Written Sources on Veterinary Medicine of Portugal of the XIV-XVIII Centuries

Abstract

Introduction. Aiming to study the literature sources referring to evolvement of the veterinary medicine into a science in Portugal of the XIV–XVIII centuries, the article presents the detailed description of the historical materials (books, works, records) existing and being kept in libraries and archives.Materials and methods. The materials taken for the study were literature sources and archival materials in Portuguese and Spanish. The data obtained during the research was structured, arranged in the chronological order of events and analysed.Results. The veterinary medicine of the country almost completely depended on historical events and cultural trends. Until the XVII century, due to the popularity of falconry, only the knowledge of horses and birds of prey anatomy and diseases received the noticeable development, whereas the literature sources on other animal species anatomy and diseases appeared only at the beginning of the XVIII century.Discussion and conclusions. The study of the materials leads to the conclusion that the history of the Portuguese veterinary medicine and its documentation in the literature sources were inextricably related to the historical events that took place in the country – the political and economic factors, as well as popular trends, had influenced the evolvement of the veterinary science and the amount of publications.