Saint Anthony's fire from antiquity to the eighteenth century / Alessandra Foscati ; translated by Francis Gordon.
| Author/creator |
Foscati, Alessandra |
| Other author/creator | Gordon, Fr. (Francis) |
| Other author/creator | Foscati, Alessandra. Ignis sacer. Translation of. |
| Format | Electronic and Book |
| Publication Info | Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, [2020] |
| Description | 264 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm. |
| Supplemental Content | Full text available from Ebook Central - Academic Complete |
| Subject(s) |
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| Uniform title | Ignis sacer. English |
| Series | Premodern health, disease, and disability ; 2 |
| Summary | "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."--Back cover. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| LCCN | 2020380368 |
| ISBN | 9789462983342 hardcover |
| ISBN | 9462983348 hardcover |
Available Items
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions | |
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |