The pen and the scalpel: studying medicine in Montpellier in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Date: September 5 to November 9, 2012
Opening hours:Monday to Friday, 1pm to 5:30pm / Thursdays until 8pm
Open on the weekend of September 15 and 16, 9:30am to 12:30pm and 2pm to 5:30pm (European Heritage Days).
Closed on November 1 and 2
Location:Bibliothèque Universitaire de Médecine / exhibition rooms
2, rue de l'Ecole de Médecine
34000 Montpellier
Poster
Catalog
The exhibition catalog has been published,La plume et le bistouri : étudier la médecine à Montpellier au Moyen Age et à la Renaissance, 2012, 74 pages, €8
What did it mean to study medicine in the Middle Ages? How did the Montpellier School of Medicine develop and acquire its reputation? What was daily life like for medical students? Why were anatomy and botany so important in Montpellier?
These are just some of the questions that the exhibition "La Plume et le Bistouri" ("The Pen and the Scalpel") sets out to answer, as it takes visitors on a journey through the rich ancient collections of the University Library of Medicine. From the founding of the School of Medicine in the early 13thcentury to the first French plant garden in the late 16thcentury, illuminated manuscripts depicting dissections, surgical instruments and operations are on display; texts by ancient, Arab and Montpellier physicians, which formed the basis of teaching; works dating from the beginnings of printing and the 16thcentury, richly illustrated with anatomical and botanical plates; registers and archives evoking student life, objects and engravings.
The documents presented were also an opportunity to learn more about the famous doctors and surgeons who left their mark on today's town: Arnaud de Villeneuve, Bernard de Gordon, Gui de Chauliac, Guillaume Rondelet... not forgetting one of the faculty's most illustrious students, François Rabelais.
Designed for a wide audience, this exceptional exhibition of rarely-seen documents highlighted the rich medical heritage of the University and city of Montpellier.
