Spring 2023 Colloquium - Erik Heinrichs

History, Winona State University

Title: “Reformulating and Rebranding a Universal Remedy: Local Theriacs in Early Modern Europe”

Brunschwig Theriac Nuremberg

Abstract: This talk explores how early modern interest in the ancient remedy theriac stimulated medical innovations, both experimental and commercial in nature.  Although Venice was famous for producing its prized theriac since the 12th century, variations soon appeared in other Italian trading centers, such as in Genoa and Milan.  This talk examines how this trend of reformulating or rebranding theriac on a more local basis took hold in lands beyond the Alps after 1500, as various communities sought to make theriac their own.  In France, England, and the Holy Roman Empire, physicians and apothecaries began to rethink the original recipe more fundamentally as they also grappled with the economic and political implications of the foreign theriac trade.  This trend gives insight to the commercialization of medicine in these regions as well as to the nature of experimentation within traditional recipes by early modern physicians and apothecaries.  Subjects covered include the “German theriac” of Johann Vochs, the “French theriac” of Symphorien Champier, as well as the “London treacle” from the apothecary William Besse. 


Short bio: Erik Heinrichs is a professor of history at Winona State University (Minnesota).  He holds a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University.  His research fields are the history of medicine and religion in the late medieval and early modern periods, especially in German-speaking Europe.  He has published on various topics including plague, alchemy, medical recipes, and the Reformation. 

Start date
Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, 3:35 p.m.
End date
Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, 4:30 p.m.
Location

Nicholson 125

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