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Loading... Medieval Syphilis and Treponemal Disease (Past Imperfect)by Marylynn Salmon
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Leaders in the field of paleopathology have found enough evidence to prove that treponematosis, including syphilis, existed in ancient and medieval Afro-Eurasia, settling a decades-long debate. Yet documentary and artistic evidence to support this important work remains scarce. After summarizing the confirmed cases of treponematosis detected to date, this book turns to contemporary accounts about the death of the English king, Edward IV, that strongly indicate syphilis as the cause. It then considers further evidence suggesting contemporary awareness that elites tended to experience the disease more severely than commoners, and includes numerous examples from medical treatises and artworks that are highly suggestive that both endemic and venereal treponematosis (bejel and syphilis) were present in late medieval Europe. In doing so, the author hopes to spark a conversation not only about the existence of the disease in various places and times, but also its wider impact on premodern society and culture. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)616.90940902Technology Medicine and health Diseases Other diseasesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The most useful part of this book is the initial section, in which Salmon lists out all the known cases of treponemal/possibly syphilitic infections identified from skeletal remains in medieval Europe. The subsequent parts are less convincing. Salmon argues first that contemporary accounts of the death of Edward IV of England as having occurred "after fishing" should be understood as metaphorical—fish/mermaids could be understood as euphemisms for sex in the Middle Ages. I mean, perhaps? But I didn't find this particularly winning as an argument. Then she brings together various different images from high/late medieval Western Europe and suggests that they are depictions of or inspired by people with late stage syphilis. Trying to diagnose an illness from a manuscript illustration is a really dubious proposition, and I just wasn't convinced by the images Salmon reproduced here. (Particularly since she doesn't grapple with the fact that a couple of the illustrations she cites as showing characteristic facial differences almost certainly have antisemitic undertones—cross-referencing with Sara Lipton's work would have been useful here.)
Future research may prove Salmon right, and I'm glad that the Past Imperfect series provides a forum for deliberately provocative/speculative work like this book. I just wasn't won over here. ( )