Today, when we think about medicine in the past, we often imagine something primitive, even dangerous—a world of leeches, superstition, and doctors who didn’t quite know what they were doing. But that version of history leaves out a much bigger story.
Long before modern medicine as we know it, women were not just caring for the sick in their homes; they were treating illnesses, delivering babies, experimenting with remedies, and in many cases, providing the majority of medical care in their communities. While some women built reputations as trusted healers, others became something far more controversial—entangled in stories of poison, power, and the fear of what that knowledge could be used for. So today, we’re looking at the real role women played in early modern medicine; how they learned, how they practiced, and why so much of their work has been overlooked.
To help us unpack this world, I’m joined by historian Alanna Skuse, author of The Surgeon, The Midwife, The Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England, whose research reveals just how central (and complex) women’s roles in medicine really were.
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