Tag: Christopher J. Duffin
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Johannes Mesuë’s electuary of gems
Christopher DuffinLondon, England Gemstones such as sapphire, ruby, emerald, and topaz are complex silicate minerals. Their distinctive and intense colors, hardness, durability, and rarity suggested medicinal value to medieval scholars, famously summarized in medieval lapidary texts, or books about such stones. In the early 15th century, Monsieur Chiquart, Master Chef to the Duke of Savoy,…
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The attempted poisoning of Pope John XXII in 1317
Christopher DuffinLondon, England Rome was the traditional home of the papacy, but tension with the French crown (Philip IV, 1268–1314) led to a move to Avignon, then in the Kingdom of Arles, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1309. The second (and longest reigning) of the seven Avignon popes was Pope John…
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Deutsches Apotheken-Museum, Heidelberg
Christopher DuffinLondon, England If you find yourself in Heidelberg, you would be well advised to tackle the invigorating walk up to the sixteenth-century castle on the eastern margins of the old city, with its commanding views over the Neckar Basin, or to take the more sedate option of the cable car. The nine-euro entry fee…
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The medical interests of Sir Walter Raleigh
Christopher DuffinLondon, England Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618; Fig. 1) was a prominent character in Elizabethan England. A one-time favorite of the Queen, he led a rich and varied life as an adventurer and explorer, statesman, soldier, and author. Less well-known is his interest in alchemy and medicine. In 1591, Raleigh married one of the Queen’s…