The pen and the scalpel: studying medicine in Montpellier during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Date:September 5to November 9, 2012
Hours:Monday to Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. / Thursdays until 8:00 p.m.
Open on the weekend of September 15 and 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (European Heritage Days).
Closed on November 1 and 2
Location:University Medical Library / 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(The Pen and the Scalpel: Studying Medicine in Montpellier in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance), 2012, 74 pages, €8.
What did studying medicine mean in the Middle Ages? How did the Montpellier School of Medicine develop and gain its reputation? What was everyday life like for medical students? Why are anatomy and botany so important in Montpellier?
These and many other questions were addressed by the exhibition "La Plume et le Bistouri" (The Pen and the Scalpel), which took visitors on a journey through the rich historical collections of the university medical library. From the founding of the School in the early13th centuryto the creation of the first French botanical garden at the end ofthe 16th century, the exhibition featured illuminated manuscripts depicting dissections, instruments, and surgical operations; texts by ancient, Arab, and Montpellier physicians that formed the basis of teaching; works dating from the early days of printing and the16th century, richly illustrated with anatomical and botanical plates; registers and archival documents evoking student life, objects, and engravings.
The documents presented also provided an opportunity to learn more about the famous doctors and surgeons who left their mark on the city as we know it today: Arnaud de Villeneuve, Bernard de Gordon, Gui de Chauliac, Guillaume Rondelet... not to mention 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 the city of Montpellier.
Photo credits: University of Montpellier / SCDI Montpellier – photography department