Description

First published in 2005. The first part of this book is an historical study of the Hebrew written production on women's healthcare and of Jewish women's lives and experiences regarding the care of their bodies during the late Middle Ages in the Mediterranean West. The aim is to restore value to feminine knowledge and practices that were significant then and remain so today. The second part presents an edition translated into English with commentary of the Hebrew compilation Sefer Ahavat Nashim, the Book of Women's Love. This was compiled in the late Middle Ages and is preserved in a single manuscript from Catalonia-Provence. Its contents are concerned with magic, sexuality, cosmetics, and gynecology - areas of knowledge essentially, though not exclusively, related to women. The author focuses on the relation between women and health care and examines both women's knowledge and knowledge about women. This pioneering work makes a valuable contribution to the history of Jewish culture and Jewish women during the Middle Ages, and also makes a substantial contribution to the history of medicine.