Heinrich von Louffenburg (1391–1460) was a

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

n priest born at Louffenburg on the Rhein, Germany. He is best known for his treatise, ''Versehung des Leibs'' (Care of the Body), written in 1429. It was published in 1491 as one of four great medical treatises in ''

Pediatric Incunabula Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

'', the first known text to be devoted to the normal physiology and common illnesses of children. Louffenburg wrote his treatise in Swabian, his native tongue, instead of the traditional

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 ...

. It is a poem meant to be chanted, as that is how works were often written to aid memorization and the spread of information among those who were not able to read and write.Ruhrah, John. Heinrich von Louffenburg 1391-1460. Am J. Dis. Child. Pediatric biographies. 1932;43(1):187-194. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1932.01950010194018Jacalyn Duffin. History of Medicine: A scandalously short introduction. University of Toronto Press. 2010. Later in life, Louffenburg was a dean of St. Mauritius in Zofingen. In 1445, he entered the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery Saint John Abbey in Müstair, Switzerland. He spent his later years translating church poems from Latin into Swabian. He died on 31 March 1460 at the Abbey.

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1391 births 1460 deaths 15th-century educators Swabian-language writers German medical writers German male non-fiction writers {{Germany-writer-stub