Perhaps the Rose family with their French name were suspected of recusancy. My research with London records indicate that Huguenot applicants to ecclesiastical courts appeared to make a special effort to disclaim any link with Catholicism. For other examples of nonconformist practitioners who obtained ecclesiastical licences see Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, pp. 407-9.
140. LP VX 1A/10/223.
141. Noli me tangere is described as "any of several ulcerous cutaneous diseases of the face, especially lupus and rodent ulcer" (SOED). It is difficult to tell from the context whether or not Penell recognized the latter as a completely separate disease or a variety of scrofula. As was the case with Elizabeth Moore, some of the conditions would not have been tuberculous in origin, but rather the result of other chronic (secondary) infections lumped together under the catch-all diagnosis of scrofula or King's evil.
142. For comment on the relative prosperity of merchants see M J Power, 'The social topography of Restoration London', in Beier and Finlay, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 199-223, on pp. 213-14.
143. Midwives who practised in the City of London in the seventeenth century also ranged over a wide geographic area. See Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, pp. 171-5. The parishes of St Botolph Aldgate and St Botolph Bishopsgate where Penell's practice was concentrated were densely populated and poverty-stricken for much of the period. See Ronald W Herlan, 'Social articulation and the configuration of parochial poverty in London on the eve of the Restoration', Guildhall Stud. Lond. Hist., 1976, 1: 43-53, and idem, 'Poor relief in London during the English Revolution', J. Br. Stud. 1979, 15: pp. 30-51.
144. Midwives who practised in the City of London in the seventeenth century also ranged over a wide geographic area. See Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, pp. 171-5. The parishes of St Botolph Aldgate and St Botolph Bishopsgate where Penell's practice was concentrated were densely populated and poverty-stricken for much of the period. See Ronald W Herlan, 'Social articulation and the configuration of parochial poverty in London on the eve of the Restoration', Guildhall Stud. Lond. Hist., 1976, 1: 43-53, and idem, 'Poor relief in London during the English Revolution', J. Br. Stud. 1979, 15: pp. 30-51.
145. Midwives who practised in the City of London in the seventeenth century also ranged over a wide geographic area. See Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, pp. 171-5. The parishes of St Botolph Aldgate and St Botolph Bishopsgate where Penell's practice was concentrated were densely populated and poverty-stricken for much of the period. See Ronald W Herlan, 'Social articulation and the configuration of parochial poverty in London on the eve of the Restoration', Guildhall Stud. Lond. Hist., 1976, 1: 43-53, and idem, 'Poor relief in London during the English Revolution', J. Br. Stud. 1979, 15: pp. 30-51.
146. Penell was referring to the "third Dutch War" which was fought between the Netherlands and England and her French allies, which saw England defeated in 1672. Since Penell states that she has been practising for twenty years, she must have begun after her move to Southwark.
147. Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 73, 76. Although critical of women who practised surgery without theoretical knowledge, Richard Banister approved of two women, one an aristocrat, who treated the poor out of charity. Banister, op. cit., note 39 above, 'Forward'. Another treatise published by four surgeons from St Bartholomew's Hospital and incorporating the work of sixteenth-century royal surgeon Vicary states that it is intended for "Gentlewomen and others who desire Science in Medicine and Surgery for a generall good". It subsequently makes clear that they will be treating the needy in the "remote parts of this Kingdome" and will be acting out of charity. Thomas Vicary, The surgion's directorie, for young practitioners, in anatomie, wounds and cures &c., London, 1651, Part VIII.
148. Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, pp. 73, 76. Although critical of women who practised surgery without theoretical knowledge, Richard Banister approved of two women, one an aristocrat, who treated the poor out of charity. Banister, op. cit., note 39 above, 'Forward'. Another treatise published by four surgeons from St Bartholomew's Hospital and incorporating the work of sixteenth-century royal surgeon Vicary states that it is intended for "Gentlewomen and others who desire Science in Medicine and Surgery for a generall good". It subsequently makes clear that they will be treating the needy in the "remote parts of this Kingdome" and will be acting out of charity. Thomas Vicary, The surgion's directorie, for young practitioners, in anatomie, wounds and cures &c., London, 1651, Part VIII.
149. Male medical practitioners were able to command substantial fees in some instances. See Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above; Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, pp. 132-3; Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 406. In the case of London midwives, the women themselves tried to ensure that, in accordance with their oath, only duly licensed midwives practised in the city. There is no question that a licence in midwifery was seen as the important end result of the unofficial system of apprenticeship which existed throughout the seventeenth century. Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, pp. 92-3.
