Midwife to the Queen of France – Diverse Observations

This edition makes an excellent contribution to scholarship on midwife Louise Bourgeois, who provides an incisive eyewitness account of a turbulent period in early modern France and a rare female perspective on the city of Paris from the “poorest she” to the world of the court. Alison Klairmont Lingo’s introduction, supporting notes, and medical glossary offer precious apparatuses for the presentation and interpretation of the text. Stephanie O’Hara’s translation demonstrates mastery of the scientific, technical, and colloquial vocabularies of the period, capturing the spirit of Bourgeois’s words while making them widely accessible.—Susan BroomhallDirector, Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, The University of Western Australia

• Illustrations xvAcknowledgments xviiEditor’s Introduction, by Alison Klairmont Lingo 1The Writings 1Life and Times 30Reception and Afterlife 47Louise Bourgeois’s Approach to Health and Disease 58Translator’s Introduction, by Stephanie O’Hara 67Translating an Early Modern Medical Text: Theory and Practice 67French Editions of Observations diverses 72The Compleat Midwifes Practice (1656) versus Observations diverses 73A Note on the Text 76Diverse ObservationsVolume 1 79Volume 2 187Glossary of Materia Medica, by Alison Klairmont Lingo 313Chronology 389Appendices 393A. Sonnet to Madame Concini, Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen 393B. Examples of Gynecological and Obstetrical Instruments and Devices 395C. Birthing Scenes and Related Images 399Bibliography 403Index 433