How an early modern surgeon and his accessible writings changed
medical expertise and the communication of medical knowledge.
Between 1497 and 1512, Hieronymus Brunschwig (ca. 1450–ca. 1530), an
obscure craftsman from Strasbourg, wrote books on surgery and pharmacy
that transformed medical expertise, how it was codified in print, and
how it was communicated to new audiences. Brunschwig was an unlikely
author. He apprenticed as a surgeon in the local guild and dispensed
medicines from his own shop. But he was remarkably well-read in
surgery, alchemy, and medical theory, even if he lacked a university
education. His unique authorial voice spoke to the healing practices
of craftsmen and common people in a down-to-earth German dialect.
Crafting Medicine, by Tillmann Taape, is the first in-depth study of
Brunschwig and his works. In it, Taape argues that Brunschwig’s
writings shaped a nascent tradition of vernacular medicine.
Brunschwig’s books represent a key moment in the history of medical
print, for they conveyed medical expertise to a new readership of
nonacademic practitioners, who became a key audience for a flood of
vernacular medical publications during the sixteenth century. Using
Brunschwig’s books as a unique window into the past, Crafting
Medicine beautifully reconstructs the world of science inhabited by
Brunschwig, his fellow craftsmen, his translators, and his readers.
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Artisans, Knowledge, and the Common Man in Hieronymus Brunschwig's Books on Surgery and Distillation
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780226840598
Publisert
2025
Utgiver
University of Chicago Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter