- Universidad de Alcala, Cirugía y Ciencias Medicas y Sociales, Faculty Memberadd
- History, Art History, Medieval History, Medieval Studies, History of Science, Literature, and 23 moreSocial History, Early Modern History, History of Technology, Social Conflict, Late Middle Ages, Medieval Iberian History, Basque Studies, Identity construction and cultural production, Historia literaria de Navarra, History of Navarre, History of Early Modern Technology, Clocks History, Renaissance Studies, Culinary History, Italian Cultural Studies, Italian Renaissance History, Cookbooks, Social Sciences, Travel Writing, Medical Humanities, Medical History, Modern History, and Food Historyedit
- Professor of History of Science (Medicine and Medical Antropology) at the Department of Surgery and Sociomedical Scie... moreProfessor of History of Science (Medicine and Medical Antropology) at the Department of Surgery and Sociomedical Sciences. University of Alcala (Alcalá de Henares, Spain). I received my PhD in Medieval History at the Public University of Navarre (2001) with the thesis entitled “La mesa del Rey. Cocina y régimen alimentario en la Corte de Carlos III ‘el Noble’ de Navarra (1411-1425)” (Pamplona, 2002). My research focuses mainly on food and medicine during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance ([email protected])edit
En los últimos años se ha abordado el estudio de distintas prescripciones y consejos dietéticos en lenguas vernáculas de personajes vinculados a las élites castellanas, catalanas y navarras, datados entre la segunda mitad del siglo XV y... more
En los últimos años se ha abordado el estudio de distintas prescripciones y consejos dietéticos en lenguas vernáculas de personajes vinculados a las élites castellanas, catalanas y navarras, datados entre la segunda mitad del siglo XV y finales del XVI. Uno de los personajes estudiados es el clérigo Juan Rena, veneciano de origen, que desde principios del siglo XVI ocupó puestos de responsabilidad en la administración castellana. Nombrado capellán de la reina Juana I de Castilla en 1508, fue Rena la ‘mano derecha’ de Fernando II de Aragón en la restructuración administrativa del reino de Navarra tras su conquista en 1512. Entre la numerosa documentación relacionada con su persona se han localizado dos textos para tratar la gota, basado en un ingrediente procedente del Nuevo Mundo, el palosanto o guayaco, en un periodo relativamente temprano.
Juan Rena fue un clérigo veneciano que acaparó una gran cantidad de cargos y prebendas gracias al servicio prestado al emperador Carlos V. Participó en conflictos y negociaciones de gran relieve político y viajó constantemente. Además,... more
Juan Rena fue un clérigo veneciano que acaparó una gran cantidad de cargos y prebendas gracias al servicio prestado al emperador Carlos V. Participó en conflictos y negociaciones de gran relieve político y viajó constantemente. Además, destacó por sus actividades mercantiles y financieras, pero también por la reorganización administrativa del reino de Navarra tras su conquista en 1512. Gracias a su archivo personal, se ha podido recoger un abanico importante de consejos que recibió de diferentes médicos dispersos por la geografía europea, ya fuera personalmente o a través de correspondencia mantenida con ellos. En el presente trabajo analizamos estos consejos y, en definitiva, las diferentes estrategias seguidas por Juan Rena, para atender las enfermedades que le aquejaron.
El presente estudio recoge el texto llamado 'Opúsculo de cozinas' escrito por un médico francés, afincado en Vitoria (norte de España) y anteriormente médico del duque de Bretaña, a petición del duque de Alba. El tratado puede ser datado... more
El presente estudio recoge el texto llamado 'Opúsculo de cozinas' escrito por un médico francés, afincado en Vitoria (norte de España) y anteriormente médico del duque de Bretaña, a petición del duque de Alba. El tratado puede ser datado hacia 1486-1487 y está relacionado con la enfermedad del duque García Álvarez de Toledo, de la que murió en 1488, y para quien dicho médico, el licen-ciado Antonio, ya había redactado anteriormente un consilium y un regimen sanitatis. El opúsculo, estructurado inicialmente en cinco partes solamente conserva la primera de ellas, la dedicada a las carnes. En realidad no es un libro de cocina propiamente dicho, como pudiera parecer por su título, en el que se planteen precisiones detalladas sobre procedimientos culinarios sino que resulta un verdadero tratado médico-dietético en que el que se muestran las distintas variedades de carnes, además de las funciones medicinales que tienen algunas especias exóticas, hierbas aromáticas y otros condimentos con las que se elaboraban salsas a fin de mejorar las propiedades digestivas de ciertos alimentos poco aconsejables, pero necesarios en la mesa de un miembro de la alta nobleza. Termina el tratado con un breve apartado dedicado a la manera de trinchar las carnes al estilo francés.
This study is of the text called 'Opúsculo de cozinas'. It was written by a French doctor, residing in Vitoria (northern Spain), and previously the doctor of the Duke of Brittany, at the request of the Duke of Alba. The treatise may be... more
This study is of the text called 'Opúsculo de cozinas'. It was written by a French doctor, residing in Vitoria (northern Spain), and previously the doctor of the Duke of Brittany, at the request of the Duke of Alba. The treatise may be dated to about 1486-1487 and it is related to the illness of the duke, García Álvarez de Toledo, from which he died in 1488, and for whom the doctor, el 'licenciado' Antonio, had previously written a consilium and a regimen sanitatis (health regimen). The brief treatise initially had five parts, but only one of them, the first, survives, on the subject of meat. It is not a cookery book as such, as its title might lead us to believe, in which detailed explanations of culinary procedures are given, but it is a veritable medical and dietary treatise in which the different varieties of meat are spoken about, along with the medicinal properties of certain exotic spices, aromatic herbs and condiments, with which sauces were made for the purpose of improving the digestive properties of certain foods that were inadvisable but necessary on the table of a member of the high nobility. The treatise ends with a brief section devoted to the way of carving different kinds of meat in the French style.
The interest in the practice of popular healers in Navarra during pre-industrial time is merely anecdotal. This study looks at the case of the French empiricist Juan Flor, based on court records preserved in the Archivo Real y General de... more
The interest in the practice of popular healers in Navarra during pre-industrial time is merely anecdotal. This study looks at the case of the French empiricist Juan Flor, based on court records preserved in the Archivo Real y General de Navarra. Special attention is given to his hectic biography, his healing practice, the doctor-patient relationship and the objections raised by Navarrese Protomedicato to his exercise of medicine until his departure from the kingdom.
Around 1381 Estéfano, a physician in the service of the archbishop of Seville Pedro de Toledo (often identified as Pedro Gómez Barroso), wrote a treatise entitled "Libro de visitaçione e conssiliaçione medicarum". This work studies the... more
Around 1381 Estéfano, a physician in the service of the archbishop of Seville Pedro de Toledo (often identified as Pedro Gómez Barroso), wrote a treatise entitled "Libro de visitaçione e conssiliaçione medicarum". This work studies the third “consiliatorio” of the first part of the book, which is actually a regimen sanitatis, dealing with the appropriate food (food and drink) to keep the health of a character belonging to the ecclesiastical elites of late 14th century.
Relación de graduados en Medicina por la Universidad de Irache procedentes de las comarcas de Daroca y Jiloca durante los siglos XVII-XVIII.
This work analyses several Castilian, Catalan and Navarrese medical advices written in vernacular language (Castilian and Catalan) during the period between the 15th and late 16th centuries. These documents prove the interest of both... more
This work analyses several Castilian, Catalan and Navarrese medical advices written in vernacular language (Castilian and Catalan) during the period between the 15th and late 16th centuries. These documents prove the interest of both doctors and patients in dietetics as a set of hygiene and health measures based on galenic "res naturales" and "res non naturales" and tightly related to a medical literary genre (health regimes "ad personam" or "consilia"). The cases exposed show that upper classes appreciated the value of therapeutic resources adapted to their individual needs, which were usually copied and compiled for a personal use. They also reflect the development of vernacular languages as a means of communication between the medical community and the patients, for the purpose of satisfying the social demand for medical advice in the most straightforward way.
This study aims to contribute to research on the ailments suffered by king Enrique IV of Castile, through the study of the manuscript 2/MS.46 (ff. 123r-130v) of the Spanish Royal Academy of History (Madrid). To what extent are the... more
This study aims to contribute to research on the ailments suffered by king Enrique IV of Castile, through the study of the manuscript 2/MS.46 (ff. 123r-130v) of the Spanish Royal Academy of History (Madrid). To what extent are the diagnoses made so far reliable? To what extent is the information in chronicles objective when dealing with his diseases? What can this medical recipe collection, a professional document, contribute to our knowledge of the king’s diseases? These are some of the issues we explore in this article.
