P.J. (Patrick) Outhwaite, Dr

Licensing ‘Lechecraft’: Medical Regulation and Patient Scepticism in Late-Medieval England (2024-2029) (VENI-project NWO)

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a reported increase in patient scepticism and distrust of trained, licensed medical professionals. While it may seem like medical professionals are facing a uniquely modern challenge in regaining the trust of patients, there in fact is a precedent in the later Middle Ages. In late-medieval England, many patients rejected authorised practitioners, instead preferring untrained and unsanctioned healers. Initial attempts at regulation failed and consequently medical authorities had to devise new ways to gain the trust of patients. Instead of dominant practice, in which practitioners would dictate treatments and dismiss patient scepticism outright, medieval healers were advised to engage in a dialogue with their patients and give them an active role in choosing their treatments.

This project will discover why patients in England were sceptical of professional healers and how medical authorities attempted to regain patient trust. Investigating these questions presents a problem, as there is an incomplete and fragmented record of official legislative documentation about the regulation of medicine in England. To tackle this lack of official documents, this project analyses unexplored manuscripts owned by medical practitioners, together with sources that are not traditionally used in the history of medicine, such as literary texts and legal documents. Combining sources and methods from the medical humanities alongside literary and legal studies, this interdisciplinary study exposes the ways in which literary and manuscript analysis can reconstruct narratives thought to be irretrievable.