Laurette de St. Valery (fl. 1200)
Laurette de St. Valery (fl. 1200)
French noblewoman and healer. Flourished in 1200, in Amiens, France; married Aléaume de Fontaines, of the petty nobility (died 1205).
Laurette de St. Valery was a woman of the lower nobility of Amiens, in northwestern France, who became a doctor. She married Aléaume de Fontaines. In 1202, after some years of marriage, her husband left her to join the Fourth Crusade; he died three years later in Constantinople. The widow Laurette spent the rest of her life learning medicine and practicing among the poor for free. She was a devout woman and believed that she could best serve God by serving the physical needs of the poor. For her charity and medical skills, she gained the respect and admiration of the people of Amiens and the surrounding area.
sources:
LaBarge, Margaret. A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
Laura York , Riverside, California