150. Male medical practitioners were able to command substantial fees in some instances. See Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above; Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, pp. 132-3; Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 406. In the case of London midwives, the women themselves tried to ensure that, in accordance with their oath, only duly licensed midwives practised in the city. There is no question that a licence in midwifery was seen as the important end result of the unofficial system of apprenticeship which existed throughout the seventeenth century. Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, pp. 92-3.
151. Male medical practitioners were able to command substantial fees in some instances. See Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above; Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, pp. 132-3; Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 406. In the case of London midwives, the women themselves tried to ensure that, in accordance with their oath, only duly licensed midwives practised in the city. There is no question that a licence in midwifery was seen as the important end result of the unofficial system of apprenticeship which existed throughout the seventeenth century. Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, pp. 92-3.
152. Male medical practitioners were able to command substantial fees in some instances. See Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above; Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, pp. 132-3; Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 406. In the case of London midwives, the women themselves tried to ensure that, in accordance with their oath, only duly licensed midwives practised in the city. There is no question that a licence in midwifery was seen as the important end result of the unofficial system of apprenticeship which existed throughout the seventeenth century. Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, pp. 92-3.
153. Peter Earle, in his recent discussion of seventeenth-century London women's work, concluded that it was unlikely that many women engaged in medical practice would have taken the trouble to apply for a licence since they would probably have been refused. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132. A study of Norwich practitioners in the sixteenth century found no dearth of unlicensed female medical practice but only one licensed female surgeon. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 233. Similarly, Margaret Barnet's study of York barber-surgeons documents one licensed female in the early modern period. Barnet, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 27. There is also the case of the poor girl who was apprenticed to a "surgeoness" from St Leonard Shoreditch in 1729. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 30, but such an occupational designation has not been linked with either the Barber-Surgeons Company or the ecclesiastical licensing process. I suspect that this was a private arrangement between the "surgeoness", Anne Saint, and parish officials and that she was treating conditions like scald head (ringworm of the scalp) for which treatment women were regularly employed. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 223-4; Margaret Pelling, 'Healing the sick poor: social policy and disability in Norwich 1550-1640', Med. Hist., 1985, 29: 115-137, pp. 128-9; Barnet, ibid., p. 25. See also Willen, op. cit., note 10 above.
154. Peter Earle, in his recent discussion of seventeenth-century London women's work, concluded that it was unlikely that many women engaged in medical practice would have taken the trouble to apply for a licence since they would probably have been refused. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132. A study of Norwich practitioners in the sixteenth century found no dearth of unlicensed female medical practice but only one licensed female surgeon. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 233. Similarly, Margaret Barnet's study of York barber-surgeons documents one licensed female in the early modern period. Barnet, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 27. There is also the case of the poor girl who was apprenticed to a "surgeoness" from St Leonard Shoreditch in 1729. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 30, but such an occupational designation has not been linked with either the Barber-Surgeons Company or the ecclesiastical licensing process. I suspect that this was a private arrangement between the "surgeoness", Anne Saint, and parish officials and that she was treating conditions like scald head (ringworm of the scalp) for which treatment women were regularly employed. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 223-4; Margaret Pelling, 'Healing the sick poor: social policy and disability in Norwich 1550-1640', Med. Hist., 1985, 29: 115-137, pp. 128-9; Barnet, ibid., p. 25. See also Willen, op. cit., note 10 above.
155. Peter Earle, in his recent discussion of seventeenth-century London women's work, concluded that it was unlikely that many women engaged in medical practice would have taken the trouble to apply for a licence since they would probably have been refused. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132. A study of Norwich practitioners in the sixteenth century found no dearth of unlicensed female medical practice but only one licensed female surgeon. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 233. Similarly, Margaret Barnet's study of York barber-surgeons documents one licensed female in the early modern period. Barnet, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 27. There is also the case of the poor girl who was apprenticed to a "surgeoness" from St Leonard Shoreditch in 1729. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 30, but such an occupational designation has not been linked with either the Barber-Surgeons Company or the ecclesiastical licensing process. I suspect that this was a private arrangement between the "surgeoness", Anne Saint, and parish officials and that she was treating conditions like scald head (ringworm of the scalp) for which treatment women were regularly employed. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 223-4; Margaret Pelling, 'Healing the sick poor: social policy and disability in Norwich 1550-1640', Med. Hist., 1985, 29: 115-137, pp. 128-9; Barnet, ibid., p. 25. See also Willen, op. cit., note 10 above.
