Graduate Student, School of Historical Studies
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Dr. Thomas Rütten
Prof. Tony Spawforth |
About
My thesis will focus on the key professional exchanges of Antoine Vallot; Chief Physician to Louis XIV of France from 1652 to 1671. Following his appointment to this position, Vallot immediately began to write a meticulous annual record of his royal patient’s health which is known today as the Journal de la santé de Louis XIV. Unlike his professional successors (Antoine d’Aquin and Guy-Crescent Fagon) who used the Journal to record the king’s health almost exclusively, Vallot frequently used his entries as an opportunity to both chronicle his encounters with courtiers and medical colleagues, and expound upon his opinions of the prevalent medical discourse of his day. With the help of archival sources and a wealth of contemporary literature, my thesis will attempt to flesh out Vallot’s exchanges by examining them within their medical, social and political contexts. In doing so, the aim is not just to rescue this fascinating yet little-known physician from relative obscurity, but more importantly to explore the many ways in which the role of the Chief Physician can contribute to our understanding of medicine in the early modern period.
Contact Information
| Homepage: | http://www.ncl.ac.uk/historical/postgrad/research/ |
| Address: | School of Historical Studies |
