Grave and Learned Men: The Physicians, 1518-1660: 500 Reflections on the RCP, 1518-2018: 05 Book Six

by Louella Vaughan

Overview

The Royal College of Physicians celebrates its 500th anniversary in 2018, and to observe this landmark is publishing this series of ten books. Each of the books focuses on fifty themed elements that have contributed to making the RCP what it is today, together adding up to 500 reflections on 500 years. Some of the people, ideas, objects and manuscripts featured are directly connected to the College, while others have had an influence that can still be felt in its work.

This, the sixth book in the series looks at the history of the Royal College.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408706336
Publisher:	Little, Brown Book Group
Publication date:	06/22/2017
Series:	500 Reflections on the RCP, 1518-2018 , #6
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	48 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Founded in 1518 by a Royal Charter from King Henry VIII, the Royal College of Physicians of London is the oldest medical college in England. It continues to play a pivotal role in raising standards and shaping public health today.

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

Thanks 10

A few notes on the text 10

The Founding of the College 12

The great foundation story 13

The virtues of Thomas Linacre 15

The bustle of the medical marketplace 17

The identity of the medieval physician 20

An aside about humoral medicine 22

The medical Pope of the Middle Ages 27

First attempts at regulation 28

Physick and the ecclesiastical courts 28

The College charter of 1518 30

Wresting power from vested interests 32

Neither fish nor fowl? 32

The long shadow of Padua 33

The example of the Italian medical guilds 36

A new type of organisation 37

The question of timing 37

Plague and pestilence 38

The Renaissance Prince 38

Personality and professional rivalries 39

The Anatomy of an Anxious Organisation 41

The early years 41

The act and the statutes 42

An aside about College ceremony 44

The anxieties of John Caius 47

The status of the physician 49

Existential dilemmas 50

The College as a licensing body 51

The College end public health 54

The College and its intellectual agenda 54

The meaning of 'learned' 57

An aside about Caius, Vesalius and Galen 61

A suitable candidate? 61

The College and the Crown 63

The power of patronage 64

The College, the Crown and religion 67

The College during the Reign of the First Two Stuarts 70

The new regime 71

The College versus Dr Bonham 71

The College versus the apothecaries 72

The Pharmacopoeia 75

The College as medical police 79

An aside about Amen Corner 80

An aside about Theodore de Mayeme 81

The College from Civil War to Cromwell 83

'An end to manners' 85

The College and the Civil War 85

New critics of the College 86

An aside about Nicholas Culpeper 89

William Harvey shows the way 90

An aside about the anatomical tables 95

The College as Solomon's House 98

An aside about playing the political game 99

The College and Oliver Cromwell 102

The College and a new dawn? 106

Sources and further reading 107

Endnotes 110