The growth of medicine from the earliest times to about 1800Buck, Albert H. (Albert Henry)
History
The growth of medicine from the earliest times to about 1800
Buck, Albert H. (Albert Henry)
Medicine -- History
for at the date last named he gave a public reading of the first two
sections “before a large and noble assemblage of medical students and
other distinguished personages.” The portrait of de Mondeville which
is here reproduced is a copy of the miniature which appears in one of
the manuscripts of his treatise that was prepared 1314 A. D., and is
now preserved in the _Bibliothèque Nationale_ at Paris. Nicaise
furnishes the following details regarding the original miniature.
Inasmuch as the MS. bears the date 1314 the portrait must have
been painted while De Mondeville was still living. The master is
represented wearing a violet-colored gown, red stockings, and a
black skull-cap. He is thin, his beard is scanty and of a grey
color like the hair of his head, his features are finely cut,
and he appears to be a fairly tall man. So far as one may judge
from this portrait De Mondeville’s age was then about fifty.
The date of his death is not known exactly, but it must have been
somewhere about 1320 A. D.
Nicaise sums up de Mondeville’s personal history and his contributions
to the science of medicine somewhat as follows: He was a man of
warm impulses, who loved the truth and despised all shams. He never
hesitated to speak his opinion about others, the King himself not being
excluded from his criticisms. He was also quite frank in his exposures
of the ignorance of both nobles and members of the clergy. He was not
in the least degree superstitious. He remained unmarried throughout
life and seems to have entertained a slight disposition to find fault
with women, for he attacks somewhat violently their mode of life and
their extravagance, especially in the case of the women of Montpellier.
Although he possessed a great reputation and a very large clientele of
patients, he did not acquire a fortune. He is quoted as saying: “I was
obliged from the very first to work hard for a living.” Suppuration,
according to the view of de Mondeville, was not a necessary phenomenon
in the healing of wounds.
[Illustration: FIG. 11. HENRI DE MONDEVILLE.
(From Nicaise’s Version, Paris, 1893.)
From a miniature at the head of a manuscript which bears the
date A. D. 1313, now preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale at
Paris.]
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