Maria Jansson, known in history as ''Kisamor �ɕiːsaˌmuːr' (English: The Mother of Kisa) (30 July 1788 – 27 February 1842), was a Swedish natural

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

, one of the most notable and well-known of 19th-century physicians in Sweden. She is also a prominent example of a

cunning woman Cunning folk, also known as folk healers or wise folk, were practitioners of folk medicine, helpful folk magic and divination in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 20th century. Their practices were known as the cunning craft. Their services ...

in her country. The nickname Kisamor stems from the place where she worked.

Biography

Born in Kvarntorp,

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

, to a father known as Läke-Jan, a healer in natural medicine. Her mother died of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

when Maria Jansson was six years old. Her father Läke-Jan was not keen on his daughter following in his footsteps to become a healer, due to the fact that she was

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

. Despite her father, Maria Jansson learn to heal in secret and became increasingly called upon to heal people in need. At the age of 19, her father married her off to a farmer, Anders Olsson, in 1807. It was an unhappy marriage from the onset, but Maria Jansson would travel a lot to heal those who were ill, and earned a reputation as a skilled female healer. She gave birth to two daughters, Brita Stina in 1809 and Stina Kajsa in 1811, but both died before turning a year old. She

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

d her husband in 1819. By that time, she functioned as a doctor in natural medicine, and made a living visiting and nursing people. She was widely reputed, and called upon from far away. In 1814,Lindorm, Erik (Swedish): Carl XIV Johan - Carl XV och deras tid 1810-1872. En bokfilm (English:Charles XIV John - Charles XV and their time 1810-1872 (1979) she was given a home in

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

, Katrinebergs gård, as a gift by some rich female patients in recognition of successful treatment. She made house calls and visited the sick in their cottages. Sometimes, they came to her at an inn called Kisa, and thereby, she became known as Kisamor : "Mother from Kisa". She was described as temperamental and firm, and she is known to have enjoyed alcohol. Kisamor became famous for her skill, and people came to her from all over the country for consultation and treatment. She was called to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1824, 1825, 1826, 1840 and 1841. On one occasion, she was asked to the royal court to attend one of the female members of the royal family. Tradition says that she was to have been granted a medical license by in 1825 after having successfully treated the king and the

Crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

. This has been disputed, however, and the license is not completely confirmed. If it was a reality, she was quite unique, as the profession of a physician was formally barred to her gender in Sweden before 1870.

References

Sources

* Österberg, Carin et al., ''Svenska kvinnor: föregångare, nyskapare'' (Swedish women:Predecessors, pioneers). Lund: Signum 1990. () * http://art-bin.com/art/akisamo.html * Karl Henrik Tallmo: ''Kisamor: Läkarinna där vetenskapen knappt mer hoppas'' (Kisamor:Doctoress where science dare no longer hope9 (1972) * Pia Höjeberg: ''Kisamor'' (1990) * https://web.archive.org/web/20091003150847/http://www.edu.linkoping.se/lokalhistoria/oden/2002/maria_jaenson_kisamor.htm

External links

* http://art-bin.com/art/akisamen.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Kisamor 1788 births 1842 deaths 19th-century Swedish physicians Swedish physicians 19th-century Swedish people Cunning folk 19th-century Swedish women physicians People from Örebro

Biography

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links