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Social History of Medicine 1999 12(1):3-18; doi:10.1093/shm/12.1.3
© 1999 by Society for the Social History of Medicine
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SSHM PRIZE ESSAY

How to Read Simon Forman's Casebooks: Medicine, Astrology, and Gender in Elizabethan London

LAUREN KASSEL

* Pembroke College Cambridge, UK.

Simon Forman's astrological casebooks record thousands of medical consultations. Amidst the wealth of information in these documents, however, it is unclear to what extent Forman relied on the stars for diagnoses and therapies, or how the casebooks reflect the dynamic between Forman and his clients. This article attempts to answer these questions by reading the casebooks alongside Forman's guide to astrological physic. This approach reveals that astrology was paramount in Forman's evaluations and treatments of his patients. According to Forman, in order for him to effect a cure, he had to be trusted. It was particularly difficult to treat women because their health depended on the state of their wombs, and on their sexual activity, subjects about which women were notoriously duplicitous. The task of the astrologer was first to assess whether or not a woman was sexually active, and only then could he make a judgement about her disease. At the same time, in demonstrating an ability to discern whether or not she was being honest about her sexual activities, Forman won her confidence. By accounting for the role of astrology and the dynamics between the patient and the physician, this article provides the framework within which to read one of the most comprehensive records of medical practices in early modern England.

Keywords: astrology; casebooks; early modern; gender; medicine; Simon Forman; women


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