British Icons and Catholic perfidy--Anglo-Saxon historiography and the battle for Crimean War nursing.

Taking as its starting point Carr's view that historical narrative reflects the preoccupations of the time in which it is written and Foucault's concept of consensual historical discourse as the outcome of a social struggle in which the victor suppresses or at least diminishes contrary versions of historical events in favour of their own, this paper traces and discusses the historical narrative of British nursing in the Crimean war and, in particular, three competing narratives that have arisen in the latter half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st. These are the established narrative surrounding Florence Nightingale, the new narrative surrounding Mary Seacole and an Irish narrative surrounding the role of the Sisters of Mercy. It is argued that the increased vehemence of the debate surrounding these narratives is representative of the changes that have taken place in British society. However, we also argue that the Irish narrative and its critique are reflective of deep-rooted Anglo-Protestant attitudes articulated by Nightingale and uncritically accepted by subsequent historians even in modern British historiography.

A consistent course of events or a series of coincidences: nursing in Poland from the 19(th) to the 21(st) century.

The development of nursing began in Poland much later than it did elsewhere, for instance in the United Kingdom, the United States, or Germany, and it came up against difficult conditions. After a brief twenty-year period of development between 1918 and 1939, it almost stalled during the war (1939-45), only to be followed by nearly twenty years of chaos. Nursing started to come out of this difficult period at the beginning of the 1960s. The turn of the 21st century saw the emergence of extensive professional development and training opportunities for nurses. This change was brought about as much by political, social and economic issues, health care requirements, and the advancement of science, medicine, the birth of humanitarism, the growth of the feminist movement, the European Agreement on the Instruction and Education of Nurses, the WHO European Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery Education, the Bologna declaration, as well as the activities undertaken by the European Union, the International Council of Nurses, the American and Polish Red Cross, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Polish Association of Nurses, and the professional self-governing body. The transformation of nursing into an independent profession was further boosted by physicians deeply involved in the issue and female pioneers of nursing.

Medieval women's early involvement in manuscript production suggested by lapis lazuli identification in dental calculus.

During the European Middle Ages, the opening of long-distance Asian trade routes introduced exotic goods, including ultramarine, a brilliant blue pigment produced from lapis lazuli stone mined only in Afghanistan. Rare and as expensive as gold, this pigment transformed the European color palette, but little is known about its early trade or use. Here, we report the discovery of lapis lazuli pigment preserved in the dental calculus of a religious woman in Germany radiocarbon-dated to the 11th or early 12th century. The early use of this pigment by a religious woman challenges widespread assumptions about its limited availability in medieval Europe and the gendered production of illuminated texts.

Las epidemias de cólera en Estambul Otomano tardío, la atención médica y las Hermanas de la Caridad Católicas / Cholera epidemics in the late ottoman Istanbul, healthcare and the french catholic sisters of charity

This article is about the healthcare services provided by the Sisters of Charity (Filles de la Charité) during cholera epidemics in institutions opened and managed in nineteenth century Istanbul as part of their Eastern missions. The annuals in which reports and letters were collected and addressed to the center of the congregation in Paris, Annales de la Congrégation de la Mission et des Filles de la Charité (ACM), are used as primary sources. This study aims to evaluate the pandemies of cholera within the framework of world history and Ottoman context by contributing to the existing historical geographies of cholera, in addition to the literature, which accentuates the importance of agency of women in the Ottoman context, based on original findings. The article assesses how cholera affected Istanbul and how the disease was dealth with, through the connections between the sisters and local actors. The study also shows that the Ottoman example was not only a result of Western experiences, but although it was part of a wide history of pandemics, its actors had their own unique developments shaped by imperial and local settings and events.

Este artículo trata sobre los servicios de salud brindados por las Hermanas de la Caridad (Filles de la Charité) durante las epidemias de cólera en instituciones abiertas y administradas en el siglo XIX en Estambul como parte de sus misiones orientales. Los anuarios en los que se recopilaron informes y cartas y se dirigieron al centro de la congregación en París, Annales de la Congrégation de la Mission et des Filles de la Charité (ACM), se utilizan como fuentes primarias. Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar las pandemias de cólera en el marco de la historia mundial y el contexto otomano haciendo una contribución a las geografías históricas existentes del cólera, además de la literatura que acentúa la importancia de la agencia de las mujeres en el contexto otomano, con base en hallazgos originales. El artículo evalúa cómo afectó el cólera a Estambul y cómo se enfrentó la enfermedad, a través de las conexiones entre las hermanas y los actores locales. El estudio también muestra que el ejemplo otomano no fue solo el resultado de las experiencias occidentales, sino que, aunque fue parte de una amplia historia de pandemias, sus actores tuvieron sus propios desarrollos únicos moldeados por escenarios y eventos imperiales y locales.

[Maria Bandeira: a pioneering botanist at the Botanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro]. / Maria Bandeira: uma botânica pioneira no Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro.

This article sheds light on Maria Bandeira, the first female botanist to work at the Botanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro. She was active in the 1920s, but is absent from the historiography and little cited in the scientific literature. The significant number of plant, fungus, and lichen specimens she collected, her capacity to reach far-flung places, her extensive correspondence with foreign experts, and her studies at Sorbonne are all sources for the analysis of the way botany was practiced and the social networks at play in science at the time. The end of her scientific career, when she adopted a cloistered life with the Barefoot Carmelite nuns, can be interpreted variously, and partially explains why her contributions to Brazilian botany have been forgotten.

