Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Description

Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance provides an authoritative and fascinating exploration into the use of toxins and poisons in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Part of the History of Toxicology and Environmental Health series, this volume is a follow-up, chronologically, to the first two volumes which explored toxicology in antiquity. The book approximately covers the 1100s through the 1600s, delving into different aspects of toxicology, such as the contributions of scientific scholars of the time, sensational poisoners and poisoning cases, as well as myths. Historical figures, such as the Borgias and Catherine de Medici are discussed. Toxicologists, students, medical researchers, and those interested in the history of science will find insightful and relevant material in this volume. Front Cover Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance Copyright Page Dedication Contents List of Contributors Preface Acknowledgments About the Editor 1 Poison and Its Dose: Paracelsus on Toxicology 1.1 The Four Pillars of Medicine 1.2 Poison and the Alchemist in the Stomach 1.3 Noxious Mineral Vapors and the Miner’s Disease 1.4 The Dose Makes the Poison References 2 The Golden Age of Medieval Islamic Toxicology 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Prominent Toxicologists in Medieval Islamic Era 2.2.1 Jābir (Jaber)-ibn-Hayyān (721–815 AD) 2.2.2 Ibn Māsawyah (Yuhanna ibn Masawyah, Abu Zakariya, 777–857 AD) 2.2.3 Al-Kindi (805–73 AD) 2.2.4 Qustā ibn Lūqā (820–912 AD) 2.2.5 Ibn Waḥshīyah al-Nabti (9–10th century AD) 2.2.6 Al-Rāzī (865–925 AD) 2.2.7 Avicenna (980–1037 AD) 2.2.8 Jurjānī, Ismāʻīl ibn Ḥasan (1042–1137 AD) 2.2.9 Ibn al-Tilmīdh, Hibat Allāh ibn Ṣāʻid (1073–1164 AD) 2.2.10 Ibn Zuhr, al-Malik ibn Abībal-ʻAlāʼ (Abu Marwan) (1072–1162 AD) 2.2.11 Jamshīd Ghyāth al-Dīn bin Mas’ud bin Mohammed al-Kāshī (1380–429 AD) 2.3 Toxicologists after 1500 AD 2.3.1 ʻImād al-Dīn Shīrāzī, Maḥmūd ibn Masʻūd (1515–92 AD) 2.3.2 Mohammad Momen Tonkāboni (17th century, 1677) 2.3.3 Aghili (18th century) 2.3.4 Hakim Seyed bin Hasan bin Seyed Mahdi 2.4 Discussion Acknowledgment References 3 Maimonides’ Book on Poisons and the Protection Against Lethal Drugs 3.1 Maimonides 3.2 Maimonides Medical Works and Medical Practice 3.3 The Treatise on Poisons and the Protection Against Lethal Drugs 3.3.1 History of Studies 3.3.2 Context and Sources 3.4 Structure and Contents of On Poisons 3.5 The Hebrew Translations and Their Circulation 3.6 The Latin Translations and Their Circulation References 4 Pietro d’Abano, De venenis: Reintroducing Greek Toxicology into Late Medieval Medicine Further Readings 5 The Case Against the Borgias: Motive, Opportunity, and Means 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Accusations 5.3 Motive 5.4 Opportunity 5.5 Means References 6 Aqua Tofana 6.1 History 6.2 Symptoms 6.3 Poisons and the Criminal Magical Underworld 6.4 The Slow Poisons References 7 Poisons and the Prince: Toxicology and Statecraft at the Medici Grand Ducal Court 7.1 Poisons in 16th-Century Society 7.2 Knowledge of Poisons at the Medici Court 7.3 Medici Antidotes 7.4 Testing Poisons 7.5 Resources 7.5.1 Manuscripts 7.5.2 Databases References 8 Georgius Agricola, a Pioneer in the Toxic Hazards of Mining, and His Influence 8.1 Education and Early Life 8.2 De re Metallica 8.3 Diseases in Miners and Their Prevention 8.4 Bergsucht and Its Causes 8.5 A Third Wave of Mining in the 20th Century Conflict of Interest References 9 Jan Baptist Van Helmont and the Medical–Alchemical Perspectives of Poison 9.1 Van Helmont’s Paracelsian Legacy on Poisons 9.2 Universal Poison in a Christian Perspective 9.3 Van Helmont’s Criticism of Galenic Purgatives 9.4 The Alchemical Solution 9.5 Conclusions References 10 Origin of Myths Related to Curative, Antidotal and Other Medicinal Properties of Animal “Horns” in the Middle Ages 10.1 A Brief History of Alicorn 10.2 Origins 10.3 Unicorns of the Arab World 10.4 Khutu 10.5 The Walrus and the Narwhal 10.6 The Woolly Rhinoceros and Mammoth 10.7 Bone from the Forehead of a Bull 10.8 Conclusion Disclaimer References 11 Animal Stones and the Dark Age of Bezoars 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Bezoars: Philological, Conceptual, and Symbolic Framework 11.3 Bezoars and Their Glory 11.4 Bezoars in the Mist of History 11.5 Conclusion Acknowledgments References 12 Fossil Sharks’ Teeth as Alexipharmics 12.1 Fossil Sharks’ Teeth or Glossopetrae 12.2 Tableware 12.3 Provenance of the Teeth 12.4 Lapis de Goa References 13 Catherine La Voisin: Poisons and Magic at the Royal Court of Louis XIV 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Catherine La Voisin References 14 A Late Medieval Criminal Prosecution for Poisoning: The Failed Murder Trial of Margarida de Portu (1396) References 15 Animal Venoms in the Middle Ages 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Venomous Snakes 15.2.1 Albertus Magnus and Venomous Serpents (13th Century) 15.2.2 Venom and Henri de Mondeville (14th Century) 15.2.3 An Early 14th Century Case of Snake-bite (Gentile da Foligno) 15.3 Scorpions, Spiders, and Other “Venomous” Animals References 16 Medical Literature on Poison, c. 1300–1600 References Index Back Cover