A third of these greater writers on medicine in the early Middle Ages was
Paul of Ægina--Æginetus as he is sometimes known. There has been some
question as to his date in history, but as he quotes Alexander of Tralles
there seems to be no doubt now that his career must be placed in the first
half of the seventh century. We shall see more of him, as also of his
great contemporaries and predecessors of the early Middle Ages, Aëtios and
Alexander of Tralles, in a subsequent chapter. Besides these men who were
known for their writings, a series of less known Christian physicians
were praised by their contemporaries for their knowledge of medicine.
Among them are particularly to be noted certain members of an Arabian
family with the title Bachtischua, a name which is derived from the Arabic
words _Bocht Jesu_--that is, servant of Jesus--who, having studied among
the Greek Christians in the cities of Asia Minor, were called to the Court
of Haroun al-Raschid and introduced Greek medicine to the Mohammedans. I
have pointed out in my volume "Old-Time Makers of Medicine"[1] that "it
was their teaching which aroused Moslem scholars from the apathy that
characterized the attitude of the Arabian people towards science at the
beginning of Mohammedanism."
After this preliminary period of early medieval medical development, the
next important phase of medicine and surgery in the Middle Ages developed
in the southern part of Italy at Salerno. Here came the real awakening
from that inattention to intellectual interests which characterized Italy
after the invasion of the northern barbarians. The reason for the early
Renaissance in this neighbourhood is not far to seek. In the older times
Sicily had been a Greek colony, and the southern portion of Italy had been
settled by Greeks and came to be known as Magna Græcia. The Greek
language continued to be spoken in many parts even during the earlier
medieval centuries, and Greek never became the utterly unknown tongue it
was in Northern Italy. With the turning of attention to education in the
later Middle Ages, the Southern Italians were brought almost at once in
contact with Greek sources, and the earlier Renaissance began. With this
in mind, it is comparatively easy to understand the efflorescence of
culture in Southern Italy, and the development of the important University
of Salerno and its great accomplishment, particularly in scientific
matters, though all this came almost entirely as a consequence of the
opportunity for Greek influence to have its effect there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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