Medicine Conference

The ‘Missing Link’: medicine in late antiquity and the early middle ages

King’s College, Cambridge

Saturday 8 March 2008

organized by Debby Banham, Peter Jones and Clare Pilsworth with thanks to the Departments of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic/History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, King’s College Cambridge, the Royal Historical Society and the Wellcome Trust

What happened in medicine between Galen and the schools of Salerno? Why is this period so often skipped over in general histories of medicine? What is the distinction (or relationship) between ‘late antique’ and ‘early medieval’, as far as medicine is concerned?

This day-conference is the second in a series that hopes to shed some light on these and related questions (the first, ‘Theorica et practica: medicine in the earlier middle ages’, was held at Manchester in March 2007). We welcome all scholars (at all levels of experience) who are interested in the medicine of this period, and look forward to continuing the stimulating discussions begun last year.

Programme

We have an interesting variety of papers lined up, ranging widely in terms of geography, chronology and methodology.

Sally Crawford (Oxford), ‘Texts, tweezers and trepanning: assessing the archaeology of Anglo-Saxon medicine’
Conan T. Doyle (Cambridge), The Old English Ymbe mannes gecynde (On the generation of man)

Klaus-Dietrich Fischer (Mainz), The recipe for an acharistum in an 8th-century manuscript from the library of Nicholas of Cues
Valerie Knight (Manchester), ‘Alexander Trallianus on gout: the secondary tradition’
Christina Lee (Nottingham), ‘Care and cure: Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards disease and disability’
Danielle Maion (Udine), ‘Peri didaxeon: use and elaboration of Latin sources in later Anglo-Saxon England’
Lea Olsan (Cambridge) on Anglo-Saxon charms and Marcellus Empiricus
Christine Salazar (Cambridge) on Paul of Aegina
Theresa Tyers (Nottingham), ‘Lost in translation: searching texts for receipts for women c.1200-1500’