Medicine in the Renaissance: Paracelcus
(1493 - 1541): On ailments which rob us of our reason (1525)
"'And such falling sicknesses have five seats: One is in the brain, the second in the liver, the third in the heart, the fourth in the intestines, the fifth in the limbs. [...] And this is not only so in human beings but also in every living creature, in animals, which also fall down in the same form as in humans, and the earthquake also has the same origin as the falling sickness. We say that it is impossible to cure the root of the disease, but that it is possible to prevent the root from growing. "
"'And such falling sicknesses have five seats: One is in the brain, the second in the liver, the third in the heart, the fourth in the intestines, the fifth in the limbs. [...] And this is not only so in human beings but also in every living creature, in animals, which also fall down in the same form as in humans, and the earthquake also has the same origin as the falling sickness. We say that it is impossible to cure the root of the disease, but that it is possible to prevent the root from growing. "
~ http://www.authorsden.com/categories/article_top.asp?catid=16&id=19461
1494:
A handbook on witch-hunting, Malleus Maleficarum, brings a wave of persecution and torture, leading to the death of more than 200,000 women. Written by two Dominican friars under papal authority, the book identifies the presence of seizures as a characteristic of witches.
~http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/history (I figured 1494 was close.)
In Europe in the Middle Ages, epilepsy was called the falling sickness, and people looked to saints and relics for cures. The three wise men and St. Valentine were particularly important patrons of people with epilepsy. If you had epilepsy you could a special blessed ring that would help control your seizures. This idea was still around in colonial America when George Washington's daughter Patsy had seizures and was given an iron ring by her doctor.
During the Renaissance, people started to read ancient writings again, and the ideas of long ago came back into fashion. Some people thought that people with epilepsy were prophets, because they could see the past, present, and future when they were unconscious during a seizure. People with epilepsy were thought to be very smart because some very great people in the Roman empire had epilepsy, including Julius Cesar and Petrarch. Epilepsy was still believed to be a terrible disease by the common people.
~http://library.thinkquest.org/J001619/history.html
I think its intresting how they said that you can't cure the root of the disease but you can prevent the root from growing. So you could help stop the symptoms but not necessairly cure the disease. I think this is intresting because my brother has epilepsy, so its intresting to read about.
ReplyDeleteit's interesting how epilepsy was viewed differently at different times. I wonder why they were so fascinated by this disease as opposed to any of the other diseases?
ReplyDeleteI think its interesting that they said a blessed metal ring to help with such a servre sickness.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that Julius Ceasar had epilepsy.
ReplyDeleteSo sad that so many women died. But it is interesting about the "cure" for the seizures with the ring.
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