Sufferers and Healers: The Experience of Illness in Seventeenth-Century England PDF
Preview Sufferers and Healers: The Experience of Illness in Seventeenth-Century England
Routledge Revivals Sufferers and Healers Lucinda McCray Beier’s remarkable book, first published in 1987, enters the world of illness in seventeenth-century England, exploring what it was like to be either a sufferer or a healer. A wide spectrum of healers existed, ranging between the housewife, with her simple herbal preparations, local cunning- folk and bonestters, travelling healers, and formally accredited surgeons and physicians. Basing her study upon personal accounts written by sufferers and healers, Beier examines the range of healers and therapies available, describes the disorders people suffered from, and indicates the various ways sufferers dealt with their ailments. She includes several case-studies of healers and suf- ferers, and looks in detail at the ways in which women’s identities and duties were associated with childbirth, illness and healing. This title will be of interest to students of history. This page intentionally left blank Sufferers and Healers The Experience of Illness in Seventeenth-Century England Lucinda McCray Beier Firstpublishedin1987 byRoutledge&KeganPaulLtd Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2015byRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN andbyRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©1987LucinaMcCrayBeier The right of Lucinda McCray Beier to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and PatentsAct1988. All rightsreserved.No part ofthis bookmaybe reprintedor reproducedor utilisedin any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Publisher’sNote Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityofthisreprintbutpoints outthatsomeimperfectionsintheoriginalcopiesmaybeapparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondencefromthosetheyhavebeenunabletocontact. ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderLCcontrolnumber:87020771 ISBN13:978-1-138-18263-9(hbk) ISBN13:978-1-315-64621-3(ebk) S U F F E R E R S & H E A L E R S The experience of illness in Seventeenth-Century England LUCINDA McCRAY BEIER ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL LONDON AND NEW YORK First published in 1987 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Published in the USA by Routledge & Kegan Paul Inc. in association with Methuen Inc. 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Set in Bembo by Columns of Reading and printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay Ltd., Bungay, Suffolk (C) Lucinda McCray Beier 1987 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Beier, Lucinda McCray. Sufferers and healers. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Physician and patient - England - History - 17th century. 2. Medicine - England - History - 17th century. I. Title. R727.3.B43 1987 610'.941 87-20771 ISBN 0-7102-1053-1 British Library CIP Data also available ISBN 0-7102-1053-1 To Lee, with gratitude and love. This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 THE MEDICAL MARKETPLACE 8 3 A LONDON SURGEON’S CAREER: JOSEPH BINNS 51 4 THE PHYSICIAN’S TALE 97 5 SUFFERERS AND PATIENTS: THE DISEASES OF THE PEOPLE 133 6 SUFFERERS AND PATIENTS: APPROACHES TO ILLNESS 154 7 IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH: THE JOSSELINS’EXPERIENCE 182 8 THE CHARACTER OF A GOOD WOMAN: WOMEN AND ILLNESS 211 9 CONCLUSION: THE EXPERIENCE OF ILLNESS 242 ABBREVIATIONS 260 NOTES 262 BIBLIOGRAPHY 299 GLOSSARY 309 INDEX 311 N.B. In quotations from original sources, spelling and punctuation have been modernised and abbreviations and suspensions have been extended. Dates are given in new style, the year beginning on 1 January. vii
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