Collected Studies (Volume 4)

InCollected Studies (Volume 4): Jews in the Medical Profession, Joseph Shatzmiller, the prominent scholar of Provence Jewry, presents a fascinating glimpse into the world of Jewish doctors and medicine in medieval Western Europe. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources and intellectual history, Shatzmiller delves into the lives and experiences of Jewish physicians who played a crucial role in the medical profession during the Middle Ages. From their scientific collaborations with Christian colleagues to their role as leaders within the Jewish community, this book provides a rich portrait of the complex and dynamic world of medieval medicine. The book covers topics such as the Jewish students in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montpellier, Jewish women in medicine, doctors salaries, pharmacology, and medical books. With its insightful analysis and meticulous research, Jews in the Medical Professionis a valuable contribution to the history of medicine and Jewish studies.The collection of studies that these four volumes offer is the result of morethan sixty years of commitment to scholarship. Like many colleagues, Irelied in the beginning on printed material in books that dealt with law,religion, and secular literature. Then, as a disciple of George Duby, Idiscovered the world of archives and hand-written Latin manuscripts.The present collection relies, to a great extent, on previously unknowninformation discovered during years of search in the archives of SouthernFrance, mostly on those of the county of Provence. They are situated inthe cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence as well as the town of Digne.The legal registers of the High Middle Ages (1250-1350) as well as thoseproduced by the counties administration introduce us to the ordinarypeople of the region, to their daily life and to their preoccupations; theirnames are spelled out, the dates are recorded and the localities in whichthey were active are designated. At times these documents encourage usto endorse information found in contemporary literary sources and toovercome our hesitation and excessive caution concerning their value ashistorical evidence. Joseph Shatzmiller