'Six Hundred Miseries': The Seventeenth Century Womb : Book 15 of the 'Practice of Physick'Lazare Riviere (called Lazarus Riverius in Latin), born in 1589, practiced medicine in Montpellier, France, and eventually became physician to the French king. He wrote 17 books, each covering the diseases of a separate part of the body, and his collected works were published in Latin in 1655 in a single volume, The Practice of Physick. There were many subsequent editions, including several editions of the English translation by the famous London herbalist Nicholas Culpeper. Riviere's Book 15, Of the Diseases of Women, gives a good insight into the way 17th century medicine was practised, with its great emphasis on the regulation of the 'humours' by the use of herbal and other natural remedies. It also provides a marvellous view of the miseries which most medieval women, rich and poor, would have had to suffer during the ordeals of pregnancy and childbirth at that time. This is one of the first textbooks of obstetrics and gynaecology ever to be translated from Latin into English. Enough of the original text is retained to convey the flavour of the work, repetition and verbosity has been ruthlessly removed and the technical jargon has been translated into simple modern terms. The text is thus accessible to both the medical and the general reader. |
Contents
Herbs and humours in the 17th century | 1 |
Of Womens Diseases | 43 |
Of the Green Sickness | 45 |
Of the Stoppage of the Terms | 49 |
Of the Immoderate Flux of the Courses | 55 |
Of the Whites | 59 |
Of Madness of the Womb | 64 |
Of the MotherFits or Womb Sickness | 68 |
Of the Falling down of the Womb | 94 |
Of the Womb Shut Up | 98 |
Of Barrenness | 100 |
Of Diseases of Women with Child | 107 |
Of Abortion or Miscarriage | 110 |
Of Hard ChildBirth | 116 |
Of a Dead Child | 121 |
Of the AfterBirth Retained | 124 |
Of Inflammation of the Womb | 77 |
Of an Ulcer of the Womb | 81 |
Of a Schirrus of the Womb | 85 |
Of a Cancer of the Womb | 87 |
Of Mortification and Blasting of the Womb | 89 |
Of the Wombs Swelling by Wind or Water | 91 |
Glossary of herbs used by Rivière | 139 |
Glossary of medical and pharmaceutical terms used by Rivière | 184 |
Glossary of animal products used by Rivière | 201 |
Bibliography | 214 |
Common terms and phrases
17th century abortion according applied become belly bleeding blood body boiled Book breath bring called cause CHAPTER child cold comes common condition contained Culpeper cure dangerous dead decoction discharge disease dram draw dried drink easily effect especially excessive fall fever fits flow flowers fluid flux give given Greek hand hard head heat herb herbal herbalists Hippocrates humours imported increase inflammation juice known labour leaves medicine menstrual mixed mother mouth natural neck opened ounce pain patient periods physicians plant Plantain poisonous powder pregnancy prevent produced purgations purging quantity recommended remedies retained Rivière roots rose seed sickness signs skin sometimes stones stop sweet swelling symptoms Take taken term things treat Treatment tree ulcer urine usually vapours various veins vessels whole body wind wine woman womb women
Bibliographic information
| Title | 'Six Hundred Miseries': The Seventeenth Century Womb : Book 15 of the 'Practice of Physick' |
| Author | Lazare Rivière |
| Editor | John Lloyd Burton |
| Translated by | Nicholas Culpeper |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | RCOG, 2005 |
| ISBN | 1904752136, 9781904752134 |
| Length | 216 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |