Adelle of the Saracens (active 12th century) was an Italian physician. She belonged to the Saracinensa family and was a lay teacher at the medical faculty of

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

. Her medical practice stemmed from roots in the Salerno Medical School and she practiced Medieval and Early Italian Renaissance Ideals in her medicine including Humanism.

Background

Saracen ( ) was a term used by

European Christians Christianity is the largest religion in Europe. Christianity has been practiced in Europe since the first century, and a number of the Pauline Epistles were addressed to Christians living in Greece, as well as other parts of the Roman Empire. ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

to refer to

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

—usually

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

, and Iranians. The term's meaning evolved during its history of usage: in the early centuries of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, both

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

writings used "Saracen" to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Arabia Petraea Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province ( la, Provincia Arabia; ar, العربية البترائية; grc, Ἐπαρχία Πετραίας Ἀραβίας) or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Empi ...

and

Arabia Deserta Arabia Deserta (Latin meaning "Abandoned/Deserted Arabia"), also known as Arabia Magna ("Great Arabia"), signified the desert interior of the Arabian peninsula. In ancient times, this land was populated by nomadic Bedouin tribes who frequentl ...

. During the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, the term came to be associated with the

tribes of Arabia The Tribes of Arabia () or Arab tribes () are the ethnic Arabs, Arab tribes and clans that originated in the Arabian Peninsula. The tribes of Arabia descend from either one of the two Arab ancestors, Adnan or Qahtanite, Qahtan. Arab tribes have hi ...

Salerno Medical School

Salerno encompassed an important medical school founded during the Medieval times. It based its curriculum and lifestyle off of many different influences such as Greek, Arabic, Latin, and Hebrew. As one of the first medical schools that was founded around the 9th century in Italy, it greatly influenced the medical works and thought process of the Medieval Times. In addition, women also had the ability to contribute their ideals at this school. This was particularly significant because during this time period, a woman's medical opinion was still narrowly considered as substantial, or even correct. Cultural shifts like these with women in the medical field gave physicians newer ways of thinking. This includes their contributions like backing the idea of the requirement of physicians to have certifications to practice and adding a different viewpoint to some anatomy textbooks which were pertinent in the development of modern-day medicine.

Humanism

Going into the Italian Renaissance, many medical professionals and physicians pursued their careers with a humanist way of thinking. Humanism refers to the sole focus on humans as a physical being rather than seeing them as being influenced by any supernatural forces. It was a more rational thought process and strictly emphasized the focus on human needs. These influences were particularly seen in translation efforts of Greek manuscripts.

References

Bibliography

* * *

Marilyn Ogilvie Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie (born 1936) is an American historian of science known especially for her work on the history of women in science. She taught at Oklahoma Baptist University before becoming curator of the History of Science Collections and ...

Joy Harvey Joy Dorothy Harvey (born 1934) is an American historian of science. Life Harvey gained a PhD from Harvard University in 1983. She has been an associate editor of the Darwin Correspondence Project, and written a biography of Clémence Royer, Dar ...

Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science
{{authority control Medieval women physicians 12th-century Italian physicians Italian women scientists Women medical researchers 12th-century Italian women People from Salerno

Background

Salerno Medical School

Humanism

See also

References

Bibliography