Old-Time Makers of Medicine: The Story of The Students And Teachers of the Sciences Related to Medicine During the Middle AgesWalsh, James J. (James Joseph)
History
Old-Time Makers of Medicine: The Story of The Students And Teachers of the Sciences Related to Medicine During the Middle Ages
Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Medicine, Medieval; Physicians
For those who are particularly interested in medical history one of the
sections of Henry's book has a special appeal, because he gives in it a
sketch of the history of surgery. We are little likely to think, as a
rule, that at this time, full two centuries before the close of the
Middle Ages, men were interested enough in the doings of those who had
gone before them to try to trace the history of the development of their
specialty. It is characteristic of the way that the scholarly Mondeville
views his own life work that he should have wanted to know something
about his predecessors and teach others with regard to them. He begins
with Galen, and as Galen divides the famous physicians of the world into
three sects, the Methodists, the Empirics, and the Rationalists, so
Mondeville divides modern surgery into three sects: first, that of the
Salernitans, with Roger, Roland, and the Four Masters; second, that of
William of Salicet and Lanfranc; and third, that of Hugo de Lucca and
his brother Theodoric and their modern disciples. He states briefly the
characteristics of these three sects. The first limited patients' diet,
used no stimulants, dilated all wounds, and got union only after pus
formation. The second allowed a liberal diet to weak patients, though
not to the strong, but generally interfered with wounds too much. The
third believed in a liberal diet, never dilated wounds, never inserted
tents, and its members were extremely careful not to complicate wounds
of the head by unwise interference. His critical discussion of the three
schools is extremely interesting.
Another phase of Mondeville's work that is sympathetic to the moderns is
his discussion of the irregular practice of medicine and surgery as it
existed in his time. Most of our modern medicine and surgery was
anticipated in the olden time; but it may be said that all of the modes
of the quack are as old as humanity. Galen's description of the
travelling charlatan who settled down in his front yard, not knowing
that it belonged to a physician, shows this very well. There were
evidently as many of them and as many different kinds in Mondeville's
time as in our own. In discussing the opposition that had arisen between
physicians and surgeons in his time and their failure to realize that
they were both members of a great profession, he enumerates the many
different kinds of opponents that the medical profession had. There were
"barbers, soothsayers, loan agents, falsifiers, alchemists, meretrices,
midwives, old women, converted Jews, Saracens, and indeed most of those
who, having wasted their substance foolishly, now proceed to make
physicians or surgeons of themselves in order to make their living under
the cloak of healing."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account