Concetti Chiave
- The Elizabethans viewed the universe as a divine creation characterized by order and harmony, fearing disorder and imbalance.
- The universe was imagined as a chain, with God at the top, inanimate objects at the bottom, and humans, a blend of matter and spirit, in between.
- Elizabethan belief in four humors—phlegmatic, sanguine, melancholic, and choleric—was thought to influence both the body and mind.
- Renaissance developments in astrology and alchemy posited that illnesses were caused by imbalances, treated with simple but often ineffective remedies.
- Medical practices were influenced by ancient Greek theories, particularly those of the physician Galen, emphasizing a pharmacopeia based on natural elements.
The Humors
The Elizabethans portrayed the universe in 3 ideas: as a chain, as a series of corresponding place and a cosmic music. It was a creation of God in order and harmony so they were afraid of disorder and inbalance.
The representation of the universe is a chain: in the top of it there is God, in the bottom there are the inanimate objects and in the half-way position there are the men that are made from matters and spirit, so he’s the union of God and the objects.
The Elizabethans though that there were four humors which govern the different parts of the body and determine the temperature of the mind and of the body. The four humors were: phlegmatic, sanguine, melancholic and choleric.
In Renaissance there was a development of astrology and alchemy (magic and horoscope). They though illness were produced by a state of inbalance; the remedies were very simple, based on pharmacopeia, but not very efficient for the epidemics (like plague) that ravaged the city (London) at regular intervals.
Medical theories derived from the ancient Greek theories of the Greek physician Galen who lived in the II century a.D.
The Pharmacopeia was based on herbs, shells and natural elements, so it was simple and primitive.
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