Women’s Leprous Bodies: Women, Doctors, and the Examination for Leprosy in Late Medieval Frankfurt (original) (raw)

2018

Abstract

Letters to and from the physicians appointed by the city of Frankfurt to examine for leprosy in the late fifteenth century are a hitherto underused source for the social experiences of late medieval leprosy. The medical expertise of these physicians was held in high regard, but their professional honor could come into conflict with the personal honor of their female examinees, as surviving letters show. Of the two dozen surviving fifteenth-century letters, three are written on behalf of women. Gender is not identified by the physicians as a variable in the ways the women’s bodies were affected by leprosy. However, women’s experience of the diagnostic process was clearly gendered. Two of the three women were accompanied by men. An impoverished kitchen maid from a nunnery was escorted by Brother Hans, from the same community. He may or may not have had medical knowledge himself, but he was chosen by the abbess and provost as her companion, and advocate to the committee. In another case, a woman suspected of having leprosy appears with her husband. His presence would have provided social and legal protection, as well as emotional support. The widow who appeared alone before the physicians subsequently failed a complaint; distraught, she asserted that they “uncovered her womanly weakness.” The physicians, in turn, created a detailed rebuttal of her claims. The experiences of these women reveal physical and emotional vulnerability, and a variety of social and medical responses to leprosy and those diagnosed with it.

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