ENGLISH

Saint Anthony's Fire from Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century

By Alessandra Foscati

Book information

Publisher
Amsterdam University Press
Year
2019
ISBN
9789048533312
DOI
10.1515/9789048533312
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (3258474 bytes)
Series
Premodern Health, Disease, and Disability; 2
Pages
264\264
Library
degruyter.com
Time added
2023-08-23 21:11:09

Description

After the discovery of the ergotism epidemics (poisoning caused by ingesting the fungal toxin of rye) and its etiology, eighteenth-century physicians interpreted medieval chronicles in their medical texts in order to recognize the occurrences of ergotic diseases through retrospective diagnosis. They assumed that St. Anthony's fire and ignis sacer ("sacred fire") recorded in medieval texts represented the same disease, ergotism. This interpretative method, lacking a textual basis in the sources, has been incorrectly followed by historians till now. This book examines this historical prejudice through textual analysis, comparing diverse medieval and early modern sources. A striking semantic complexity emerges that changes the concept of St. Anthony's fire and modifies our understanding of diseases in general. This research illuminates aspects of the history of medicine, society, and hospitals.

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