Antiquity. Works of Villanova

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The Church considered that people should care of spirit, the care of a body was esteemed by a sin. The medicine endured the decline period. And if the works which have not remained in the Arabian transfers of Gippokrata and Galena who knows, in what direction this science further would go. Nevertheless and at this time there were outstanding doctors. Spaniard Arnold de Villanova (apprx. 1235-1311), the well-known doctor and the alchemist whom accused of communications with evil spirit was one of them.

Arnold de has left Villanova after itself many works on medicine and alchemy. He wrote in Latin language. The largest and its important product - ' the Breviary from head to foot ', takes a leading place among books of the period of the Middle Ages, the issued from the pen European scientists. However, in the books of Villanova repeatedly results statements of Galena and Ibn Siny, but often criticises sights of these scientists, sometimes opposing them the supervision. He even has accused Ibn Sinu that that ' besots a considerable part of the European doctors '. Villanova resolutely opposed unjustified generalisations in medicine, demanding research of particulars that, in its opinion, it is absolutely necessary in medical practice. It derides doctors who ' are masters in the theory, and in practice not only are not able to register a simple enema or other procedure, but at all in a condition to cure of an one-day fever '.

Villanova objected to application of difficult medicines, asserting that ' the more in the recipe of medicines, the action of a difficult medicine ' is worse. Arnold Villanova's sights to a certain extent predicted close decline of medieval superstitions. But he could not refuse belief in magic, in power of a devil and demons. In medical practice it along with medicines applied amulets, and gold considered as a universal medicine. Villanova wrote about mercury much, therefore contemporaries considered that he knows a way of transformation of mercury in gold. At the same time, Villanova was one of the first doctors applying in medicine modern it of achievement of alchemy-chemistry, in particular, salts of mercury and sulphurous connections. It is necessary to mention the inoculation of herbs recommended by Arnold to grapes branches that ostensibly gave the chance to receive curative grades of wines.

With craft and trade development literacy continued to grow in cities. For schoolboys and students it was required more and more textbooks, townspeople showed interest to the literature. The hand-written way of reproduction of books could not satisfy the increased demand for them.