Caroline Petit | University of Warwick (original) (raw)

Books by Caroline Petit

Rhetoric and Medicine, 2023

Special issue of Rhetorica on Rhetoric and Medicine

Collection Signets, Les Belles Lettres, 2023

L’Antiquité nous a donné les premiers génies, dont les génies du mal. Du mythe et de la fable à l... more L’Antiquité nous a donné les premiers génies, dont les génies du mal. Du mythe et de la fable à la littérature chrétienne, le lecteur de ces pages découvre ébahi les différentes facettes du jardin des supplices : meurtriers, princes et rois corrompus, dictateurs et tyrans, personnalités dépravées ou toxiques, pervers ou simples charlatans... Non seulement les Anciens les ont tous décrits, analysés ou représentés, mais ils ont eu quelques modèles d’exception. Entre pitié pour leurs victimes et fascination pour le mal, l’Antiquité tisse une tapisserie bigarrée des différents aspects du méchant, comme autant de figures fascinantes de l’altérité.

Prédécé d’un entretien sur le mal avec Daniel Mendelsohn, prix Médicis Étranger pour Les disparus.

Arts et savoirs 15, 2021

This special issue of open access journal Arts et savoirs offers fresh insights into a supposedly... more This special issue of open access journal Arts et savoirs offers fresh insights into a supposedly well-known topic: ‘medical humanism’. The articles here collected revisit many facets of physicians’ engagement with humanistic endeavours, from translation issues to the critique of ancient texts; they explore the ways medicine penetrated Renaissance culture and literature; they reassess the impact of humanism on medical practice and thought.

Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences 70, 2020

Special issue of Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences on the interpretation and trans... more Special issue of Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences on the interpretation and transmission of Galen's treatise On simple drugs. Proceedings of a British Academy funded conference held at the British School at Rome in September 2017.

Warburg Colloquia 34, 2021

The works of Galen of Pergamum (c. 129-216 CE) were fundamental in the shaping of medicine, philo... more The works of Galen of Pergamum (c. 129-216 CE) were fundamental in the shaping of medicine, philosophy, and neighboring areas of knowledge from antiquity through to the middle ages and early modern times, across a variety of languages and cultures. Yet as early as Galen’s own lifetime, spurious treatises crept into the body of his authentic works, despite his best efforts to provide the public with a catalogue of his own production (De libris propriis). For centuries, readers and scholars have used a fluid body of Galenic works, shaped by changing intellectual frameworks and social-cultural contexts. Several inauthentic works have enjoyed remarkable popularity, but this has had consequences in modern scholarship. The current reference edition of Galenic works (Kühn, 1821-1833) fails to distinguish clearly between authentic and inauthentic texts, and many works lack any critical study, which makes navigating the corpus unusually difficult. This new volume, arising from a conference held in 2015 at the Warburg Institute at the University of London and funded by the Wellcome Trust, will provide much-needed clarification about the boundaries of the Galenic corpus, identifying and analyzing the works that do not genuinely belong to Galen’s production.

Studies in Ancient Medicine (SAM) 52, 2018

This collective volume arises from a Wellcome-funded conference held at the University of Warwic... more This collective volume arises from a Wellcome-funded conference held at the
University of Warwick in 2014 about the “new” Galen discovered in 2005 in a
Greek manuscript, De indolentia. In the wake of the latest English translation
published by Vivian Nutton in 2013, this book offers a multi-disciplinary
approach to the new text, discussing in turn issues around Galen’s literary
production, his medical and philosophical contribution to the theme of
avoiding distress (ἀλυπία), controversial topics in Roman history such as the
Antonine plague and the reign of Commodus, and finally the reception of the
text in the Islamic world. Gathering eleven contributions by recognised
specialists of Galen, Greek literature and Roman history, it revisits the new
text extensively.

