{"product_id":"fictions-of-well-being-sickly-readers-and-vernacular-medical-writing-in-late-medieval-and-early-modern-spain-hardback-9780812242553","title":"Fictions of Well-Being; Sickly Readers and Vernacular Medical Writing in Late Medieval and Early Modern Spain (Hardback) 9780812242553","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eFictions of Well-Being\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eSickly Readers and Vernacular Medical Writing in Late Medieval and Early Modern Spain\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eMichael Solomon (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780812242553\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 8 July 2010\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e200 pages, 7 illus.\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.46 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eFictions of Well-Being\u003c\/i\u003e expands our knowledge of Spanish medical literature in the crucial years between 1300 and 1650, and it offers refreshing insights into the history of medicine in general. Solomon's unifying theme is the instrumentality of the word or, more specifically, the medicinal effect of vernacular texts and books, as objects, on the reader's imagination and health. As a result, this book illuminates the relationship between academic and popular medicine and between the written word and the patient's perception.\" (Luke E. Demaitre, University of Virginia)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries in Spain, health-related information in the vernacular began to circulate widely in treatises, compendiums, manuals, plague tracts, summaries, encyclopedias, and recipe collections. These were often the work of concerned physicians who attempted to refashion medical information to appeal to nonprofessionals. In \u003ci\u003eFictions of Well-Being\u003c\/i\u003e Michael Solomon explores the shaping of this audience of sickly readers, highly motivated individuals who, when confronted with the painful, disruptive, and often alienating conditions of physical disorder, looked for relief in books.\u003cbr\u003e Vernacular medical writing from late medieval and early modern Spain emerged from the interrelated imperatives to address the immediate or future hygienic and pathological needs of the patient while promoting the reputation and learned credentials of the physician. For sickly readers, a medical treatise was more than just a collection of technical information; such a work implied that they could do with a medical text what the physician normally did at the bedside. In their imagination, the treatise became a type of palpable instrument that encouraged the reader to take advantage of its possible use and benefits. In these fictions of well-being, we may see the antecedents of the self-help and popular medical books so prominent on today's best-seller lists.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eList of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e Preface\u003cbr\u003e Introduction: Physicians, Sickly Readers, and Vernacular Medical Writing\u003cbr\u003e Chapter One. Fictions of Utility\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Two. Fictions of the Physician\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Three. Fictions and Pharmaceuticals\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion. Fictions of Ill-Being\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52653248282904,"sku":"9780812242553","price":44.97,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/fictions-of-well-being-sickly-readers-and-vernacular-medical-writing-in-late-medieval-and-early-modern-spain-hardback-9780812242553","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}