Medieval medicine

Seeing Is Believing: Ophthalmology In The Renaissance Era

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– by Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

 

Woodcut from [Ophthalmodouleia], das ist Augendienst [219r]

Have you been to your eye doctor lately? The process might have been a little bit different than it was ten or twenty years ago, with developments in optometry resulting in new tests, diagnostic processes and equipment. In some instances, dilation is not even needed for a full exam to be completed anymore! Now, recognizing that these changes have come within many of our lifetimes, can you imagine how much different ophthalmology was a hundred years ago? What about during the Renaissance era? Through the Digital Image Library, we have assembled a collection of images and historical records that show off just what Renaissance era eye doctors could do with the tools and knowledge of the time. Keep in mind some of the forthcoming imagery (both literal and written) might not be for the faint of heart!
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Prophylaxis, A Medical Advent Still Employed To This Day

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– by Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

 

Welcome to another edition of Medieval Medicine Monday! On Mondays, I highlight information found through the Digital Image Library and draw connections between the world of the early teen centuries and the world we have come to know since! Using a mixture of primary sources of original content, alongside more modern academic writing, Medieval Medicine Mondays are a peek into the shared knowledge of the past through the applied knowledge of the present.

In the medieval and early modern eras, treatment of the plague was very touch-and-go due to a relatively limited amount of medical knowledge about both the condition and the immune system in general. In prior issues, we have discussed how medical superstitions came into play during times like these, although there is some evidence that more modern medical techniques were already starting to come into play towards the tail end of the medieval era. Enter prophylaxis.

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Plague Era Woodcuts Shed Light on Shared Beliefs In Action

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– by Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

 

Welcome back to another issue of #MedievalMedicineMonday! On Mondays, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate Patrick Magee will be exploring the depths of medieval medicine as depicted by woodcuts found in our early printed books.

This week, we’re going to look at how woodcut creators and the general public made sense of the beginnings of a plague. In Pestbuch, Hieronymus Brunschwig depicted the onset of a pandemic through a series of woodcuts, themselves serving a purpose somewhere between documentation and warning. In the woodcut drawings, Brunschwig depicts a mixture of illness at its worst alongside the continuing lives of everyday folks and doctors/attenders of the sick.

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Fungus Among Us: How One Type of Mushroom Has Been a Medical Boon Since the 1700s

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– by Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

 

Welcome to #MedievalMedicineMonday! On Mondays, Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate, will be exploring the depths of medieval botanical medicine as depicted by woodcuts found in our early printed books.

Although commonly held beliefs over medicine change quite a bit over time, one thing that’s certain is the ceaseless documentation of every turn of events within the medical world, from plague to poison. Medicinal science involves a lot of trial and error, and sometimes what seems like an inscrutable idea at first can become the backbone of treatment. In this series of posts on medically significant plants, we wanted to beg several questions – which plants do we still use? Which ended up being effectively snake oil? What was for health, and what was for fun? All of these questions and more will be addressed over time, starting in this case with a fungus.
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Regimen speciale

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As I mentioned in “A kingly rule of health,” Arnald included a chapter specially for James II on hemorrhoids, which the king suffered from.  Arnald advised the king to follow a moderate and healthy diet, staying away from foods that were too salty or sweet, since those foods could cause flare-ups.

 

Folio 26r. Arnald of Villanova,
Regimen sanitatis ad regem Aragonum. Spain or southern France; 14th century or c.1400. Call number 10a 210.

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Cold temperatures are best for conception

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Two weeks ago, we read Giles of Rome’s advice on moderation in the diet, and this week we are examining the best time to conceive children – male and female.  In the Book II, Part I, chapter 17, Giles explains what Aristotle says in Textus poleticorum and De metheoris regarding conception.

 

Folio 110v-111r. Giles of Rome. De regimine regem et principum. Call no. 10a 212.

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