Known and unknown facts about the xenon of the Kral in Constantinople

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which the Xenon of the Kral, founded by Stefan Uros II Milutin in Constantinople in the first part of the 14th century, reflected Byzantine hospital traditions. Milutin?s biography, written around 1332 by the Serbian Archbishop Danilo II, is of great value as a document of medical history, as it contains essential details on the Xenon?s infrastructure and medical staff and the purposes of this charitable foundation in comparison with Byzantine institutions. The regulations on patient admission allow the conclusion that the Xenon of the Kral was probably a hospital for emergency admission. Recent research has tended to focus on the hospital infrastructure at the Xenon of the Kral rather than its status as an international centre of education associated with the teaching activities of the Byzantine humanist John Argyropoulos in the period between 1444 and c. 1453. Furthermore, his teaching had an extremely interesting focus on the intensive study of Galen?s works. Special attention should be paid to the close connection between the Prodromos Monastery ??? ??????, its library and the Xenon, whereby some traces might also lead to Bessarion?s library and especially to his collection of medical manuscripts. The aim of this paper is thus to contextualise the already available research results on the Xenon of the Kral with some sources of Byzantine medical literature, opening up new aspects and research questions which might be of interest for elucidating the intellectual and cultural exchange between Byzantium and Serbia.