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{"id":29592,"date":"2024-07-18T11:00:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T15:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/?p=29592"},"modified":"2024-07-18T11:05:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T15:05:49","slug":"the-little-art-of-reading-signs-the-isagoge-and-five-other-texts-of-the-articella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2024\/07\/18\/the-little-art-of-reading-signs-the-isagoge-and-five-other-texts-of-the-articella\/","title":{"rendered":"The “Little Art” of Reading Signs: The Isagoge and Five other Texts of the Articella"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Luke Demaitre ~<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Originally published in <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/resource.nlm.nih.gov\/101569502\">Hidden Treasure: The National Library of Medicine<\/a>, <em>2011.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29598\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29598\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29598\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2024\/07\/18\/the-little-art-of-reading-signs-the-isagoge-and-five-other-texts-of-the-articella\/illuminated-v_101594807_101249705\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?fit=835%2C1200&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"835,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}\" data-image-title=\"Illuminated V_101594807_101249705\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?fit=209%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?fit=713%2C1024&ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-29598\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?resize=400%2C575&ssl=1\" alt=\"A page from a manuscript on vellum with an illuminated letter V featuring a man on a chair reading from a book.\" width=\"400\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?resize=713%2C1024&ssl=1 713w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?resize=209%2C300&ssl=1 209w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?resize=768%2C1104&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705.jpg?w=835&ssl=1 835w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29598\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Master in Cathedra Expounding on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates. The initial V (rendered as a U) of \u201cVita brevis, ars vero longa,\u201d \u201cLife is short, but the Art is long.\u201d <br \/><em>Isagoge Johannitius in Tegni Galieni<\/em>, folio 15b <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.nlm.nih.gov\/permalink\/01NLM_INST\/1o1phhn\/alma9912497053406676\"><em>National Library of Medicine #101249705<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the deluge of digital data and ephemera, and amid changes that challenge the \u201cbook\u201d as a concept, this unique volume may appear as a quaint relic from thirteenth-century Paris. It is much more: a testament to the vital role of the written page; a product of the confluence of Greco-Latin and Judeo-Arabic legacies; and a witness to the emergence of the medical university and profession. The manuscript was created in a secular workshop rather than in a monastic scriptorium, but with an intense devotion that is evident in the fine vellum, steady hand, and exquisitely illuminated initials. Books are featured prominently in most of the illuminations, with a reverence normally reserved for the Bible. Reverence did not preclude use, however: the margins contain numerous though discreet annotations.<\/p>\n<p>We do not know the original owner, but the volume was more likely intended for the classroom lectern than for the collection of an aristocrat or prosperous practitioner. The only subject outshining books in the illuminations is the <em>magister <\/em>(teacher), who is often depicted in the <em>cathedra<\/em>, or seat of authority\u2014and who was on his way to appropriating the title of <em>doctor <\/em>originally held by the teacher of theology. The physicians and his students, like the teacher, belonged to the literate class, or clergy, marked by the tonsure, or shaven crown. As members of the faculty of medicine, on the other hand, they were dedicated to health rather than salvation, and to their Art rather than to the Church.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29599\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29599\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29599\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2024\/07\/18\/the-little-art-of-reading-signs-the-isagoge-and-five-other-texts-of-the-articella\/illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?fit=1096%2C1200&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1096,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}\" data-image-title=\"Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?fit=274%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?fit=840%2C920&ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-29599 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?resize=840%2C920&ssl=1\" alt=\"A bound manuscript open to pages with illuminated initial letters featuring figures with flasks. \" width=\"840\" height=\"920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?resize=935%2C1024&ssl=1 935w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?resize=274%2C300&ssl=1 274w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?resize=768%2C841&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?resize=840%2C920&ssl=1 840w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-letters_101594881_101249705.jpg?w=1096&ssl=1 1096w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29599\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left-hand folio: Master on Bench Pointing at a Raised Flask While Lecturing on the Book on Urines of Theophilus. Initial