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En este trabajo se analizan los documentos conocidos como Recetario de Alba, que comprende la relación de medicamentos expedidos a la Casa de Alba entre los años 1469 y 1470. Dicho análisis ha servido no solo para conocer qué medicinas se... more
En este trabajo se analizan los documentos conocidos como Recetario de Alba, que comprende la relación de medicamentos expedidos a la Casa de Alba entre los años 1469 y 1470. Dicho análisis ha servido no solo para conocer qué medicinas se usaban en el ámbito de las élites castellanas durante ese periodo, sino también para introducirnos en la práctica médica real, en el papel del boticario y la influencia del galenismo durante la segunda mitad del siglo XV. Para ello, se ha realizado, por un lado, la comprobación de quienes fueron los beneficiarios de los medicamentos, y por otro lado, la clasificación y el análisis de los medicamentos simples y compuestos anotados en dicho recetario, atendiendo a distintos aspectos como su naturaleza, vía de administración y consistencia.
This work analyzes a number of documents known as the “Recetario de Alba” which comprises the medicines prescribed for the House of Alba between 1469 and 1470. This study has contributed not only to learn about the medicines used by Castilian social elites in this period, but also to introduce us to the real medical practice, the role of apothecaries and the influence of Galenism during the second half of 15th century. To this aim, the study has firstly checked the identity of the patients who received the treatments and then has carried out the classification and analysis of the simple and compound medicines mentioned in the recipe book have been carried out, according to different aspects like their nature, route of administration and consistency.
This work analyzes a number of documents known as the “Recetario de Alba” which comprises the medicines prescribed for the House of Alba between 1469 and 1470. This study has contributed not only to learn about the medicines used by Castilian social elites in this period, but also to introduce us to the real medical practice, the role of apothecaries and the influence of Galenism during the second half of 15th century. To this aim, the study has firstly checked the identity of the patients who received the treatments and then has carried out the classification and analysis of the simple and compound medicines mentioned in the recipe book have been carried out, according to different aspects like their nature, route of administration and consistency.
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The present article presents a contrastive analysis of late medieval medical recipes in English and Castilian in order to find out analogies and differences in both languages. To this end, a corpus of medical recipes dating from the 14th... more
The present article presents a contrastive analysis of late medieval medical recipes in English and Castilian in order to find out analogies and differences in both languages. To this end, a corpus of medical recipes dating from the 14th and 15th centuries in English and a parallel one in Castilian have been compiled so that recipes can be compared to check to which extent they follow the usual structural pattern of the genre and the linguistic forms associated to this type of texts. It is a pioneering study, as recipes are usually explored in a single language. The findings reveal that many structural and textual aspects are present in both languages. This can be explained due to the fact that medical recipes come from the same classical sources. Nevertheless, divergences are also observed. In fact, in terms of contents, the examination of the ingredients section shows a clear tendency to adapt the recipe ingredients to make use of those elements which are available in the geographical region where the document was produced.
La figura y la contribución al ámbito de la Medicina del boticario y también médico navarro Matías de Beinza no resultan desconocidas. No obstante, las referencias que hasta el momento se han ido transmitiendo sobre su persona no van... more
La figura y la contribución al ámbito de la Medicina del boticario y también médico navarro Matías de Beinza no resultan desconocidas. No obstante, las referencias que hasta el momento se han ido transmitiendo sobre su persona no van mucho más allá de lo que el propio Beinza escribió sobre sí mismo en su obra `Discurso sobre los polvos universales purgantes` (Bayona, 1680). La información localizada en algunos archivos navarros permite establecer una semblanza biográfica del médico de Puente la Reina hasta el momento inédita, además de comprobar el éxito comercial (hasta principios del siglo XIX) de algunas de sus elaboraciones más famosas, como los ‘polvos universales purgantes’ y otras menos conocidas, como el antigálico denominado ‘la Bebida de Puente’. El interés de sus herederos por mantener en secreto estas preparaciones es una buena muestra de los beneficios económicos que se podían llegar a conseguir por la venta de dichos remedios.
