Healing hands, hidden names: the forgotten women of medieval surgery in France

Agathe Yvinou ^1,2, Romain Alain ^3,4, Andonirina Rantoanina ^4,5

⁰Department of orthopaedics and traumatology, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Brest, Brest, France. agathe.yvinou@gmail.com.

International Orthopaedics +

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August 23, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Medieval French women faced increasing marginalization in surgical practice as the profession became formalized and male-dominated. Guild regulations and linguistic shifts gradually excluded them, despite historical presence in medical roles.

Area Of Science

Medical History
Gender Studies
Sociology of Professions

Background

Women historically occupied various medical roles in medieval France, including barbers and "miresses."
The formalization of surgery as a profession led to a decline in women's visibility and participation.
Guild records, tax rolls, and legal texts offer insights into medieval medical practices and gender roles.

Purpose Of The Study

To explore the marginalization of women in medieval French surgical practice.
To analyze the impact of guild regulations and linguistic shifts on women's professional recognition.
To examine the gendered dynamics underlying the professionalization of surgery.

Main Methods

Prosopographical analysis of guild records, tax rolls, and legal texts.
Examination of documents such as the Livre de la Taille and Livre des Métiers.
Case study analysis, including the trial of Perette la Pétone in 1410.

Main Results

Linguistic shifts and guild regulations gradually excluded women from professional surgical recognition.
The trial of Perette la Pétone exemplifies the transition from informal acceptance to institutional rejection of women in surgery.
While some women, particularly widows, retained workshop privileges, the overall trend indicated tightening gender boundaries in the medical field.

Conclusions

Prosopography can illuminate structural changes in professional identity within medieval medical history.
The study reveals the gendered dynamics that shaped the professionalization of surgery.
Medieval medical history demonstrates a pattern of institutional exclusion based on gender, impacting women's professional roles.

Keywords:

Earlymodern france Guild history Medical historiography Prosopography Women surgeons

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