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‘Cliff Notes’ on the Circulation of the Gynecological Texts of Soranus and Muscio in the Middle Ages
- Author(s):
- Monica H. Green (see profile)
- Date:
- 2023
- Group(s):
- Medieval Southern Italy, Medieval Studies
- Subject(s):
- History, History, Medicine, Obstetrics, Gynecology, Medical illustration, Illustrated works, Women, Childbirth
- Item Type:
- Essay
- Tag(s):
- History of Medicine, Women's History, Medieval History, Manuscript Illumination, Digitization and Digital Collections, philology, Medieval Translations, Medical Illustration
- Permanent URL:
- https://doi.org/10.17613/2qtt-0865
- Abstract:
- Beyond the texts on women's medicine associated with the name of a 12th-century female medical practitioner from Salerno named Trota (or the title, "Trotula"), the most widely circulated texts were those deriving from the ancient Greek *Gynecology* of Soranus (2nd century CE). In particular, the Latin translation/adaptation by Muscio (or Mustio), probably made in the 5th or 6th century, enjoyed the greatest popularity, particularly because it was accompanied by images showing different ways the fetus could present in the womb at the time of birth. These fetus-in-utero figures were carried over into the age of print in the 16th century, and became the foundation for European obstetrical depictions for several more centuries. Because the transmission of these works is so complicated (the images were adopted even in vernacular obstetrical texts, including the fabulously popular *Rosengarten* by Eucharius Rösslin), I initially prepared this "cheat sheet" of basic factual information in 2015 and have been updating it periodically since then. This is the version posted online on 23 February 2023. Please cite it as: Monica H. Green, "‘Cliff Notes’ on the Circulation of the Gynecological Texts of Soranus and Muscio in the Middle Ages," 23 February, 2023, [DOI].
- Metadata:
- xml
- Status:
- Published
- Last Updated:
- 3 months ago
- License:
- Attribution-NonCommercial
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