Trotula was an Italian lady doctor of the 11. or 12. Century of the school of Salerno, whose name is used synonymously with their work.

The identity of the authoress is not confirmable and object of different speculations. The names Trotula di Ruggerio and Trota von Salerno are attributed to the authoress.

After Salvatore Renzi was it the Mrs. von Johannes Platearius, which was likewise a physician. Its two sons, Matthias and Johannes the younger one, became than medical authors admit. After Gilmore & Greenfield (see Lit.) the lady doctor in truth Trota (Trotula would be the name of their work), well-known as Trotula, was called, and her affiliation to the family Ruggiero is evenly as few occupied as their marriage with Platearius.

Trotula was as a practical lady doctor member of the faculty of Salerno. It wrote several papers over medical practice and worked together with their man and its sons on the medical encyclopedia Practica Brevis. In the main text of the school by Salerno, De Aegritudinum Curatione from that 12. , Texts of the seven large masters are contained century, among them also of the school Trotulas teachings.

Hauptwerk: Passionibus Mulierum Curandorum

The most important work Trotulas was Passionibus Mulierum Curandorum (also as Trotula major well-known), a paper over and woman diseases. Ornatu Mulierum (Trotula Minor), a writing over skin diseases and Kosmetika, was later inserted in the Trotula major.

Trotula stressed, cleanliness, balanced nutrition and physical manipulation for women are as important and warn at the same time of stress and unrest. Like Hildegard of being gene she works with simple, also means and prescriptions affordable for members of the simple people.

In the introduction Trotula writes over the inhibitions of the women to speak with a male physician about complaints of its reproduction and Sexualorgane. Their writings witness from amazingly progressive knowledge. Thus she knew for example about the connection of and female Unfruchtbarkeit. With irregular Menstruation assumes she lack nutrition, an illness or psychological stress (grief, annoyance, excitement or fear) as a cause. Their explanation for strong bleedings however depend on the theories of Galenus and Hippokrates about the Galle.

Trotula wrote also over birth control and Unfruchtbarkeit. It knew the fruitful and unfruchtbaren days during the female cycle and recommended to its female patients abstention SAMness and/or sexual activities on certain days, depending on whether they had a child desire or not. Contrary to other contemporary physicians she saw Unfruchtbarkeit not than purely female problem, but stressed that often the married man would have in this connection difficulties.

In the chapter concerning the birth assistance it - from today's viewpoint - gives likewise very progressive instructions. Thus it recommends a supporting of the dam for the avoidance of a dam tear during blowing. Taken place nevertheless an intestine tear, this is to be together-sewn "“with a silk thread in three to four passes"”. Also it gives detailed references to the prevention of difficult births and damage to the midwives during the birth.

Also over the baby care Trotula expresses itself. It recommends to stimulate with newborn face and ears with Massagen. It enumerates criteria, which are to be considered with the choice of the correct Amme. Pain-satisfying lotions and other Tipps and cheat when teething are likewise described like general-medical references with lice, worms, toothache, complaints of the eyes, cancer, and predominance.

The Passionibus Mulierum after Trotulas death

To in 16. Century was considered to Trotulas Passionibus Mulierum at the medical faculties of Europe as standard work. Besides their writings changed also into the people medicine, and legends began to circulate over their person.

The Trotula major was often copied, and many Kopisten took themselves the liberty in each case to insert own changes and ideas into the texts. Others publication Trotulas work under another title and the own name. Individual chapters were transferred into other works. In 13. Century shortened another lady doctor from Salerno the manuscript and made substantial changes at contents. With some copies their name was mutilated to "“Trottola"”, "“Tortola"” or the male "“Trottus"”. Already in 12. Century copies of the Passionibus Mulierum under the name of its man, Johannes Platearius appeared.

1544 appeared in Strasbourg the first printed expenditure of the Passionibus Mulierum, which contained also some scientific papers on Hildegard of being gene. 1554 published Victorius Faventius a further expenditure, to which he had attached some own inventions. 1566 published Kaspar Wolff in Basel a further expenditure of the Trotula major, which he however the Roman family doctor Julias, which attributed daughter of emperor Augustus, Eros Juliae. Eros Juliae had likewise written a text over woman medicine and skin care, what probably confounded Wolff with the available writings Trotulas. Some other publishers took over this version of the Passionibus Mulierum, other one again attributed it to the Roman physician Erotian, which had published even comments to the hippokratischen Although the allocation of the Passionibus Mulierum to these two authors not possibly to be correct could do (many of the authors quoted by Trotula lived for a long time after Erotian or Eros Juliae), became this error of medicine historians 19. Century as "“voucher"” of their thesis it uses that Trotula can not possibly have lived and its writings in reality came from a man.

The question about the existence Trotulas and the authenticity of their texts

Although it around the person Trotulas between that 11. and that 19. Century some confusion and legends gave, its author shank of the Passionibus Mulierum was not scientifically denied on the whole.

Only Karl Sudhoff, a medicine historian early 20. Century, the theory set up the fact that the Mrs., who at the school of Salerno studied and had informed had not been in reality lady doctors, but only midwives and nurses. According to this logic they could have written also no papers. Since Passionibus Mulierum instructions for surgical interferences contains and besides the main area of the midwives, whom normal birth assistance touches, only at the edge, can not possibly come the text according to Sudhoff from a woman.

A further historian, Charles Singer, did not represent the interesting thesis, Passionibus Mulierum is in truth writing, but pornography. The author, a physician named Trottus, would have given her a woman name, in order to stress their erotischen character.

Main argument of Sudhoff, Singer and other historians, why Passionibus Mulierum could not come from a woman, was the open way, in which in the text about and sex diseases is spoken. In particular chapter 15, "“method, to narrow the Vulva so that a seduced woman can be regarded as a virgin"”, seems the historians to have extraordinarily shocked.

Although the existence and author shank of the Trotula can not certainly be proven by Salerno, nevertheless some speaks for it. So female scholars were although relatively rarely, so nevertheless fully accepted members of the academic community in Italy of the Middle Ages. If Trotula lived, then it would have been recognized in Salerno as capacity in the area of the woman medicine and as Dozentin. Italian medicine historians have the authenticity Trotulas and/or the existence of female students and lecturer at the medical faculty of Salerno in the 11. and 12. Century never doubts.

In a science-sociological sense the controversy over the existence Trotulas is an early example of the Matilda effect, which leads to the systematic displacement of the contribution from scientist inside to the research.

Literature

• David D. Gilmore and Monica Greenfield: The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium OF Women's Medicine., Pennsylvania University press, 2001. ISBN 0-812-235-894
• Monica H. Green: The Trotula - at English translation OF the Medieval Compendium OF Women's Medicine., University OF Philadelpha press, 2001. ISBN 0-812-1808-6
• Margaret Alic: Hypatias of daughters. Union publishing house, 2000. ISBN 3-293-001-165

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