Guillemete du Luys (fl. 1479)

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Guillemete du Luys (fl. 1479)

French physician. Flourished in 1479 in Paris.

Very few facts are known about Guillemete du Luys' life. She was a surgeon of Paris who gained widespread admiration and respect for her skills. She was not, however, university trained, for the masters of medicine at the University of Paris did not allow women to study or take degrees there. Guillemete managed to succeed despite the restrictions placed on women healers, and eventually her fame won her the position of royal surgeon in the household of King Louis XI. She also owned a bathhouse featuring medicinal baths which was frequented by many members of the French court.

Laura York , Riverside, California

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