And there’s the humor of it: Shakespeare and the four humors

Medicine in the Age of Shakespeare I

Medical knowledge of Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans prior to the invention of moveable type was scattered, in manuscripts, lost to general readership.  With the development of printing, rediscovered older knowledge was translated, published and disseminated and medical and scientific developments flourished.   These examples of medical texts of the time of Shakespeare demonstrate some of the significant innovations. The Anatomy of Melancholy, considered to be the first psychiatric encyclopedia that is also a work of literature; the woodcuts in The noble experyence of the vertuous handy warke of surgeri practysyd are earliest specimens of medical illustration; Harvey’s first edition changed conceptions of circulation of blood and function of the heart, veins and arteries; and Paré was pioneer in surgical techniques and other medical disciplines. 

The examples also show the irregular and slow uptake of new discoveries. For example, Harvey’s critical discovery about the circulation in the blood published in 1628 was not included in the 2^nd edition of Crooke’s Mikrokosmographia in 1631 and the 8^th edition of English-mans treasure; With the True anatomie of mans body published in 1633 did not adopt Vesalius’ method instead following Galenic tradition.. 

Medicine in the Age of Shakespeare 2

Vesalius revolutionized the science of anatomy and revolutionize the traditional anatomical teachings of Galen.  His De humani corpus fabrica is considered one of the greatest medical books in his and is renowned for its woodcuts of musclemen and typography. Both the Valverde and Crooke follow his tradition.  Anatomia del corpo umano, an early Spanish medical book in 1556, plagiarized the text and copied the plates from Vesalius.  Mikrokosmographia is similar to De humani corpus fabrica a it is large and amply illustrationed.  It is a compendium of current anatomical knowledge, including material from Valverde, and pubished in English in 1618.

Remedies in the age of Shakespeare

When the four fluids were out of balance, cures were designed to restore this balance. These books reflect the contrast of botanical and chemical remedies.  Herbals provide names and descriptions of plants together with their medicinal powers. Gerard’s 2^nd edition is considered the most important as it corrected mistakes in the first edition and increased the number of plants to 2850. Gerard plagiarized much of this work from the Belgian botanist Dodoens, who himself borrowed Fuchs.  However, his own descriptions of localities and folklore shed light on Elizabethan England. 

Similarily, Boorde’s book, Breviarie of health wherin doth folow remedies for all manner of sicknesses and diseases this work, describes the condition of hygiene in the 16^th century. Du Chesne, aka Quercetanus, attempted to introduce Paracelsus’ doctrines and substitute the Galenic physic in France with chemical remedies. In this he is representative of the state of change in the 17^th century.