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SUMMARY:John Caius and the English Sweating Sickness - Dannielle Cagliuso
DTSTART:20160607T193000Z
DTEND:20160607T200000Z
UID:TALK65974@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Michael Kosicki
DESCRIPTION:     Amongst members of our college\, Dr. John Caius (1510-157
 3) is best known as its second founder. He is the alumnus whose generous d
 onations helped the college grow from Gonville Hall\, small and falling in
 to decline\, into Gonville and Caius\, now one of Cambridge’s largest an
 d finest colleges\, with a particular reputation for scientific and medica
 l excellence. Yet he is also the master whose quarrels with his fellows an
 d students have tarnished his reputation for nearly 500 years. \n     In o
 ther aspects of his life\, the picture of Caius is similarly fraught with 
 contradictions. Some scholars accuse him of being a reactionary whose infl
 uence held back the progress of English medicine\, yet others praise him a
 s one of the greatest humanists of his day. He was mocked by William Shake
 speare in Merry Wives of Windsor but described by William Bullein as “th
 e second Linacer\,” a flattering reference to the great medical humanist
  Thomas Linacre. His defense of physicians’ professional privileges duri
 ng his time as President of the College of Physicians has been described a
 s praiseworthy “resolute action” that protected his profession and the
  vulnerable populace\, while others regard it as a harsh persecution of we
 ll-meaning\, skilled alternative medical practitioners.\n     Criticisms o
 f Caius usually focus on his strict adherence to the teachings of the anci
 ent physician Galen of Pergamum (129-c. 216). Caius’ Galenism is typical
 ly construed as static Galenism that rendered him unresponsive to medical 
 evidence. Yet\, a closer\, contextualised examination of Caius and his con
 temporaries reveals that Caius was not an obstinate reactionary\, pedantic
 ally following every Galenic dictate\, but rather a learned\, intelligent\
 , nuanced scholar who aimed to adopt a Galenic methodology in both his phi
 lological and medical endeavours. \n     In this talk\, I will use Caius
 ’ medical treatise\, A boke or counseill against the disease commonly ca
 lled the sweate or sweatyng sicknesse\, to reveal his “learned empiricis
 m\,” his deft synthesis of theoretical\, textual knowledge with observat
 ional evidence. Through this\, he consciously emulated the empiricism of G
 alen. A close examination of Caius’ Counseill further rehabilitates his 
 reputation by demonstrating his sincere concern for all victims and potent
 ial victims of the Sweating Sickness\, noble and poor alike. This talk wil
 l thus discuss an important sixteenth-century medical text and an enigmati
 c epidemic disease\, but will also serve as an opportunity to lionise Caiu
 s\, whose work on the Sweat deserves recognition and praise.    
LOCATION:Senior Parlour\, Gonville and Caius College
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