D of \u201cDe urinarum differencia negocium\u201d (The matter of the differences of urines). Right-hand folio: Bearded Master Holding Up a Flask While Explaining the Diagnostic Significance of Urine to a Student (or Patient). Initial U of \u201cUrina ergo est colamentum sanguinis\u201d (Urine is the filtrate of the blood). <br \/><em>Isagoge Johannitius in Tegni Galieni<\/em>, folios 42b\u201343a <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.nlm.nih.gov\/permalink\/01NLM_INST\/1o1phhn\/alma9912497053406676\"><em>National Library of Medicine #101249705<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe Healing Art\u201d (<em>techne_ iatrike_<\/em>), as celebrated in the Hippocratic tradition, followed the age-old conviction that writing gave medicine the foundation and constancy that were lacking in the cultivation of individual talent and transmission by apprenticeship. Recording allowed knowledge to accumulate and be passed on with relative uniformity in lectures and elucidating commentaries, although these were far less homogeneous than is commonly assumed.<\/p>\n<p>This volume contains the \u201cLittle Art,\u201d or <em>Articella<\/em>, the writings that formed the core of the medical curriculum. The <em>Isagoge<\/em>, or introduction, to the basic definitions and parts of medicine is followed by the seminal <em>Aphorisms <\/em>and <em>Prognostics <\/em>of Hippocrates and two influential, though less historic, treatises on diagnosis by urines and pulses. The capstone of the collection is the <em>Tegni<\/em>, as Galen\u2019s key work on the Art was known.<\/p>\n<p>These texts, and the methods of teaching them, aimed chiefly at replacing vague and deceptive impressions with precise and orderly reasoning. The preoccupation with distinctions and divisions led one master to schematize the treatises in elaborate diagrams that occupy almost one-eighth of the manuscript. Learned practitioners stood out by their ability to define and understand diseases, to recognize the symptoms, and to foresee the outcome, even when the cure was elusive. The illuminations do not show the physician as treating the sick but as identifying dropsy, explaining the diagnostic significance of urine, and pronouncing the prognosis of a bedridden patient\u2019s illness.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_29597\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29597\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29597\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2024\/07\/18\/the-little-art-of-reading-signs-the-isagoge-and-five-other-texts-of-the-articella\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?fit=1600%2C1010&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1600,1010\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}\" data-image-title=\"diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Distinctiones, diagrammatic commentaries by Magister Ri[cardus] on the Aphorisms (\u201cExpliciunt\u201d) and Prognostics (\u201cIncipiunt\u201d) of Hippocrates. Note the sutured tear on folio 110v.<br \/>\nIsagoge, folios. 110b\u2013111a<br \/>\nNational Library of Medicine #101249705<\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?fit=300%2C189&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?fit=840%2C530&ssl=1\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29597\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?resize=840%2C530&ssl=1\" alt=\"A bound manuscript open to a complex branched chart.\" width=\"840\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?resize=1024%2C646&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?resize=300%2C189&ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?resize=768%2C485&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?resize=1536%2C970&ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?resize=1200%2C758&ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?resize=840%2C530&ssl=1 840w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diagnostic-diagrams_101445234_101249705.jpg?w=1600&ssl=1 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29597\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Distinctiones<\/em>, Diagrammatic Commentaries by Magister Ri[cardus] on the <em>Aphorisms<\/em> (\u201cExpliciunt\u201d) and <em>Prognostics<\/em> (\u201cIncipiunt\u201d) of Hippocrates. Note the sutured tear on folio 110v on the right.<br \/><em>Isagoge Johannitius in Tegni Galieni<\/em>, folios 110b\u2013111a<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.nlm.nih.gov\/permalink\/01NLM_INST\/1o1phhn\/alma9912497053406676\"><em>National Library of Medicine #101249705<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><em>Luke Demaitre, PhD, has published widely on the role of the first universities in medical teaching and practice. His books include <\/em>Leprosy in Premodern Medicine: A Malady of the Whole Body<em>, and <\/em>Medieval Medicine: The Art of Healing, from Head to Toe<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Luke Demaitre ~ Originally published in Hidden Treasure: The National Library of Medicine, 2011. In the deluge of digital<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19605840,"featured_media":29600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12763,347145303],"tags":[903711,1480675,1487506],"class_list":["post-29592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collections","category-rare-books-journals","tag-1200s","tag-book-illustration","tag-hidden-treasure"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Illuminated-V_101594807_101249705_feature.jpg?fit=900%2C401&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xcDk-7Hi","jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19605840"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29592"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29720,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29592\/revisions\/29720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |