Solicita and Matilda Ford

Solicita and Matilda Ford (fl. c. 1200) are the earliest known English women doctors by 150 years.[1] They were Anglo-Norman sisters who practiced medicine in the small settlement of Ford, Herefordshire, England, in the late twelfth century with their brother John.[2] This indicates that medical training was shared within families. Both Solicita and Matilda Ford were designated with the Latin term, medica, distinguishing them from John who was termed a medicus.[2] These titles identifies them as practicing physicians indicating training.[3] They are known from charters confirming their brother John's grant of land to Leominster Priory in the late twelfth century. [4] Leominster Priory supported a poor hospital and a leper hospital and several of its early benefactors were physicians.[4]

Solicita, who was married to William of Ford, confirmed John’s donation and donated her own hereditary lands to the almoner of Leominster.[4]

Solicita and Matilda Ford are among the only eleven women who were recorded in English medical roles over eight centuries.[5]

Social and Financial Standing

Solicita, Matilda, and their brother John had considerable wealth from operating as independent tradespeople. [3] This prosperity appears in records of property transfer and indicates their presence in the middle levels of society.[3] Matilda, who does not mention a husband, confirmed her charter with her own seal.[2] Personal seals were marks legal authority and independent status, indicating a social and financial standing.

References

  1. ^ Kealey, Edward J.; Walton, Michael T. (1985). "Notes and Events: England's Earliest Women Doctors". Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 40 (4): 473–484. doi:10.1093/jhmas/40.4.473. ISSN 0022-5045. JSTOR 24633766. PMID 3905951.
  2. ^ a b c Getz, Faye (2004). "Women medical practitioners in England (act. c. 1200–c. 1475), physician". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/54437. Retrieved 2023-11-29. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b c Whaley, L. Women and the Practice of Medical Care in Early Modern Europe, 1400–1800. 2011. p. 20.
  4. ^ a b c Kealey (1985), pp. 474–6.
  5. ^ Green, Monica (1989). "Women's Medical Practice and Health Care in Medieval Europe". Signs. 14 (3): 434–473 – via JSTOR.
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