Medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347/8-1351: traditional understandings to poison theory
This article sets its investigative goal on determining the medical knowledge of medieval physicians from 1347-8 to 1351 concerning the causes of plague. As the plague killed a third of Europe’s population, the contemporary witness at the time perceived God as the sender of this plague to punish the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Korean Society for the History of Medicine
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Uisahak |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-31-2-363.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811295511930470400 |
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| author | Sang Dong LEE |
| author_facet | Sang Dong LEE |
| author_sort | Sang Dong LEE |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article sets its investigative goal on determining the medical knowledge of medieval physicians from 1347-8 to 1351 concerning the causes of plague. As the plague killed a third of Europe’s population, the contemporary witness at the time perceived God as the sender of this plague to punish the human society. However, physicians separated the religious and cultural explanation for the cause of this plague and instead seek the answer to this question elsewhere. Developing on traditional medical knowledges, physicians classified the possible range of the plague’s causes into two areas: universal cause and individual/particular causes. In addition, they also sought to explain the causes by employing the traditional miasma-humoral theory. Unlike the previous ones, however, the plague during 1347-8 to 1351 killed the patients indiscriminately and also incredibly viciously. This phenomenon could not be explained by merely using the traditional medical knowledge and this idiosyncrasy led the physicians employ the poison theory to explain the causes of plague more pragmatically. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:33:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0f6bff7a2d604db1a3e464296c8b60c9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1225-505X 2093-5609 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:33:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Korean Society for the History of Medicine |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Uisahak |
| spelling | doaj.art-0f6bff7a2d604db1a3e464296c8b60c92022-12-22T03:00:21ZengKorean Society for the History of MedicineUisahak1225-505X2093-56092022-08-0131236339210.13081/kjmh.2022.31.3632418Medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347/8-1351: traditional understandings to poison theorySang Dong LEE0Assistant Professor, Department of History, Sungkyunkwan UniversityThis article sets its investigative goal on determining the medical knowledge of medieval physicians from 1347-8 to 1351 concerning the causes of plague. As the plague killed a third of Europe’s population, the contemporary witness at the time perceived God as the sender of this plague to punish the human society. However, physicians separated the religious and cultural explanation for the cause of this plague and instead seek the answer to this question elsewhere. Developing on traditional medical knowledges, physicians classified the possible range of the plague’s causes into two areas: universal cause and individual/particular causes. In addition, they also sought to explain the causes by employing the traditional miasma-humoral theory. Unlike the previous ones, however, the plague during 1347-8 to 1351 killed the patients indiscriminately and also incredibly viciously. This phenomenon could not be explained by merely using the traditional medical knowledge and this idiosyncrasy led the physicians employ the poison theory to explain the causes of plague more pragmatically.http://www.medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-31-2-363.pdfblack deathhippocratic/galenic traditionhumoral theorymiasmapoison theory |
| spellingShingle | Sang Dong LEE Medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347/8-1351: traditional understandings to poison theory Uisahak black death hippocratic/galenic tradition humoral theory miasma poison theory |
| title | Medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347/8-1351: traditional understandings to poison theory |
| title_full | Medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347/8-1351: traditional understandings to poison theory |
| title_fullStr | Medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347/8-1351: traditional understandings to poison theory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347/8-1351: traditional understandings to poison theory |
| title_short | Medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347/8-1351: traditional understandings to poison theory |
| title_sort | medical knowledge of medieval physician on the cause of plague during 1347 8 1351 traditional understandings to poison theory |
| topic | black death hippocratic/galenic tradition humoral theory miasma poison theory |
| url | http://www.medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-31-2-363.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sangdonglee medicalknowledgeofmedievalphysicianonthecauseofplagueduring134781351traditionalunderstandingstopoisontheory |