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Guillemette du Luys

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Guillemette du Luys (fl. 1479), was a French surgeon in service of king Louis XI of France. She was one of two women to have served as royal physicians in France.

She is documented as a surgeon in service of the king in the year of 1479. She is described as in charge of the 'lower stews' (estuver... par dessoubs), and may have been active as a phlebotomist Her position was unusual for her sex. While there had been many female physicians in Paris in the 13th-century, news laws in England, France and Spain from the mid 14th-century had limited and restricted the existence of female medical practitioners, and Guillemette du Luys was reportedly the first female surgeon known in Paris since Perretta Petone, who was trialed for unlawful practice in 1410. She was further more the only contemporary female physician in France, except for Martinette, who was permitted to treat the poor of Dijon.

References

Guillemette du Luys Wikipedia