156. Peter Earle, in his recent discussion of seventeenth-century London women's work, concluded that it was unlikely that many women engaged in medical practice would have taken the trouble to apply for a licence since they would probably have been refused. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132. A study of Norwich practitioners in the sixteenth century found no dearth of unlicensed female medical practice but only one licensed female surgeon. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 233. Similarly, Margaret Barnet's study of York barber-surgeons documents one licensed female in the early modern period. Barnet, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 27. There is also the case of the poor girl who was apprenticed to a "surgeoness" from St Leonard Shoreditch in 1729. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 30, but such an occupational designation has not been linked with either the Barber-Surgeons Company or the ecclesiastical licensing process. I suspect that this was a private arrangement between the "surgeoness", Anne Saint, and parish officials and that she was treating conditions like scald head (ringworm of the scalp) for which treatment women were regularly employed. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 223-4; Margaret Pelling, 'Healing the sick poor: social policy and disability in Norwich 1550-1640', Med. Hist., 1985, 29: 115-137, pp. 128-9; Barnet, ibid., p. 25. See also Willen, op. cit., note 10 above.
157. Peter Earle, in his recent discussion of seventeenth-century London women's work, concluded that it was unlikely that many women engaged in medical practice would have taken the trouble to apply for a licence since they would probably have been refused. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132. A study of Norwich practitioners in the sixteenth century found no dearth of unlicensed female medical practice but only one licensed female surgeon. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 233. Similarly, Margaret Barnet's study of York barber-surgeons documents one licensed female in the early modern period. Barnet, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 27. There is also the case of the poor girl who was apprenticed to a "surgeoness" from St Leonard Shoreditch in 1729. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 30, but such an occupational designation has not been linked with either the Barber-Surgeons Company or the ecclesiastical licensing process. I suspect that this was a private arrangement between the "surgeoness", Anne Saint, and parish officials and that she was treating conditions like scald head (ringworm of the scalp) for which treatment women were regularly employed. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 223-4; Margaret Pelling, 'Healing the sick poor: social policy and disability in Norwich 1550-1640', Med. Hist., 1985, 29: 115-137, pp. 128-9; Barnet, ibid., p. 25. See also Willen, op. cit., note 10 above.
158. Peter Earle, in his recent discussion of seventeenth-century London women's work, concluded that it was unlikely that many women engaged in medical practice would have taken the trouble to apply for a licence since they would probably have been refused. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132. A study of Norwich practitioners in the sixteenth century found no dearth of unlicensed female medical practice but only one licensed female surgeon. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 233. Similarly, Margaret Barnet's study of York barber-surgeons documents one licensed female in the early modern period. Barnet, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 27. There is also the case of the poor girl who was apprenticed to a "surgeoness" from St Leonard Shoreditch in 1729. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 30, but such an occupational designation has not been linked with either the Barber-Surgeons Company or the ecclesiastical licensing process. I suspect that this was a private arrangement between the "surgeoness", Anne Saint, and parish officials and that she was treating conditions like scald head (ringworm of the scalp) for which treatment women were regularly employed. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 223-4; Margaret Pelling, 'Healing the sick poor: social policy and disability in Norwich 1550-1640', Med. Hist., 1985, 29: 115-137, pp. 128-9; Barnet, ibid., p. 25. See also Willen, op. cit., note 10 above.
159. Peter Earle, in his recent discussion of seventeenth-century London women's work, concluded that it was unlikely that many women engaged in medical practice would have taken the trouble to apply for a licence since they would probably have been refused. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132. A study of Norwich practitioners in the sixteenth century found no dearth of unlicensed female medical practice but only one licensed female surgeon. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 233. Similarly, Margaret Barnet's study of York barber-surgeons documents one licensed female in the early modern period. Barnet, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 27. There is also the case of the poor girl who was apprenticed to a "surgeoness" from St Leonard Shoreditch in 1729. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 30, but such an occupational designation has not been linked with either the Barber-Surgeons Company or the ecclesiastical licensing process. I suspect that this was a private arrangement between the "surgeoness", Anne Saint, and parish officials and that she was treating conditions like scald head (ringworm of the scalp) for which treatment women were regularly employed. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 223-4; Margaret Pelling, 'Healing the sick poor: social policy and disability in Norwich 1550-1640', Med. Hist., 1985, 29: 115-137, pp. 128-9; Barnet, ibid., p. 25. See also Willen, op. cit., note 10 above.
