Visualizing Medieval Medicine and Natural History, 1200-1550

Download or read book Visualizing Medieval Medicine and Natural History, 1200-1550 written by Jean Ann Givens and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Visualizing Medieval Medicine and Natural History, 1200-1550 addresses fundamental questions about the interplay of visual and verbal communication in medieval medicine, pharmacy, and natural history. Analyzing images in works as diverse as herbals, jewellery, surgery manuals, lay health guides, cinquecento paintings, manuscripts of Pliny's Natural History, and Leonardo's notebooks, the essays ask: What counts as medical illustration in the Middle Ages? What purposes and audiences do these illustrations serve? How do images of natural objects, observed phenomena, and theoretical concepts amplify texts and convey complex cultural attitudes? Why do we regard some of these images as medieval productions while other exactly contemporary images strike us as typically early modern in character?