The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-13
REGARDING SOME
 MED|AEvAL HISTORY
Father Coyle Cites Authori- ties to Show What Church
 Did for Science

To the Editor of The Age e-Herald:
 Reading over 3the scholarly address of my friend, pr. Plunket. to the sradu- ating medical class as reported in Satur- day mornings Agc-Herald, I was rather disappointed to find that in his sketch of medical progress from tho earliest days he gave rather scant courtesy to the achievements of the mediaeval univers- ties. Rather does he (perhaps I am over sensitive) seem to speak slightingly of the same, and to lean to the popularly received opinion that the constant policy of the church in all ages, was to pre- vent the progress of medicine as Tar as possible I would, therefore, ask per mission to bring forward a few facts that will show that far from being the foe of medicine, the church encouraged medi- cine and it's professors and practitioners lately were won't to call dark" ages which modern historical research is prov
 ing to be ages of learning and light.
 Before the beginning of the 10th century, before, that is. the religious revolt in Germany dignified by the name of Refor- nation, some twenty medical schools were founded in various parts of Europe. The best known in the order of their foundation were Salermo, Naples, Mont pelier Paris, Padua and Pisa. Excellent schools were also established at Oxford, Rome, Salamanca, Orleans and Coimbra. Even early in the 1ith century such un-
 important towns as Perugia. Cahors and Lerida had medical schools.
 Nor must it be said that in these schools, which were usually established In connection with universities. where the greater number of the teachers and most of the pupils were of the clerical order, that what was taught and studied was so far distant from anything like prac- tica knowledge of medicine that it does not tell against the argument that med ical education was then practically non- existent. An address, "On the Historical Relation of Medicine and Surgery Down to the 18th Century," delivered during the Congress of Arts and Sciences at the ex- position held in St. Louis in 1904 hy Cliff ford Allbutt regius professor of physics ] at the University of Cambridge England. brings out some astonishing facts. He clearly demonstrated that much that Is considered modern in medicine and sur- | gery was anticipated in the teaching of l William of Silicet and his pupil Lam
 
 1 in the Italian universities and in Paris during the 18th century. MT. Allbutt showed that medical science was most 1 advanced where ecclesiastical influence l was strongest. It was true the nearer to ! Rome the university the better its med ical school Rome itself had the best medical school in the world for two cen turies. while it's greates rival, the medical school of Bologna in the Papal states. was from the beginning of the 10th cen 1 tury. directly under the control of the ! Popes.
 Much could be said about the wonder ! .ul medical teaching of the 18th century. Without wishing to detract from the fame | of Crawford w. Long of Georgia. would 1 point out that Ugo da Lucca in the 18th century introduced a form of anaesthesia | by inhalation At Montpelier Gilbert the Icnglishman taught that smallpox patients | should be treated in rooms with red hang fgs red curtains being especially ad-
 vised for the doors and windows. Finsen,
 modern, re-discovered this in the 18th
 century, and for it was given the Nobel prize in the 20th century.
 The relation of the church to medicine
 may be also judged from the interest
 which the Popes took in hospitals. Vir- chow surely no friend of the church frankly admits that the institution of
 city hospitals is due to a great Rcnar | Pontiff. Innocent III at the beginning oi the 18th century summoned Guy from
 Montpelier where he had been trained ir
 the care of patients and where, at that
 time, the greatest of the medical schools | existed, to come to Rome and organize
 the hospital of the Holy Ghost, to be . imodel for hospitals. to be erected all ovel the world As a result of this initiative | literally hundreds of hospitals were founded during the 18th century.
 I will not trespass on your space by