Embodying the Soul: Medicine and Religion in Carolingian Europe (The Middle Ages Series)

650 1,400 

Embodying the Soul explores the possibilities and limitations of human intervention in the body’s health across the ninth-century Carolingian Empire. Early medieval medicine has long been cast as a superstitious, degraded remnant of a vigorous, rational Greco-Roman tradition. Against such assumptions, Meg Leja argues that Carolingian scholars engaged in an active debate regarding the value of Hippocratic knowledge, a debate framed by the efforts to define Christian orthodoxy that were central to the reforms of Charlemagne and his successors.

From a subject with pagan origins that had suspicious links with magic, medical knowledge gradually came to be classified as a sacred art. This development coincided with an intensifying belief that body and soul, the two components of individual identity, cultivated virtue not by waging combat against one another but by working together harmoniously. The book demonstrates that new discussions regarding the legitimacy of medical learning and the merits of good health encouraged a style of self-governance that left an enduring mark on medieval conceptions of individual responsibility. The chapters tackle questions about the soul’s material occupation of the body, the spiritual meaning of illness, and the difficulty of diagnosing the ills of the internal bodily cavity.

Combating the silence on “dark-age” medicine, Embodying the Soul uncovers new understandings of the physician, the popularity of preventative regimens, and the theological importance attached to dietary regulation and bloodletting. In presenting a cultural history of the body, the book considers a broad range of evidence: theological and pastoral treatises, monastic rules, court poetry, capitularies, hagiographies, biographies, and biblical exegesis. Most important, it offers a dynamic reinterpretation of the large numbers of medical manuscripts that survive from the ninth century but have rarely been the focus of historical study.

 

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Description

Embodying the Soul: Medicine and Religion in Carolingian Europe by ‘Meg Leja’

  • Focus: Explores the relationship between medicine and religion in Carolingian Europe, examining how the body and soul were understood.
  • Author: Written by Meg Leja, a historian specializing in medieval studies.
  • Medicine and religion: Analyzes how medical knowledge was intertwined with religious beliefs and practices during the Carolingian era.
  • Cultural and spiritual context: Investigates the spiritual dimensions of health and healing, reflecting on the religious significance of the body.
  • Historical analysis: Provides insights into how early medieval medical practices were influenced by theological perspectives.
  • The Middle Ages Series: Part of a series that delves into various aspects of medieval life, culture, and thought.
Embodying the Soul: Medicine and Religion in Carolingian Europe
Buy online Medical books  at Gangaram Jinnah Medical Books Shop for home delivery and Cash on delivery to all over Pakistan. All kind of medical books are available.

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Black & white, Colour Matt Finish

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