Abella
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Abella, often known as Abella of Salerno or Abella of Castellomata, was a physician in the mid fourteenth century. Abella studied and taught at the
Salerno School of Medicine The Schola Medica Salernitana ( it, Scuola Medica Salernitana) was a Medieval medical school, the first and most important of its kind. Situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the south Italian city of Salerno, it was founded in the 9th century and rose ...
. Abella is believed to have been born around 1380, but the exact time of her birth and death is unclear. Abella lectured on standard medical practices, bile, and women's health and nature at the medical school in Salerno. Abella, along with
Rebecca de Guarna Rebecca Guarna (fl. 1200), was an Italian physician and surgeon and author. She is one of a number of female physicians known from the Middle Ages. She was one of the women known as the " ladies of Salerno". Rebecca Guarna was a member of the same ...
, specialized in the area of
embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos ...
. She published two treatises: De atrabile (On Black Bile) and De natura seminis humani (on the Nature of the Seminal Fluid), neither of which survive today. In Salvatore De Renzi's nineteenth-century study of the
Salerno School of Medicine The Schola Medica Salernitana ( it, Scuola Medica Salernitana) was a Medieval medical school, the first and most important of its kind. Situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the south Italian city of Salerno, it was founded in the 9th century and rose ...
, Abella is one of four women (along with
Rebecca de Guarna Rebecca Guarna (fl. 1200), was an Italian physician and surgeon and author. She is one of a number of female physicians known from the Middle Ages. She was one of the women known as the " ladies of Salerno". Rebecca Guarna was a member of the same ...
, Mercuriade, and
Constance Calenda Constance Calenda ( it, Costanza or ; ) was an Italian surgeon specializing in diseases of the eye.
) mentioned who were known to practice medicine, lecture on medicine, and wrote treatises. These attributes placed Abella into a group of women known as the Mulieres Salernitanae, or women of Salerno.


Legacy

Abella is a featured figure on
Judy Chicago Judy Chicago (born Judith Sylvia Cohen; July 20, 1939) is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history ...
's installation piece, ''
The Dinner Party ''The Dinner Party'' is an installation artwork by feminist artist Judy Chicago. Widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork, it functions as a symbolic history of women in civilization. There are 39 elaborate place settings on a triang ...
''. Abella is represented as one of the nine hundred and ninety-nine names included in the ''Heritage Floor''. The ''Heritage Floor'' is a supporting piece to Judy Chicago's ''The Dinner Party''. It is meant to represent the number of women who struggled into prominence to essentially have their names erased and/or forgotten. She is one of the "ladies of Salerno" who attended and taught at the
Salerno School of Medicine The Schola Medica Salernitana ( it, Scuola Medica Salernitana) was a Medieval medical school, the first and most important of its kind. Situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the south Italian city of Salerno, it was founded in the 9th century and rose ...
featured in the ''Heritage Floor'', along with
Rebecca de Guarna Rebecca Guarna (fl. 1200), was an Italian physician and surgeon and author. She is one of a number of female physicians known from the Middle Ages. She was one of the women known as the " ladies of Salerno". Rebecca Guarna was a member of the same ...
,
Francesca of Salerno ''Trotula'' is a name referring to a group of three texts on women's medicine that were composed in the southern Italian port town of Salerno in the 12th century. The name derives from a historic female figure, Trota of Salerno, a physician and ...
, and Mercuriade.


Mulieres Salernitanae

The
Salerno School of Medicine The Schola Medica Salernitana ( it, Scuola Medica Salernitana) was a Medieval medical school, the first and most important of its kind. Situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the south Italian city of Salerno, it was founded in the 9th century and rose ...
was the first university to allow women to enter. This resulted in a group of women known as , meaning women of Salerno or Salernitan wives. These women were known for their great learning. This group of women consisted of Abella, Trota of Salerno, Mercuriade,
Rebecca de Guarna Rebecca Guarna (fl. 1200), was an Italian physician and surgeon and author. She is one of a number of female physicians known from the Middle Ages. She was one of the women known as the " ladies of Salerno". Rebecca Guarna was a member of the same ...
,
Maria Incarnata Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
, and
Constance Calenda Constance Calenda ( it, Costanza or ; ) was an Italian surgeon specializing in diseases of the eye.
. The women of Salerno not only practiced medicine, but also taught medicine at the
Salerno School of Medicine The Schola Medica Salernitana ( it, Scuola Medica Salernitana) was a Medieval medical school, the first and most important of its kind. Situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the south Italian city of Salerno, it was founded in the 9th century and rose ...
and wrote texts. This group of women worked against the common view and roles of women at the time, and are considered a pride of medieval Salerno and a symbol of beneficence.


Family of Castellomata

The family of Castellomata was an extremely influential family in Salerno, one in which Abella is believed to belong to. The heavy influence of the family helped confirm the vital ties between the papal court and the
Salerno School of Medicine The Schola Medica Salernitana ( it, Scuola Medica Salernitana) was a Medieval medical school, the first and most important of its kind. Situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the south Italian city of Salerno, it was founded in the 9th century and rose ...
. A significant member of this family was Giovanni of Castellomata, who held the title of medicus papae, or “doctor of the pope” to
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...
. The relationship between Abella and Giovanni of Castellomata is unclear.


References

;References ;Bibliography * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abella 14th-century Italian physicians 14th-century Italian women Italian women scientists Medieval women physicians Schola Medica Salernitana