This study presents two prescriptions made by the treasurer of Navarre Juan Vallés, dated between 1528 and 1551. There have been attempts to link these writings to the lost work by Juan Vallés 'Flores de cirurgía y medicina' and to whom... more
This study presents two prescriptions made by the treasurer of Navarre Juan Vallés, dated between 1528 and 1551. There have been attempts to link these writings to the lost work by Juan Vallés 'Flores de cirurgía y medicina' and to whom it was supposedly aimed at, Juan Rena or Juan de Alarcón.
Diverse cryptographic material has come to light during the recent rearrangement, carried out by the General Archive of Navarre, of several documents coming from the personal archive of Venetian clergyman Juan Rena (ca.1480-1359). Rena... more
Diverse cryptographic material has come to light during the recent rearrangement, carried out by the General Archive of Navarre, of several documents coming from the personal archive of Venetian clergyman Juan Rena (ca.1480-1359). Rena was the right-hand man of Ferdinand II of Aragon, called the Catholic, and Charles V, during the administrative restructuring of the Kingdom of Navarre after its conquest in 1512. The material found relates to his activity during the period from 1520 to 1529. The present study focuses on three ciphers unknown so far, placing them in their chronological context and analysing their main features in relation to other known keys from the Hispanic 16th century sphere. These findings are of particular interest due to the lack of information about the existence of this kind of documents, linked to Navarrese elites in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, because they allow us to check that they must not have been uncommon among privileged sectors.
"During the central period of the Middle Ages, medical practice, based on the Christian tradition of beneficence, was an important dimension of the activity of monasteries and hospitals organized by the ecclesiastical and secular elites.... more
"During the central period of the Middle Ages, medical practice, based on the Christian tradition of beneficence, was an important dimension of the activity of monasteries and hospitals organized by the ecclesiastical and secular elites. It is also important to mention the growing relevance of religious brotherhoods, parish organisations and lay associations as promoters of social and charitable activities during this period. The political and territorial consolidation of the Kingdom of Pamplona/Navarre was reflected in the organization of a health network along the main and secondary routes of the Pilgrim’s Way to Santiago. Despite the lack of data regarding those engaged in medical practice during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is possible to show some evidence of the activity of nurses and hospitaleros, whose social origin contrasts with that of physicians, surgeons, barbers and spice-sellers, who are usually associated with the urban world and socially disadvantaged sectors."
La evolución histórica de la Universidad benedictina de Irache queda todavía por trazar. De hecho su tratamiento historiográfico es ciertamente irregular. Así, frente a trabajos rigurosos que inciden principalmente en sus orígenes,... more
La evolución histórica de la Universidad benedictina de Irache queda todavía por trazar. De hecho su tratamiento historiográfico es ciertamente irregular. Así, frente a trabajos rigurosos que inciden principalmente en sus orígenes, existen vacíos hasta hoy dificilmente explicables. Uno de ellos, quizás de los más importantes, es el análisis de aquellos estudiantes y graduados que pasaron por el centro universitario durante su dilatada trayectoria. Este libro pretende ser una pieza más en la reconstrucción de ese puzle que es la historia total de la Universidad de Irache, ofreciendo el repertorio de graduados, tanto hispanos como del resto de Europa, que alcanzaron los grados de bachiller, licenciado y doctor en Medicina (y Cirugía) entre los años 1613 y 1769. Ciento cincuenta y seis años de vida universitaria y de aspirantes procedentes de los más variados rincones peninsulares, principalmente, que acudieron a Irache con el fin de conseguir un título que les permitiera completar sus aspiraciones académicas y laborales.
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In this essay we present a first version concerning the various forms of popular devotion to, and iconographical elements of, Saints Cosmas and Damian in Hispanic territory. After a general analysis of the expansion of their worship in... more
In this essay we present a first version concerning the various forms of popular devotion to, and iconographical elements of, Saints Cosmas and Damian in Hispanic territory. After a general analysis of the expansion of their worship in the West, we tackle the beginnings of this on Hispanic soil, around the year 650, and the establishment of their devotion, in the second half of the fifteenth century, after the arrival in the peninsula of some of their supposed relics, in a veneration that has lasted until the present day. Saints Cosmas and Damian have traditionally been linked to the practice of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy. This leads us to analyse, on one hand, the miraculous cures that are ascribed to them, and, on the other, their symbolic depictions in the early centuries of their worship, which were to set the style for later artworks. Lastly, we sketch the permanence of their popular devotion in the present day, through the popular traditions that have kept ancient rites and customs alive.
