Saint Anthony's Fire from Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century

Alessandra Foscati

doi:10.1017/9789048533312

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Korobili, Giouli 2022. Aristotle. On Youth and Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration 1-6. Vol. 30, Issue. , p. 113.

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Alessandra Foscati

Publisher:: Amsterdam University Press
Online publication date:: November 2020
Print publication year:: 2019
Online ISBN:: 9789048533312
DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1017/9789048533312

Subjects:: History, History of Science: General Interest

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After the discovery of the ergotism epidemics (poisoning caused by ingesting the fungal toxin of rye) and its etiology, eighteenth-century physicians interpreted medieval chronicles in their medical texts in order to recognize the occurrences of ergotic diseases through retrospective diagnosis. They assumed that St. Anthony's fire and ignis sacer ("sacred fire") recorded in medieval texts represented the same disease, ergotism. This interpretative method, lacking a textual basis in the sources, has been incorrectly followed by historians till now. This book examines this historical prejudice through textual analysis, comparing diverse medieval and early modern sources. A striking semantic complexity emerges that changes the concept of St. Anthony's fire and modifies our understanding of diseases in general. This research illuminates aspects of the history of medicine, society, and hospitals.

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Saint Anthony's Fire from Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century

This Book has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by Crossref.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp 1-4

Contents
pp 5-6

List of Figures
pp 7-8

Preface
pp 9-10

Acknowledgements
pp 11-12

List of Abbreviations
pp 13-14

Introduction
pp 15-32

Part I - The Burning Disease: Different Names for the Same Disease or Different Diseases with the Same Name?
pp 33-124

Part II - St Anthony the Abbot, Thaumaturge of the Burning Disease, and the Order of the Hospital Brothers of St Anthony
pp 125-184

Part III - The Discovery of Ergotism (Saint Anthony's Fire?)
pp 185-216

Conclusion
pp 217-220

Bibliography
pp 221-256

About the Author
pp 257-258

Index
pp 259-264

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Saint Anthony's Fire from Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century

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