12 research outputs found
L'effige del re nelle tasche del popolo
No full textD'oro, d'argento e anche di cuoio. La storia di denari, fiorini e zecchini è un campionario di aneddoti curiosi
Chickenpox and Shingles: Historical and Palæovirological Considerations
No full textThis article summarises the main historical and palæopathological aspects of chickenpox and shingles, two diseases caused by the same pathogen, the varicella zoster virus (VZV). The history of these two diseases is traced back from historical and literary sources, including medical biographies of famous patients of the past (as in the case of Louis XV, King of France), to scientific descriptions of the Modern and Contemporary ages, and also examining votive representations
Le antiche pestilenze: uno sguardo paleopatologico alle catastrofi del passato
No full textL’impatto catastrofico della pandemia di COVID-19 sulla popolazione mondiale, con oltre 86 milionidi casi e circa 1 milione 860 mila decessi all’iniziodel 2021, ha imposto alla comunità scientifica internazionale una profonda riflessione sulla storiadei fenomeni epidemico-pandemici e sulla rispostaantropica, a livello tanto medico quanto sociale epolitico.L’obiettivo di questo contributo è quello di ripercorrere i principali eventi pestilenziali che hannosconvolto le società umane a partire dal mitico morbo acheo di cui si narra nell’Iliade sino alla peste delXIV secolo, sottolineando l’interazione tra componente scientifico-epidemiologica e socio-culturale
Discovery of the first recorded use of “gout” as a medical term in history before AD 1000
No full textRecognized since antiquity, gout is still a relevant pathology with rising prevalence and incidence. This study aims to assess the reference accuracy in journal articles mentioning the early use of the word ‘gout’. Specifically, it investigates whether the term was indeed coined in the 13th century by the Dominican monk Randolphus of Bocking, as widely believed. Several historical sources in their original Latin were consulted to test the hypothesis of literary mentions predating Randolphus of Bocking’s description. At the same time, biomedical articles spanning the last two decades were perused using specific keywords in different combinations to determine the accuracy level of references related to the earliest use of the word ‘gout’. The results showed that several biomedical publications wrongly ascribed the origin of the word ‘gout’ to Randolphus of Bocking. Indeed, various texts predate his mention by many years. In particular, gutta, the Latin word used to indicate a host of rheumatological conditions including gout, is recorded as early as the 10th century in a biography dedicated to the martyred nun Saint Wiborada of St. Gall. Written by Swiss monks between AD 960 and 963, this text should be regarded as containing the earliest known adoption of the word. For this reason, scholars should now avoid quoting Randolph of Bocking’s description as the first use of the word ‘gout’ in Western literature
On the early uses of the word ‘gout’: novel evidence and a critical assessment of the published literature
No full textOn the early uses of the word ‘gout’: novel evidence and a critical assessment of the published literature
No full textRecognized since antiquity, gout is still a relevant pathology with rising prevalence and incidence. This study aims to assess the reference accuracy in journal articles mentioning the early use of the word ‘gout’. Specifically, it investigates whether the term was indeed coined in the 13th century by the Dominican monk Randolphus of Bocking, as widely believed. Several historical sources in their original Latin were consulted to test the hy-pothesis of literary mentions predating Randolphus of Bocking’s description. At the same time, biomedical articles spanning the last two decades were perused using specific keywords in different combinations to determine the accuracy level of references related to the earliest use of the word ‘gout’. The results showed that several biomedical publications wrongly ascribed the origin of the word ‘gout’ to Randolphus of Bocking. Indeed, various texts predate his mention by many years. In particular, gutta, the Latin word used to indicate a host of rheumatological conditions including gout, is recorded as early as the 10th century in a biography dedicated to the martyred nun Saint Wiborada of St. Gall. Written by Swiss monks between AD 960 and 963, this text should be regarded as containing the earliest known adoption of the word. For this reason, scholars should now avoid quoting Randolph of Bocking’s description as the first use of the word ‘gout’ in Western literature
A historico-medical perspective on ancient epidemics and their impact on past human societies
