2016/08/01 by David Aubin
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis #Historical and Literary Studies #History of Science and Natural History
paper · doi:10.1177/0021828616660049
openalex publication_date 2016/08/01 · openalex created_date 2016/09/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
As the author of a manuscript defending the Copernican system in 1680, Jeanne Dumée is often cited among the few women who practised astronomy in early-modern France. However, her reputation is largely founded on a myth that was in place even before her work was available to the public. After her manuscript resurfaced at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, it took a long time for people to recognize that it hardly was original at all, a misunderstanding that is still leading some historians astray. In this paper, attempts are made to understand more about Dumée’s life and work, especially through a careful reading of her work and of her sources. It is argued that a careful rendering of Dumée’s voice may provide clues for a better understanding of astronomy’s place in early-modern women’s sociability.