Donkey milk knowledge archive · Historical source

Fact check: did donkey milk come to France with King Francis I?

An often-told story: a Jewish physician from Constantinople is said to have prescribed donkey milk for King Francis I. The oldest versions we were able to check come from 19th-century reference works – not from the king’s time.

Historical account: The information reproduced here reflects the knowledge of its time. It is not scientifically substantiated, is not a recommendation and cannot be applied to today. Donkey milk is a food, not a remedy.
16th-c. legend, attested from 1827FranceLegend fact check
Author
François Noël (1755–1841) et al.; Pierre Larousse (1817–1875)
Work
Nouveau dictionnaire des origines (1827); Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle, vol. 1 (1866)
Passage
Noël, vol. 2 (1827), p. 9, art. “Lait d’ânesse”; Larousse, vol. 1, part 2, art. “Âne”, section III
Time & place
16th-c. legend, attested from 1827 · France
Type of source
Legend fact check

In the original words

What the original says

Ce lait n’est en réputation en France que depuis le règne de François Ier ; et voici comment on l’y a connu.

This milk has been esteemed in France only since the reign of Francis I; and this is how it became known there.

FrenchNoël 1827, vol. 2, p. 9

Le médecin juif arriva, et n’ordonna pour tout remède que du lait d’ânesse.

The Jewish physician arrived and prescribed donkey milk as the only remedy.

FrenchNoël 1827, vol. 2, p. 9

If we may credit the legend, the use of this milk was introduced into France during the reign of Francis I.

If the legend is to be believed, the use of this milk was introduced in France under Francis I.

EnglishPopular Science Monthly 22 (1883), p. 426

English rendering: our own translation by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team, following the sense of the text.

Background

Who, when, what kind of text

Francis I ruled France from 1515 to 1547 and maintained an alliance with Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Against this background, later authors tell how the weakened king sent for a famous Jewish physician from Constantinople, who prescribed only donkey milk; after that it became fashionable at court.

The story appears in popular 19th-century reference works that collected the “origins” of customs and inventions. Such works often adopted anecdotes without citing sources.

Content

What the source reports about donkey milk

Noël’s “Nouveau dictionnaire des origines” (1827) tells the episode at length: the king was very weak and his physicians at a loss; he instructed his ambassador in Turkey to bring the physician to Paris “at any price”. Afterwards, courtiers of both sexes imitated the same cure. The article ends with a mocking verse saying that one owed more to the asses than to the faculty.

Larousse’s “Grand dictionnaire universel” (vol. 1, 1866) adopts the story in shorter form and claims that the use of donkey milk in France “only dates” from Francis I.

The American “Popular Science Monthly” reproduces the story in January 1883 expressly as a legend (“If we may credit the legend … according to the chronicle”).

None of these works cites a contemporary 16th-century source. At the same time, the core claim contradicts older texts: Buffon (1753) and Parmentier and Deyeux (1799) write that the use had been preserved “since the Greeks”, and Madame de Sévigné mentions donkey milk cures in 1679/80 as quite ordinary.

At a glance

Figures & facts from the source

1515–1547reign of Francis I
1827earliest version we checked (Noël, vol. 2, p. 9)
1866Larousse, Grand dictionnaire universel, vol. 1
1883Popular Science Monthly calls it a “legend”
0contemporary 16th-century sources cited in these works
1753Buffon: use “since the Greeks” – older than Francis I

Fact check

Recorded or just told?

Widespread claim

King Francis I of France is said to have recovered thanks to donkey milk prescribed by a Jewish physician from Constantinople; only since then has donkey milk been in use in France.

What the sources say

Not documented. The oldest versions we checked date from 1827 (Noël) and 1866 (Larousse), without citing sources; in 1883 the Popular Science Monthly itself calls it a legend. The claim that its use only began with Francis I is refuted by older texts (Buffon 1753, Sévigné 1679/80).

Critical assessment

How reliable is this source?

Transmission

All versions checked are 280 to 340 years later than the alleged event and cite no source. An earlier origin is possible but could not be demonstrated by us.

Internal contradictions

The claim that donkey milk only became known in France through Francis I contradicts ancient authors and Buffon’s observation of an unbroken tradition since the Greeks.

Nature of the story

The episode follows the pattern of a wandering anecdote: a famous ruler, a distant miracle doctor, a simple remedy, a court fashion. Such stories say more about the 19th century than about the 16th.

Today’s assessment

The king’s alleged recovery is not evidence of an effect of donkey milk. No health effects can be derived from it.

Our assessment

A lovely story – but just a story. We are happy to pass it on, though as what it is according to current knowledge: an anecdote from 19th-century reference works.

References

Sources to check

More sources and studies in the research archive. Summarised by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team, as of November 2026.