AS.140.105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Valentine Greatrakes, Bloodletting, Social Capital
23 Jan 2017
School
Course
Professor
December 5, 2016
The Medial Maketplae ot’d & “uffees
1. Informal and Unauthorized Healing
2. Early Modern Regulation
3. Sufferers
1. Domestic practice is where almost healing still takes place (a lot of continuity) – caring for
ody as oded as lagely as oe’s ok
a. Least well documented part of practice
b. A lot medical recipes were attributed to men, and men practiced domestic medicine
as well
c. These practitioners shade in and out of domestic healing into more professional
work – ake a liig fo this ad thee’s a significant amount of work that they do
outside of the household as well
i. Herb women who collect medicinal herbs and sell them in commercial
markets – seen as experts by their communities
ii. Bathhouse attendants offer various therapeutics, including cupping, blood-
letting, and massages
d. Many practitioners received compensation in the form of social capital or an
increase in social standing rather than income
e. I disputes, uak as used as a deogatoy te y rivals, particularly those were
officially sanctioned – since this was a very lightly regulated system, medical
practitioners said this to attack their rivals on various grounds and to make good
cases for their own healing as better
f. Bonesetters were often executioners (hangmen) because they were used to
breaking up bodies and were thus thought to have insight into putting them back
together
g. Sally Mapp was a high-status and respectable bonesetter because she was an
incredibly successful female healer in England
i. She comes from a particularly important family of bonesetters
ii. She was attacked as a quack, and despite coming from a realm of informal
practice, does very well for herself
h. Charlatans made theatrical performances in order to sell their medicines and healing
practices (entertaining salesmanship)
i. Sometimes had licences from city governments to sell remedies
ii. But often, they were not authorized
iii. Itinerant practitioners, doing procedures for which there is not sufficient
demand in a particular place
i. A lot of people, including influential people, plaed geat faith i these uaks
even if they fell outside of the official hierarchy of medical practitioners
j. Valetie Geatakes The “toke claims to be able to heal what is called the
Kig’s Eil, hih is believed to only be healed by the touch of a king (important
religious healer in divine-ight oahies ho a hael god’s poe
i. He is the seventh son of a seventh son, and as such, it’s assumed that he had
religious healing power in the absence of a king (who was executed)
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