Artifacts and Archives/ Archives et artefacts de la pratique médicale: Early Modern English Medical Wills, Book Ownership, and Book Culture

The last wills and testaments of early modern English medical practitioners have been undervalued as a primary source for their contribution to historical knowledge of book ownership and culture. Many of these wills, primarily those of physicians, contain multiple references to specific book titles and serve as an indicator of the intellectual climate among a university-educated professional class. It is precisely the type of information contained within the wills which is often unavailable elsewhere due to losses of relevant documentation and the relative dearth of sixteenth-century book catalogues. Rather than viewing the last will as a supplementary genealogical source document, understanding its historical usefulness necessitates a change in attitude. As a source, the will provides unique personal, educational, financial, and intellectual information that would be difficult to locate otherwise. When used in conjunction with other sources, for example, the Alumni Oxonienses or Alumni Cantabrigienses, last wills and testaments provide evidence of a medical or intellectual circle that often began at university and continued during private practice. The bestowing of gifts, remembrance, and bequests upon fellow physicians illustrates this aspect of medical life. Within this context, the specific gifts of books to friends, family, and associates demonstrate the relative importance and value of an educated book culture in late sixteenth-century England.