Antoine Vallot (born in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

in 1594 or 1595; died on 9 August 1671 at the Royal Garden in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French medical doctor. He was First Physician to King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. Antoine Vallot had succeeded François Vautier, or Vaultier, as the king's first physician. Antoine d'Aquin succeeded him in 1672.

Biography

Doctor in Paris

Vallot was a doctor of the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier. Very active and bold in the practice of medicine, he moved to settle in Paris and quickly became a sought-after doctor for the great figures of the time. Vallot became the physician of Queen Anne of Austria. In 1647 King

was treated of smallpox which marked the beginning of his career in the Royal Garden. He was then considered the most skillful court physician. When Vautier (or Vaultier) died on July 4, 1652, he was appointed to replace him in the office of first physician to the king.

First physician to the king

Vallot tells in the ''King's Health Journal'' his appointment as first physician to the king: "On Sunday, the eighth of July, one thousand six hundred and fifty-two, the king being at Saint-Denis with his army, did me the favor, after the death of M. Vaultier, to receive me in charge of first physician, having sent for me two days before from Paris, to serve his Majesty in this dignity. My letters were dispatched on the eighth of the same month, and the next day I took an oath of fidelity between the hands of His said Majesty, with a protest to employ all the lights that God has given me, all the experiences that I have acquired by long work and continual application to medicine for the space of twenty-eight years, and my own life for the preservation of such a precious life. Having received this honor by the grace of God". Guy Patin accused Antoine Vallot of obtaining this appointment by paying 3,000 livres to

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

. In 1658, he had the opportunity to treat the king's illness in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, where his qualities as a medical practitioner shone and where he cured the king by prescribing

emetic Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, preg ...

wine, an antimony preparation. Vallot, like Vaultier and the doctors of the faculty of Montpellier, was in favor of chemical medicine, while Guy Patin and the doctors of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris were in favor of galenic medicine. He was blamed for the death of

Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria of France ( French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until his execution on 30 January 1649. She was ...

in 1669, wife of King Charles I and daughter of Henry IV after prescribing her too many

opiates An opiate is an alkaloid substance derived from opium (or poppy straw). It differs from the similar term ''opioid'' in that the latter is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain ( ...

of which she overdosed on. Antoine Vallot

Superintendent of the King's Garden

As first physician to the king, Vallot was in charge of the

Jardin du Roi The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...

, in

. But it happened that when Vaultier died, the imbroglio of superintendent of the King's Garden had not yet been settled.

Publications

Vallot, d'Aquin, Fagon - ''Health journal of King Louis XIV from the year 1647 to the year 1711, with introduction, notes, critical reflections and supporting documents by JA Le Roi'' - Paris - Auguste Durand, editor - 1862

External links

* National Archives - King's Garden - Superintendents: Antoine Vallot *Persée: François Lebrun - Doctors and empirics at the court of Louis XIV - History, economy and society - 1984 - Volume 3

References

{{Authority control 1590s births 1671 deaths People from Provence (French province) 17th-century French physicians People from Arles Court physicians