Born: Unknown, Unknown
Died: Unknown
Country most active: Spain
Also known as: Unknown
Records have been found for five women (four Jews and one Christian) licensed to practice medicine in Catalonia:
Floreta of Santa Coloma, de Queralt, widow of Jucef Ça-Noga, whose license was granted in Barcelona on 20 January 1374, ‘in arte medicine.’ It stated that she possessed ‘sufficient aptitude’ to practice. She was a doctor to Leonor de Sicilia, the third wife of Pedro del Punyalet.
Two Jewish women were licensed in Zaragosa: Bellayne, widow of Samuel Gallipapa and mother of Jehuda Gallipapa, Jews of Lérida, received her license on 10 September 1380. Na Pla, wife of Jehuda Gallipapa (presumably Bellayne’s daughter-in-law), was granted her license on 5 March 1387.
Juana, wife of Arnaldo Sarrovira, citizen of Barcelona, native of Calda de Montbuy, was a Christian who received her license on 25 May 1384.
Dolcich, wife of Maymo Gallipapa, from Leyda, received her license on 28 August 1384.
Source: Women and the Practice of Medical Care in Early Modern Europe, 1400-1800, by Leigh Ann Whaley, 2011.
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
In 1374, Floreta Sanoga of Santa Coloma de Queralt, wife of Jucef Sanoga, a Jewish physician, was issued the license in arte Medicine (propter tuam industriam et longam praticam in arte medicine [possitis] uti per quevis loca regnorum et terrarum nostrarum) by Peter IV of Aragon (Pere III el Cerimoniós), to practice throughout the Crown of Aragon. She had been already taking care of the third wife of the King, Eleanor of Sicily, and later became the doctor of Sibilla de Fortià, the fourth wife of the monarch. Royal treasury records prove that she was paid above the typical fees, suggesting she was highly respected and valued by the queen.