[Disease in the cloisters: requests to leave Convento da Ajuda, Rio de Janeiro, for the treatment of contagious diseases, c.1750-1780]. / A clausura enferma: petições para a saída do Convento da Ajuda no Rio de Janeiro para tratamento de doenças contagiosas, c.1750-1780.

This article discusses the requests submitted by nuns from Convento da Ajuda (Ajuda Convent) to leave their life of enclosure to receive treatment for contagious diseases. Disease was one of the few cases in which nuns were granted permission to leave. The female orders were strictly cloistered in order to preserve their purity as virgins consecrated to Christ. Extant documents detail the causes of the diseases, the ways they were transmitted, and the treatments used to fight them. These processes shed light on the procedures adopted outside the cloisters so that the nuns did not jeopardize their reclusion and honor when they went to distant places in search of treatment.

Ruminations on Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) and autism.

The article brings together contemporary research on autism spectrum disorder and historical sources concerning the medical condition of a 12th century nun, Hildegard of Bingen, to test two hypotheses: first, that Hildegard manifested disabilities that meet the criteria for autism spectrum disorder and, second, that medieval monasticism was unwittingly well-suited to treat Hildegard's condition. Abundant Hildegardian sources document traces of autism spectrum disorder behaviour in Hildegard's unusual childhood and the composite picture that emerges, when these individual traits are gathered together, is consistent with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. The role monasticism played in helping Hildegard overcome these behaviours is documented and aspects that monasticism shares with modern autism spectrum disorder treatment programs are identified. By recognizing the presence of autism spectrum disorder traits in a major cultural leader of another era and by identifying the type of life she lived while those traits were minimized, we gain insight into the history of autism, medieval monastic life and effective elements of autism spectrum disorder treatment.

The inquisitorial trial of a cross-dressing lesbian: reactions and responses to female homosexuality in 18th-century portugal.

This article analyzes the inquisitorial trial of Maria Duran, a Catalan novice in the Dominican convent of Nossa Senhora do Paraíso in Portugal. Maria Duran was arrested by the Inquisition in 1741 and, after a lengthy trial, condemned in 1744 to a public lashing and exile. She was suspected of having made a pact with the Devil and was accused by many female witnesses of possessing a "secret penis" that she had allegedly used in her amorous relations with fellow nuns and novices. Her voluminous trial dossier offers a rare and fascinating documentary insight into the often extreme reactions that female homosexuality provoked from both men and women in early modern Portugal. Using the evidence offered by the 18th-century trial of Maria Duran, this article highlights female bewilderment when faced with female-on-female sexual violence and the difficulty that men (in this case, churchmen) had coming to terms with the existence of female homosexuality. It also discusses the case in light of the acts/identity debate among historians of the history of sexuality.

Maria Bandeira: uma botânica pioneira no Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro / Maria Bandeira: a pioneering botanist at the Botanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro

Resumo Busca-se trazer à luz a trajetória de Maria Bandeira, primeira botânica do Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, que atuou na década de 1920, desconhecida na historiografia e pouco citada na literatura científica. O significativo número de espécimes de plantas, fungos e líquens por ela coletados, a expertise em alcançar locais de difícil acesso, a extensa correspondência com especialistas estrangeiros e sua ida para estudar na Sorbonne permitem analisar o “fazer botânica” e as redes de sociabilidades nas ciências à época. A interrupção da sua trajetória científica para ingresso na ordem das Carmelitas Descalças com clausura total possibilita interpretações diversas e explica, em parte, a causa do esquecimento de sua passagem pela botânica brasileira.

Abstract This article sheds light on Maria Bandeira, the first female botanist to work at the Botanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro. She was active in the 1920s, but is absent from the historiography and little cited in the scientific literature. The significant number of plant, fungus, and lichen specimens she collected, her capacity to reach far-flung places, her extensive correspondence with foreign experts, and her studies at Sorbonne are all sources for the analysis of the way botany was practiced and the social networks at play in science at the time. The end of her scientific career, when she adopted a cloistered life with the Barefoot Carmelite nuns, can be interpreted variously, and partially explains why her contributions to Brazilian botany have been forgotten.

A clausura enferma: petições para a saída do Convento da Ajuda no Rio de Janeiro para tratamento de doenças contagiosas, c. 1750-1780 / Disease in the cloisters: requests to leave Convento da Ajuda, Rio de Janeiro, for the treatment of contagious diseases, c. 1750-1780

Resumo O artigo discute os pedidos de freiras do Convento da Ajuda para deixar a clausura a fim de curar doenças contagiosas. O padecimento dessas doenças era considerado uma das poucas exceções para permitir a saída das freiras. As ordens femininas guardavam estritamente a clausura, condição necessária para manter o recato de virgens consagradas a Cristo. A documentação contém detalhes sobre as causas e as formas de transmissão das doenças, bem como sobre os tipos de tratamento para combatê-las. Por fim, os processos esclarecem os procedimentos adotados fora da clausura para as freiras não colocarem em risco o recolhimento e a honra, quando iam buscar em locais distantes o tratamento adequado para aquelas doenças.

Abstract This article discusses the requests submitted by nuns from Convento da Ajuda (Ajuda Convent) to leave their life of enclosure to receive treatment for contagious diseases. Disease was one of the few cases in which nuns were granted permission to leave. The female orders were strictly cloistered in order to preserve their purity as virgins consecrated to Christ. Extant documents detail the causes of the diseases, the ways they were transmitted, and the treatments used to fight them. These processes shed light on the procedures adopted outside the cloisters so that the nuns did not jeopardize their reclusion and honor when they went to distant places in search of treatment.