Food, Plants, Remedies and Healing Practices: Women’s Ideas in the History of Medicine

This book examines the contributions of women to the history of philosophy and medicine, as well as the traditional medical knowledge that has been employed in households.

This book examines the contributions of women to the history of philosophy and medicine, as well as the traditional medical knowledge that has been employed in households. Women have played integral roles in the history of medicine, often serving as healers, caretakers, midwives and guardians of traditional knowledge surrounding food, plants, remedies, and healing practices. However, women’s writings are often overlooked or marginalized in mainstream narratives because they did not write in the scientific language of Latin, and because their writings were not in the conventional form of a published book. The work, therefore, considers a diverse range of women, from Hildegard von Bingen and Oliva Sabuco to Maria Deraismes in the 19th century, midwives in Germany and numerous other women in European households. It demonstrates the significant influence of female knowledge and practices in the field of medicine, remedies, chemistry and healing practices. The chapters predominantly reflect on plants, food and practical remedies used and tested by women. Those engaged in research or teaching on the history of philosophy and medicine will find this collection invaluable, as it offers insights into a domain that has been relatively unexplored and lacks a substantial corpus of documented evidence.