The Care of Brute Beasts: A Social and Cultural Study of Veterinary Medicine in Early Modern England
Author(s): Louise Hill Curth (Author)
- Publisher: Brill
- Publication Date: November 23, 2009
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 190 pages
- ISBN-10: 900417995X
- ISBN-13: 9789004179950
Book Description
This book is about medical beliefs and practices for animals in early modern England. Although there are numerous texts on human health, this is the first to focus exclusively on animals during this period. For most academics, the foundation of the London Veterinary College in 1791 marks the beginning of 'modern' veterinary medicine, with the period before unworthy of serious study. In fact, there is ample evidence of how the importance of animals resulted in a highly complex system of both preventative and remedial care. This book is divided into sections which start by 'setting the scene' with an overview of animals in early modern England and the contemporary principles behind health and illness. It moves onto an examination of the medical marketplace and printed literature on animal health care, followed by an in-depth look at preventative and remedial methods. It ends by addressing the question of what impact, if any, new colleges had on veterinary beliefs and practices.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The Care of Brute Beasts merits attention from any scholar of animals in early modern Europe. Its focus on the practical care of ordinary livestock, horses, and pets offers a fresh approach to thinking about the ways humans encountered other species in early modern Europe."
Suzanne J. Walker, TulaneUniversity (Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Spring 2011), pp. 323-325)
From the Back Cover
This book is about medical beliefs and practices for animals in early modern England. Although there are numerous texts on human health, this is the first to focus exclusively on animals during this period. For most academics, the foundation of the London Veterinary College in 1791 marks the beginning of 'modern' veterinary medicine, with the period before unworthy of serious study. In fact, there is ample evidence of how the importance of animals resulted in a highly complex system of both preventative and remedial care. This book is divided into sections which start by 'setting the scene' with an overview of animals in early modern England and the contemporary principles behind health and illness. It moves onto an examination of the medical marketplace and printed literature on animal health care, followed by an in-depth look at preventative and remedial methods. It ends by addressing the question of what impact, if any, new colleges had on veterinary beliefs and practices.
About the Author
Louise Hill Curth, PhD in Medical History, Royal Holloway, University of London, is Senior Lecturer in Health at the University of Winchester, England. She has published extensively on early modern popular medical texts for both humans and animals, including English almanacs, astrology and popular medicine: 1550 - 1700 (MUP 2007) and From Physick to Pharmacology: Five hundred years of British drug retailing (Ashgate, 2006).
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