No full textThe present article reviews the major historical plague epidemics that characterised human history by combining data derived from historical sources and biomedical evidence emerged in recent years thanks to advancements of palaeogenetics and pal-aeopathology. Notes are offered on the Plague of Athens, the Antonine Plague, the Plague of Cyprian, the Justinian Plague, the Black Death down to more recent centuries and presenting key aspects that continued to be preserved over time and would also partly char-acterise the recent COVID-19 pandemic
Lombardia: la storia nel nome
No full textIl saggio ripercorre la storia del significato del termine “Lombardia”, dalla sua formazione nell’alto medioevo alle differenti valenze del concetto storico-politico e geografico; usato inizialmente dai bizantini per indicare le popolazioni italiche sottratte al loro controllo dai longobardi, il termine si andò lentamente cristallizzando in riferimento agli abitanti della Langobardia maior che, dal tardo XII secolo, presero ad essere chiamati “lombardi”, anche in chiave anti imperiale, con un’accezione geografica per distinguerli dai longobardi delle Langobardia minor dei ducati di Spoleto e Benevento.The essay traces the history of the meaning of the term "Lombardy", from its formation in the early Middle Ages to the different values of the historical-political and geographical concept; initially used by the Byzantines to indicate the Italic populations removed from their control by the Lombards, the term slowly crystallized in reference to the inhabitants of Langobardia maior who, from the late 12th century, began to be called "Lombard", with a geographical meaning to distinguish them from the Lombards of the Langobardia minor of the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento
On the early uses of the word ‘gout’: novel evidence and a critical assessment of the published literature
No full textRecognized since antiquity, gout is still a relevant pathology with rising prevalence and incidence. This study aims to assess the reference accuracy in journal articles mentioning the early use of the word ‘gout’. Specifically, it investigates whether the term was indeed coined in the 13th century by the Dominican monk Randolphus of Bocking, as widely believed. Several historical sources in their original Latin were consulted to test the hypothesis of literary mentions predating Randolphus of Bocking’s description. At the same time, biomedical articles spanning the last two decades were perused using specific keywords in different combinations to determine the accuracy level of references related to the earliest use of the word ‘gout’. The results showed that several biomedical publications wrongly ascribed the origin of the word ‘gout’ to Randolphus of Bocking. Indeed, various texts predate his mention by many years. In particular, gutta, the Latin word used to indicate a host of rheumatological conditions including gout, is recorded as early as the 10th century in a biography dedicated to the martyred nun Saint Wiborada of St. Gall. Written by Swiss monks between AD 960 and 963, this text should be regarded as containing the earliest known adoption of the word. For this reason, scholars should now avoid quoting Randolph of Bocking’s description as the first use of the word ‘gout’ in Western literature
Another Greece. The population of northern Epirus and the genesis of Butrint in the Archaic period
No full textLe nuove ricerche dell'Università di Bologna sul territorio dell'antica Butrinto e più in generale all'interno del progetto internazionale di studio del paesaggio antico della Caonia, nell'Epiro settentrionale, inserite nel più ampio panorama delle indagini condotte anche dagli altri progetti internazionali nei territori limitrofi, consentono di gettare nuova luce sulla genesi del popolamento in tutta la regione. Ma i dati più innovativi vengono dalle nuove ricerche dell'Università di Bologna e dell'Istituto di Archeologia di Tirana a Butrinto. Si tratta, infatti, dell'unico sito della regione che ha rivelato resti dell'occupazione di epoca arcaica che può essere messa in relazione con la colonizzazione greca della vicina Corfù. Alla luce di queste novità di ricerca, inquadrate in un sistema metodologico coerente finalmente condiviso dai vari progetti di ricerca che operano anche nei territori limitrofi, è possibile tracciare un nuovo quadro ricostruttivo e fare nuove ipotesi che aprono direzioni innovative di ricerca sull'Epiro settentrionale prima dell'età ellenistica. Il contributo è inserito un un volume che ha avut anche un'edizione digitale e che fa il punto della situazione sul tema dei paesaggi urbani nel Mediterraneo pre-classico con la partecipazione di numerosi ricercatori anche di ambito internazionale, assicurandone l'ampia circolazione nelle varie istituzioni di appartenenza
