Jacqueline Felice de Almania
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Felice de Almania, (in Italian: Jacobina Félicie), was an Italian physician
active in Paris
, France
.
Jacobina Félicie was reportedly from Florence
in Italy, and was active as a medical doctor in Paris in 1322. She belonged to the minority of licensed female doctors of her time period; in 1292, there were eight female doctors registered in Paris. In 1322 however, Jacobina Félicie was put on trial for unlawful practice. During the trial many testimonies were given where she was said to have cured patients where other doctors had failed and given up hope of the patient's recovery, and according to one witness, she was reputed to be a better medical doctor and surgeon than any of the French doctors in Paris. Despite the testimonies that she was able to cure people the male doctors had given up on, the court reasoned that it was obvious that a man could understand the subject of medicine better than a woman because of his gender. She was banned from practising medicine and threatened with excommunication if she ever did so again. This decision is considered to have banned women from academic study in medicine in France and obtaining licenses until the 19th-century.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
active in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Jacobina Félicie was reportedly from Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in Italy, and was active as a medical doctor in Paris in 1322. She belonged to the minority of licensed female doctors of her time period; in 1292, there were eight female doctors registered in Paris. In 1322 however, Jacobina Félicie was put on trial for unlawful practice. During the trial many testimonies were given where she was said to have cured patients where other doctors had failed and given up hope of the patient's recovery, and according to one witness, she was reputed to be a better medical doctor and surgeon than any of the French doctors in Paris. Despite the testimonies that she was able to cure people the male doctors had given up on, the court reasoned that it was obvious that a man could understand the subject of medicine better than a woman because of his gender. She was banned from practising medicine and threatened with excommunication if she ever did so again. This decision is considered to have banned women from academic study in medicine in France and obtaining licenses until the 19th-century.