Health, Disease and Society in Europe, 1500-1800: A Source Book

The period from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment constitutes a vital phase in the history of European medicine. Elements of continuity with the classical and medieval past are evident in the persistence of a humoural-based view of the body and of illness. As the same time new theories of the body emerged to challenge established ideas in medical circles. In recent years, scholars have explored this terrain with increasingly fascinating results, often revising our previous understanding of issues relating to the way in which early modern Europeans discussed the body, health and disease. In order to understand these and related processes, historians are increasingly aware of the way in which every aspect of medical care and provision in early modern Europe was shaped by the social, religious, political and cultural concerns of the age. This volume contains a comprehensive selection of classical writing and up-to-date research in the field as well as extracts from contemporary sources, providing vivid and detailed accounts of some of the key aspects of medical thought and practice in the period. These are arranged by themes and so complement the companion volume of esssays in The Healing Arts: Health, Disease ad Society in Europe, 1500-1800 . They are also accompanied by brief, scholarly introductions to ensure that they are readily accessible to both the specialist and general reader.