History 2403E Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Erasmus, Greek Alphabet, Phlegm
March 6, 2018
Early Modern Medicine
- Humanism
o To reclaim the knowledge of the classical word
o Because they believed Greeks and romans represented the absolute epitome of
human knowledge and accomplishment
o Savaged libraries and collections; getting every books of texts
▪ Made a list of errors
▪ Work backwards in time to get accuracy and editions of the text
- Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) – chief humanist’ scholar
o Brought back the Greek language as the basic building block of intellectual
activity
o All serious academic pursuit required Greek as its basis
- Greek New Testament (1516)
o Very accurate version
o Published in 1516
o Profound impact on Luther: read romans 1:17 – new understanding of
justification
o Also impacted medicine
- Aldus Manutius
o Importance: in his printing shop, the greek script was mechanically scripted for
the history of the world
o Revolutionized the education and academic inquiry landscape
o The medical writings of the greek physicians were now accessible to European
doctors
- Galen (C. 120-C.201 A.D.)
o Humours
o We know about Hippocrates because of him
- Hippocrates
o Body has 4 humours
▪ Liquids: black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm
• Each one has a temperature and moisture coefficient associated
▪ Blood: hot and wet
o Doctor needs to keep them balanced
o Living in a state of equilibrium
▪ Need to determine which humour was out of rack
o Focused on diet – the lifestyle of the person
▪ Straightforward process – counterbalancing process
▪ Explain menustration
▪ Bertand’s reaction from Martin – Jean de Coras running courtroom like
the Romans
• See’s woman in a certain way
▪ Elizabeth does the same thing and manipulates
• Roman law, medicine
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Document Summary
Desiderius erasmus (1466-1536) chief humanist" scholar: brought back the greek language as the basic building block of intellectual activity, all serious academic pursuit required greek as its basis. Greek new testament (1516: very accurate version, published in 1516, profound impact on luther: read romans 1:17 new understanding of justification, also impacted medicine. Galen (c. 120-c. 201 a. d. : humours, we know about hippocrates because of him. Aldine press / 1525 = complete edition of galen: aldus creates a standardized edition of galen"s work. Jacobus sylvius, 1555: say there has never in human history has there been any work as good as galen and hippocrates, body in error not their works. Undermining galenic thinking, comes from world of anatomy and world of art. Renaissance artists need to know how the body is built. Leonardo da vinci (1452-1519: passed down detailed drawings of anatomical structure, focus: muscles, nervous, cranial (face), prenatal (womb, lacked understandings of how people were made.