Monastic incorporation of classical botanic medicines into the Renaissance pharmacopeia.

Abstract

Ancient Greek physicians believed that health resulted from a balance of natural forces. Many, including Dioscorides, made compilations of plants and medicines derived from them, giving prominence to diuretics, cathartics and emetics. During the Roman Empire, although Greek physicians were highly valued, the Roman matron performed many medical functions and magic and astrology were increasingly used. In Judaic and later Christian societies disease was equated with divine disfavor. After the fall of Rome, the classical Greek medical texts were mainly preserved in Latin translation by the Benedictine monasteries, which were based around a patient infirmary, a herb garden and a library. Local plants were often substituted for the classical ones, however, and the compilations became confused and inaccurate. Greek medicine survived better in the remains of the Eastern Roman Empire, and benefitted from the influence of Arab medicine. Intellectual revival, when it came to Europe, did so on the fringes of the Moslem world, and Montpellier and Salerno were among the first of the new medical centers. Rather than relying on ancient experts, the new experimental method reported the tested effects of substances from identified plants. This advance was fostered by the foundation of universities and greatly aided by the later invention of the printing press, which also allowed wider dissemination of the classical texts.