Science and sensibility: gender and scientific enquiry, 1780-1945

This study deals primarily with medical licensing in Valencia, and the authors make frequent illuminating comparisons with Sicily, Montpellier, Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon.

Abstract

Reviewsand the special positions of Jews, Muslims and women in the field of medical care.From their special knowledge of the archives, they are able to present new details on the demographic distribution of medical practitioners throughout the Kingdom of Valencia during the fourteenth century.McVaugh, Garcia Ballester and Rubio Vela are at their most speculative when attempting to explain the increasing pressure for medical supervision.They see it, first, as a "Christianization" of Valencian society and medicine: they interpret it, broadly speaking, as part of a process in which the Church tried to define the system of education most appropriate for medical practitioners.They also stress the royal interest in medical regulation.They point to Jaume II's personal preoccupation with matters medical, and to the political interests of the crown in asserting the royal prerogative.They also point to Valencia's particular reputation for excellence in medical learning and practice.While this study deals primarily with medical licensing in Valencia, the authors make frequent illuminating comparisons with Sicily, Montpellier, Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon.Indeed, as they are aware, their findings may be more generally true for much of Western Europe at this time.However, a good deal of research in the northern archives would be required to substantiate this fascinating suggestion.On closing this book the reader is left with a series of tantalizing questions to ponder.For instance, what was the precise nature of a medical examination?Did anybody ever fail?What did it mean to "pass" such a test?Also, if-as the authors claim (p.34)-licensing was not a necessary prerequisite to practise medicine, then what were the specific circumstances within which licences were granted?But no matter: the excellence and interest of the scholarship presented here is such as we have come to expect from its authors.Nobody will be disappointed with this suggestive and provoking piece of research.