Noblewomen and the Holy Cadaver: FEMale Agency, EXPertise and Networks in Catholic Europe (Late 17th and 18th Centuries)

Objective

It is widely acknowledged by historians that women played substantial roles in the history of science and medicine. However, it remains a difficult subject to study, since early modern women practiced science and medicine in contexts that are largely informal. FEMEXP aims to analyze one of these contexts in which the role of women had not yet been recognized: the assessment of the miracle of the incorruptibility of the corpses of prospected saints. Since the late Middle Ages, the incorruptibility of the body was one of the most important signs of sanctity. The body allegedly remained incorrupt for days after death, astonishing the crowds who saw this as proof of the deceased’s sanctity. Starting from the first half of the 17th century the presence of medical experts in beatification and canonization processes was mandatory to assess the incorruptibility of the corpse of the prospected saint. They were tasked with verifying the state of the cadaver through painstaking observation and palpation of the parts most subject to rotting and drying. Specifically, they had to check body’s integrity, the softness and the treatability of the fleshy parts, and finally, they had to ensure that there were no signs of previous embalming. However, starting from the late 17th century, a new figure appeared in the legal framework of beatification and canonization processes: the noblewoman. Three to five noblewomen were left alone in a room with the female corpse of the prospected saint, to examine the parts that were covered by clothes, which medical experts were no longer allowed to observe and touch for reasons of modesty and decency. Finally, each noblewoman meticulously described the result of the examination to the notary. Who were these noblewomen? What education did they have? FEMEXP will contribute to the history of women in medicine and it will shed light on early modern noblewomen's social networks.