The Salerno School of Medicine

Abstract

The cultural revival in Salerno was linked to Benedictine monasticism, with its main center at Montecassino. Historical evidence of the activity of the Salerno School of Medicine dates back to the 10th century, though the most productive period of the Salerno masters was in the 11th-13th centuries. The school's knowledge was broadened in the 12th century by the work of Constantinus Africanus, who translated many classical texts from Arabic into Latin. Circa Instans, a fundamental text on medicinal botany, was also produced by Mattaeus Platearius. Towards the middle of the 12th century, the school gradually became a theoretical center, rather than a primarily practical one, and many commentaries on earlier texts were produced. Uroscopy was pre-eminent in the teachings of Salerno, which was also one of the first medical centers to recognize the contribution of surgery to treatment. The precepts of the school were widely disseminated by the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum, which contained remedies for every occasion and advice on keeping healthy.