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Hace aproximadamente cuatro lustros Luis García Ballester advirtió de unos textos que recogían algunos consejos médicos para el primer duque de Alba, García Álvarez de Toledo. Textos fechados en torno a 1486 y 1487 –poco antes de su... more
Hace aproximadamente cuatro lustros Luis García Ballester advirtió de unos textos que recogían algunos consejos médicos para el primer duque de Alba, García Álvarez de Toledo. Textos fechados en torno a 1486 y 1487 –poco antes de su muerte– y redactados por el licenciado Antonio, médico del duque de Bretaña, y durante un tiempo, “del muy yllustre e manífico señor duque de Alva, [y] vezino de la çibdad de Vitoria”. Los escritos, publicados a finales de los años ochenta, habían pasado desapercibidos hasta ese momento para los investigadores de la medicina medieval. En una breve referencia sobre estos documentos García Ballester comprobó que, pese a abordar un tema común, como era el tratamiento de la enfermedad del duque de Alba, no guardaban una estructura única. De hecho estableció tres tipos diferentes de textos según su tipología: el primero corresponde a un “consilium”, redactado a petición del hijo del duque, Gutiérrez Álvarez de Toledo, por aquel entonces maestrescuela de la Universidad de Salamanca; le sigue un “regimen sanitatis”, en el que se abordan aspectos relacionados con el aire y el ambiente, el modo de regir el sueño, recomendaciones para hacer ejercicio y unas concisas referencias sobre cuestiones alimentarias; el tercer documento corresponde a un verdadero tratado de cocina desde un punto de vista médico, escrito a petición del propio García Álvarez de Toledo.
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This work analyses and transcribes a health regime or consilium made for Cardinal Rodrigo de Castro, dated by the end of 16th century and preserved in the National Library of Spain (Madrid). It serves as an example of how physicians were... more
This work analyses and transcribes a health regime or consilium made for Cardinal Rodrigo de Castro, dated by the end of 16th century and preserved in the National Library of Spain (Madrid). It serves as an example of how physicians were interested in texts whose purpose was the treatment of individual pathologies, not only in order to cure patients but also as a way of showing how to treat similar cases. This is a genre of medical literature scarcely studied for the Spanish Renaissance. The case displayed shows that the upper classes appreciated the value of therapeutic resources adapted to their individual needs, which were usually copied and compiled for a personal use.
At the trial of Jacques de Rue, the chamberlain of King Charles II of Navarre, after he was arrested in France (March 1378), we learn that the doctor Ángel de Costafort was implicated in several of the king of Navarre’s plans to poison... more
At the trial of Jacques de Rue, the chamberlain of King Charles II of Navarre, after he was arrested in France (March 1378), we learn that the doctor Ángel de Costafort was implicated in several of the king of Navarre’s plans to poison people. The credibility of the testimonies given in this trial is questionable due to the use, or not, of torture, a fact about which historians disagree. Besides Costafort’s personal biography, constructed from the scant documentation conserved in the Royal and General Archive of Navarre (Pamplona, Spain), he is linked on the basis of his signature and personal seal to the practice of alchemy.
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El manuscrito conservado en la Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid) con signatura 2/Ms. 46, ff. 123r-130v, que responde al título de Reçeptas que fizo el doctor Gómez para el muy alto e muy esclareçido rey don Enrrique el quarto, nuestro... more
El manuscrito conservado en la Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid) con signatura 2/Ms. 46, ff. 123r-130v, que responde al título de Reçeptas que fizo el doctor Gómez para el muy alto e muy esclareçido rey don Enrrique el quarto, nuestro sennor, es un texto que no ha sido debidamente estudiado desde el punto de vista de la transmisión de las recetas médicas. Hace unos años Marcelino V. Amasuno atribuyó al doctor Gómez García de Salamanca su composición, relacionándolo con otros dos textos del mismo autor: el denominado Compendio de medicina destinado al maestre de Santiago Álvaro de Luna, conservado en la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Salamanca, y a las recetas que siguen al que denominó Recetario contra la pestilencia, también en la Real Academia de la Historia. La presente aportación pretende, por un lado, confirmar su datación mediante un estudio paleográfico y codicológico y, por otro, establecer su individualidad o no mediante el cotejo de las recetas entre dichos recetarios.
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Miscellaneous issue, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3989/aem.2022.v52.i2