What's Wrong with Early Medieval Medicine?

Peregrine Horden

(2009)

Peregrine Horden (2009) What's Wrong with Early Medieval Medicine?. Social History of Medicine, (). pp. 1-21. ISSN 1477-4666

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Abstract

The medical writings of early medieval western Europe c. 700 – c. 1000 have often been derided for their disorganised appearance, poor Latin, nebulous conceptual framework, admixtures of magic and folklore, and general lack of those positive features that historians attribute to ancient or later medieval medicine. This paper attempts to rescue the period from its negative image. It examines a number of superficially bizarre writings so as to place them in an intellectual and sociological context, and to suggest that the presumed contrast between them and their ancient and later medieval counterparts has been wrongly drawn.

Information about this Version

This is a Published version
This version's date is: 03/11/2009
This item is peer reviewed

Link to this Version

https://repository.royalholloway.ac.uk/items/4d52f674-8054-85b5-83f7-8065632321f0/1/

Item TypeJournal Article
TitleWhat's Wrong with Early Medieval Medicine?
AuthorsHorden, Peregrine
Uncontrolled Keywordsearly Middle Ages; manuscripts; prognosis; materia medica
DepartmentsFaculty of History and Social Science\History

Identifiers

doi10.1093/shm/hkp052

Deposited by () on 08-Jun-2010 in Royal Holloway Research Online.Last modified on 15-Dec-2010

Notes

(C) 2009 OUP, whose permission to mount this version for private study and research is acknowledged.  The repository version is the author's final draft.

 

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