Research Catalog

Title

Plague, print, and the Reformation : the German reform of healing, 1473-1573 / Erik A. Heinrichs.

Author

Heinrichs, Erik A.,

Publication

• London ; New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.
• ©2018

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 248 pages : illustrations; 25 cm.

Summary

"This book surveys a neglected set of sources, German plague prints and treatises published between 1473 and 1573, in order to explore the intertwined histories of plague, print, medicine and religion during the Reformation era. It argues that a particularly German reform of healing flourished in printed texts during the Renaissance and Reformation as physicians and clerics devised innovative responses to the era's persistent epidemics. These reforms are 'German' since they reflect the innovative trends that originated in or were particularly strong within German-speaking lands, including the rapid growth of vernacular print, Protestantism, and new interest in alchemy and the native plants of northern Europe that were unknown to the ancients. Their reforms are also 'German' in the sense that they unfolded mainly in vernacular print, which encouraged physicians to produce local knowledge, grounded in personal experience and local observations as much as universal theories. This book contributes to the history of medicine and science by tracing the growth of more empirical forms of medical knowledge. It also contributes to the history of the Renaissance and Reformation by uncovering the innovative contributions of various forgotten physicians. This book presents the broadest study of German plague treatises in any language"--

Series Statement

The history of medicine in context

Uniform Title

History of medicine in context.

Subject

• Healing > Germany > History
• Healing in literature
• Medical literature > Germany > History and criticism
• Pamphlets > History. > Germany
• Plague > Germany > History
• Plague > History. > Germany
• Plague in literature
• Printing > History. > Germany
• Protestantism > History. > Germany
• Reformation > Germany

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-244) and index.

Language (note)

• Appendix 2 text is in German.

ISBN

• 9781472473141
• 1472473140

LCCN

2017028309

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library