Souvislosti česky psané tištěné literatury o moru 16. století

• Authors: Tomicek D.

Title variants

EN

ASPECTS OF THE 16TH CENTURY CZECH PRINTED LITERATURE ABOUT THE PLAGUE

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

Analysis of the 16th century Czech printed literature about the plague shows clear links, both thematic and compositional, with the older tradition of the scholastic medical literature. Treatises about the plague are based on the sex res non naturales theoretical framework that was still applied in the 16th century. Towards the end of the century, however, the scheme starts to give way to lists of collective safety recommendations. This emphasis on collective security (of the town or the community) appears to be a new trend of the time, at least as far as literature on the plague is concerned. Medical doctors no longer focus on the risky life-style of individuals, but rather persuade the community to take measures preventing the spread of the disease. In this connection the work of Martin Repanský should be mentioned as one of the most progressive writings on the topic, influenced by the theory of contagion, according to which the plague is spread by small particles. The dialogue about the plague written by Jan z Bakova shows that religious authorities and medical doctors may have had conflicting views on the aetiology and prevention of the plague. Through one of his characters, a peasant, Jan z Bakova sharply criticizes the doctors and rejects their claim that the disease is infectious. This protest can be explained as a reaction to quarantine measures that precluded contact between believers and their pastors, including the holy communion. If the plague were not infectious, no such measures would be needed. The opposite standpoint is defended by Jan Kocin z Kocinétu who claims that the plague is one of many infectious diseases and its causes are natural.

Keywords

EN

CZECH MEDIEVAL LITERATURE; HISTORY OF MEDICINE; PLAGUE

Discipline

• OTHER_SOCIAL_SCIENCES: OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Listy filologické (Folia philologica)
• Year: 2007
• Volume: 130
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 43-60
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Tomicek D.

• D. Tomicek, Listy filologické, Kabinet pro klasická studia AV cR, Na Florenci 3, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic; http://lf.clavmon.cz

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

07CZAAAA03076309