Description
Book SynopsisThis collection of essays by historians, historians of science and medicine, and literary and textual scholarsfrom the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Spainanalyzes the achievements of Dr. Francisco Hernández (1515-87) in the history of medicine and science in Europe and the Americas. Celebrated in his own day as one of Spain''s leading physicians and naturalists, he is now best remembered for his monumental work on the native plants and materia medica of central Mexico.
Sent to New Spain in 1570 by King Philip II to research and describe the natural history of the region, to assess the medical usefulness of the natural resources, and to gather ethnographic materials for an anthropological history, Hernández was the first trained scientist to undertake scientific work in the New World. For seven years he gathered information throughout the Valley of Mexico, learning Nahuatl, recording local medical customs, studying indigenous medicines, and writing down all his observation
Trade Review
"These books represent a remarkable scholarly achievement and a splendid tribute to a remarkable man who linked two rich civilizations."—Nature
"This is a fundamental contribution in the English language to the study of natural history of the New World, Mexico in particular, in the Renaissance, which must be placed on every reading list of courses on the encounters with the New World."—Renaissance Quarterly
"Enlightening and entertaining to pick up and look for areas of specific reader interest."—Southeastern Naturalist
Table of Contents
List of illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Editorial methods Chronology Introduction 1. The world of Dr Francisco Hernandez Dora B. Weiner 2. Philip II: imperial obligations and scientific vision Peter O'Malley Pierson Part I. The Intellectual Milieu of Hernandez: 3. The classical tradition in Renaissance Spain and new trends in philology, medicine and materia medica Rafael Chabran 4. Francisco Hernandez, Renaissance man Simon Varey 5. Hernandez in Me;xico: exile and censorship? Carmen Benito-Vessels Part II. Medical Knowledge and Practices in New Spain: 6. Regulation of medical practitioners in the age of Francisco Hernandez John Jay Tepaske 7. Shelter and care for natives and colonists: hospitals in sixteenth-century New Spain Guenter B. Risse 8. Illness, epidemics, and displaced classes in sixteenth-century New Spain Elsa Malvido 9. Anthropology, reason, and the dictates of faith in the Antiquities of Francisco Hernandez David A. Boruchoff Entr'acte Rafael Chabran and Simon Varey Part III. The Dissemination of Hernandez's Knowledge: 10. The reception of American drugs in Europe, 1500-1650 J. Worth Estes 11. The contribution of Hernandez to European botany and materia medica Jose M. Lopez Pinero and Jose Parso Tomas 12. Hernandez in the Netherlands and England Rafael Chabran and Simon Varey 13. Hernandez and Spanish painting in the seventeenth century Mari;a Jose Lopez Terrada 14. Globalizing the Natural History Jaime Vilchis 15. The circulation of the work of Hernandez in nineteenth-century Spain Leoncio Lopez-Ocon Part IV. Postscript: Continuing Traditions of Mexican Medicine: 16. Latino Catholic civilization: patterns of health and demography David Hayes-Bautista 17. The popular legacy of Francisco Hernandez Simon Varey and Rafael Chabran Glossary Index.
