Delivering Knowledge: Jewish Midwives and Hidden Healing in Early Modern Europe (Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture) - Softcover

Jordan R. Katz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1503646394 ISBN 13: 9781503646391

Publisher: Stanford University Press, 2026

Synopsis

This book offers a new perspective on the history of early modern Jewish communities by centering the experiences of Jewish midwives. In the wake of the Thirty Years' War, as cities and towns across northern and central Europe placed new emphasis on the regulation of healthcare and childbirth, Jewish midwives stood at the crossroads of tremendous changes in both Jewish communities and the surrounding Christian municipalities. Drawing on previously untapped archival sources, Jordan Katz reveals that Jewish midwives were integral to the expansion of medical bureaucracies, crossing boundaries between genders, between religious communities, and across classes through their work caring for pregnant women and newborn babies.   Grounded in rich historical evidence, the book shows how a focus on Jewish midwives illuminates the complex relationships between Jewish communities and local municipalities, showcasing a level of engagement between Jews and Christian civic authorities that has gone unstudied. Through the lens of midwives, this book opens up new understandings of Jewish communal history, the history of women's healing practices, Jewish-Christian relations, and cultures of record in the early modern period.

About this title

About the Author

Jordan R. Katz is Assistant Professor in the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Edition details

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1503646394
• ISBN 13: 9781503646391
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288