160. Peter Earle, in his recent discussion of seventeenth-century London women's work, concluded that it was unlikely that many women engaged in medical practice would have taken the trouble to apply for a licence since they would probably have been refused. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132. A study of Norwich practitioners in the sixteenth century found no dearth of unlicensed female medical practice but only one licensed female surgeon. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 233. Similarly, Margaret Barnet's study of York barber-surgeons documents one licensed female in the early modern period. Barnet, op. cit., note 7 above, p. 27. There is also the case of the poor girl who was apprenticed to a "surgeoness" from St Leonard Shoreditch in 1729. Wyman, op. cit., note 10 above, p. 30, but such an occupational designation has not been linked with either the Barber-Surgeons Company or the ecclesiastical licensing process. I suspect that this was a private arrangement between the "surgeoness", Anne Saint, and parish officials and that she was treating conditions like scald head (ringworm of the scalp) for which treatment women were regularly employed. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 223-4; Margaret Pelling, 'Healing the sick poor: social policy and disability in Norwich 1550-1640', Med. Hist., 1985, 29: 115-137, pp. 128-9; Barnet, ibid., p. 25. See also Willen, op. cit., note 10 above.
161. As an example of the types of treatment surgeons tried to avoid, in 1656 regulations for the government of St Bartholomew's Hospital noted that while the staff would include two surgeons, "a woman" would be paid from 20s to 40s "the cure" to treat scald head (ringworm) and leprosy. Calendar of State Papers: domestic series, Commonwealth, vol. 9, 1656, p. 23.
162. After examining hundreds of testimonial documents, it is apparent that testimonials were kept for successful candidates only. There is no way of telling if other women had applied unsuccessfully.
163. This is also true of midwives who applied for licences and were required to provide much more substantial documentation than candidates for licences in medicine or surgery. See Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, ch. 1, 'Ecclesiastical licensing of midwives', passim.
164. In the case of London midwives, the overwhelming evidence points to the conclusion that licensing was an imposition which conferred privilege and standing. I suspect, but have less proof, that this was the case with female surgeons and surgeon/physicians.
165. Seventeenth-century London midwives were expected to have six women (usually clients) to give sworn testimony before the ecclesiastical licensing authorities that they had personal knowledge of the midwife's expertise. Evenden-Nagy, op. cit., note 54 above, chs 1 and 2, passim.
166. See Peter Earle, 'The female labour market in London in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries', Econ. Hist. Rev., 2nd ser., 1989, XLII, 3: 328-53, p. 346. Earle discusses the way in which the distinction between "men's work" and "women's work" severely restricted working women's options for employment in the period.
167. Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 398. While Harley adds religion to the exclusionary factors, because this study deals with records of successful applicants, no evidence was found of women, other than Mary Rose, who may have been confronted with religious barriers when applying for ecclesiastical licences. For a comment on the Church's increasing disinterest in the licensing process see Guy, op. cit., note 59 above, p. 537.
168. Harley, op. cit., note 2 above, p. 398. While Harley adds religion to the exclusionary factors, because this study deals with records of successful applicants, no evidence was found of women, other than Mary Rose, who may have been confronted with religious barriers when applying for ecclesiastical licences. For a comment on the Church's increasing disinterest in the licensing process see Guy, op. cit., note 59 above, p. 537.
169. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 222-5; Pelling, op. cit., note 19 above, pp. 487, 507-9; Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, ch. 5, 'Women's role in Stuart medicine', pp. 54-78. In his recent study of London inhabitants, based on information from court depositions. Peter Earle has found one woman who claimed to be a surgeon and another who practised "surgery and physick", but, evidently, they were unlicensed. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132.
170. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 222-5; Pelling, op. cit., note 19 above, pp. 487, 507-9; Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, ch. 5, 'Women's role in Stuart medicine', pp. 54-78. In his recent study of London inhabitants, based on information from court depositions. Peter Earle has found one woman who claimed to be a surgeon and another who practised "surgery and physick", but, evidently, they were unlicensed. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132.
171. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 222-5; Pelling, op. cit., note 19 above, pp. 487, 507-9; Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, ch. 5, 'Women's role in Stuart medicine', pp. 54-78. In his recent study of London inhabitants, based on information from court depositions. Peter Earle has found one woman who claimed to be a surgeon and another who practised "surgery and physick", but, evidently, they were unlicensed. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132.
172. See Pelling and Webster, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 222-5; Pelling, op. cit., note 19 above, pp. 487, 507-9; Evenden Nagy, op. cit., note 3 above, ch. 5, 'Women's role in Stuart medicine', pp. 54-78. In his recent study of London inhabitants, based on information from court depositions. Peter Earle has found one woman who claimed to be a surgeon and another who practised "surgery and physick", but, evidently, they were unlicensed. Earle, op. cit., note 18 above, p. 132.