Research Article

Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate

Volume: 13 Number: 2 May 30, 2023
TR EN

Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate

Abstract

Objective: Within the scope of this study, it is aimed to evaluate the existence of Trotula, who is claimed to be the first female physician in Europe, as a historical personality and her role in the adventure of European Education History. Methods: A literature review was conducted on the subject using various databases including PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Library Genesis, Springer, Jstor Ebsco, ProQuest, and Social Sciences Index Retrospective between October 1, 2017, and May 01, 2021. Additionally, research was done in the libraries of London, Paris National Library, Oxford, and Glasgow universities. The studies on the works attributed to Trotula were evaluated, as well as the most prominent works on women's medicine from the XII. century, including the Liber de sinthomatibus mulierum, De curis mulierum, and De ornatu mulierum. Results: There is no clear information about whether a person named Trotula lived in Europe in the XII. century. However, in the light of available information, it is highly probable that a female healer named Trotula lived in Salerno. There are three works written in the fields of women's health and cosmetics entitled with Trotula Minor and Major, which are prepared by combining these works. Conclusion: Despite extensive research, no concrete evidence could be found to confirm the existence of a physician and writer named Trotula during the establishment of the first universities in Medieval Europe. Nevertheless, the books attributed to Trotula were widely circulated and served as an important source of knowledge in medieval European medicine.

Keywords

References

  1. 1. Hurd-Mead K. Trotula. Isis 1930;14(2):349-67.
  2. 2. Benton JF. Trotula, women's problems, and the professionalization of medicine in the middle ages. Bulletin of the History of Medicine 1985;59(1):30–53.
  3. 3. Prioreschi P. History of medicine volume V, medieval medicine. Omaha: Horatius Press; 2003.
  4. 4. Cavallo p, et al. The first cosmetic treatise of history. A female point of view. International Journal of Cosmetic Science 2008;30(2):79–86.
  5. 5. De Renzi S. Storia documentata della scuola medica di salerno. 2nd ed. Napoli: Nobile; 1857. 6. Green HM. In search of an "authentic" women's medicine: the strange fates of Trota of Salerno and Hildegard of Bingen. Dynamis 1999;19:25–54.
  6. 7. Walsh J. Old-Time makers of medicine. New York: Fordham University Press; 1911. pp:189-93.
  7. 8. Somerville LS. Rise and early constitution of universities, with a survey of mediaeval education. New York: D. Appleton and Company; 1887. pp: 87-92.
  8. 9. Terraris ZA, Ferraris VA. The women of Salerno: contribution to the origins of surgery from medieval Italy. Ann Thorac Surgery 1997;64(6):1855-57.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Clinical Sciences

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

May 30, 2023

Submission Date

January 19, 2023

Acceptance Date

April 11, 2023

Published in Issue

Year 2023 Volume: 13 Number: 2

APA
Gül, Ö. (2023). Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate. Lokman Hekim Dergisi, 13(2), 314-324. https://doi.org/10.31020/mutftd.1239225
AMA
1.Gül Ö. Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate. Lokman Hekim Dergisi. 2023;13(2):314-324. doi:10.31020/mutftd.1239225
Chicago
Gül, Özlem. 2023. “Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate”. Lokman Hekim Dergisi 13 (2): 314-24. https://doi.org/10.31020/mutftd.1239225.
EndNote
Gül Ö (May 1, 2023) Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate. Lokman Hekim Dergisi 13 2 314–324.
IEEE
[1]Ö. Gül, “Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate”, Lokman Hekim Dergisi, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 314–324, May 2023, doi: 10.31020/mutftd.1239225.
ISNAD
Gül, Özlem. “Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate”. Lokman Hekim Dergisi 13/2 (May 1, 2023): 314-324. https://doi.org/10.31020/mutftd.1239225.
JAMA
1.Gül Ö. Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate. Lokman Hekim Dergisi. 2023;13:314–324.
MLA
Gül, Özlem. “Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate”. Lokman Hekim Dergisi, vol. 13, no. 2, May 2023, pp. 314-2, doi:10.31020/mutftd.1239225.
Vancouver
1.Özlem Gül. Trotula, The First Female Physician of Europe: A Historiographical Debate. Lokman Hekim Dergisi. 2023 May 1;13(2):314-2. doi:10.31020/mutftd.1239225

                                                                                                                                  Creative Commons Lisansı                        
                                                                  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

  

                                    Periodical scientific publication of Mersin University School of Medicine. Can not be cited without referenceResponsibility of the articles belong to the authors

  Cover

Ayşegül Tuğuz

from composition of İlter Uzel named Dioscorides and his Student

Address

Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Tıp Tarihi ve Etik Anabilim Dalı Çiftlikköy Kampüsü

Yenişehir / Mersin