Document Detail


Poetry or pathology? Jesuit hypochondria in early modern Naples.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  18173170     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
In their didactic poems on fishing and chocolate, both published in 1689, two Neapolitan Jesuits digressed to record and lament a devastating 'plague' of 'hypochondria'. The poetic plagues of Niccolò Giannettasio and Tommaso Strozzi have literary precedents in Lucretius, Vergil, and Fracastoro, but it will be argued that they also have a real, contemporary significance. Hypochondria was considered to be a serious (and epidemic) illness in the seventeenth century, with symptoms ranging from depression to delusions. Not only did our Jesuit poets claim to have suffered from it, but so did prominent members of the 'Accademia degl'Investiganti', a scientific society in Naples that was at odds with both the religious and medical establishments.
Authors:
Yasmin Haskell
Publication Detail:
Type:  Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Early science and medicine     Volume:  12     ISSN:  1383-7427     ISO Abbreviation:  Early Sci Med     Publication Date:  2007  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-01-04     Completed Date:  2008-01-23     Revised Date:  2008-11-21    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9610931     Medline TA:  Early Sci Med     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  187-213     Citation Subset:  QIS    
Affiliation:
University of Western Australia, Crawley.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Cacao / history
Catholicism / history
History, 17th Century
Humans
Hypochondriasis / history*,  therapy
Italy
Literature, Medieval / history*
Poetry as Topic / history*
Personal Name Subject
Personal Name Subject:
Niccolò Giannettasio; Tommaso Strozzi

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