mnemosyne supplements (MNS), 2018

Galien de Pergame ou la rhétorique de la Providence Médecine, littérature et pouvoir à Rome Ce li... more Galien de Pergame ou la rhétorique de la Providence Médecine, littérature et pouvoir à Rome Ce livre est l'aboutissement d'un projet de recherche commencé en 2007 sous les auspices du Wellcome Trust à l'université de Manchester. D'une analyse au départ simplement linguistique et stylistique de l'oeuvre du médecin impérial Galien de Pergame, ce projet s'est développé pour devenir une étude littéraire (sous l'angle de la rhétorique) de Galien, la première du genre. Galien de Pergame, médecin des empereurs de Marc-Aurèle à Septime Sévère, témoin de la Seconde Sophistique et partageant avec les grands auteurs de son temps une éducation longue et soignée, un engagement vif dans les débats de son temps et une véritable passion pour la culture grecque, se distingue par son abondante production écrite; ce livre vient explorer les diverses facettes de celle-ci, comblant ainsi une importante lacune des études sur l'Empire romain. Objectifs de l'ouvrage Médecin et philosophe, lexicographe, critique littéraire, Galien se veut aussi auteur – mais pas simplement " auteur technique " , catégorie où l'on aime à le ranger arbitrairement. La présente étude tente de situer l'oeuvre de Galien dans le contexte littéraire et culturel de son temps (si l'on veut, la Seconde Sophistique): elle dévoile l'importance de la paideia dans les textes de Galien, son recours à diverses stratégies de persuasion et de connivence avec le lecteur, son aisance dans tous les domaines de la rhétorique de son époque, dont la rhétorique épidictique. Elle montre un auteur conscient de son travail et de son ambition littéraires. Mais la portée de l'oeuvre galénique, du point de vue rhétorique, est bien plus vaste: elle pose les jalons de la rhétorique médicale des siècles suivants, et préfigure l'autobiographie intellectuelle moderne. Ce livre s'adresse donc non seulement aux spécialistes de la littérature gréco-romaine, mais aussi à ceux qui s'intéressent à l'écriture scientifique et médicale des périodes ultérieures. On y montre un Galien fermement enraciné dans la culture impériale, auteur d'une superbe carrière de médecin de cour, mais aussi novateur, fondateur d'une écriture et d'un discours propres aux intellectuels de tout temps.

Collection des Universités de France (Budé), 2009

Critical edition, with facing French translation, introduction and notes of the Introductio sive ... more Critical edition, with facing French translation, introduction and notes of the Introductio sive medicus attributed to Galen.

Papers by Caroline Petit

Medicine and Law in the Roman Empire , 2023

Galen's Humanistic Medicine. The Essay Quod Optimus Medicus, 2023

Arts et Savoirs, 2021

Why focus on “medical humanism” in 2021, a notion that may appear familiar to all and remote from... more Why focus on “medical humanism” in 2021, a notion that may appear familiar to all and remote from current trends in research? Do we not know everything about the genesis of the Aldine editions of Dioscorides, Galen, and Hippocrates? About the great ‘medical philologists’ of the sixteenth century, from Leoniceno to Scaliger? About the quarrel between Arabists and Hellenists? The answers to these questions are far from clear, and this collection of articles expresses a shared, deep-seated convi...

Galen's Treatise Περὶ Ἀλυπίας (De indolentia) in Context, 2018

Journal for the History of Rhetoric, 2022

Rhetoric is a bodily art. "Character" itself is an emanation, or a translation of an individual's... more Rhetoric is a bodily art. "Character" itself is an emanation, or a translation of an individual's physical nature: excessive, outlandish characters are used in ancient rhetoric as relevant examples of this connection. Starting from the controversial legacy of Mark Antony as an orator, this paper explores how medical theory underpins ancient rhetorical thought on the excessive orator and reveals the linkage of character, the body, and its environment. By reexamining the famous cases of Mark Antony, Cassius Severus, Maecenas, and Cicero himself in the light of Greek discourse on the effects of humoral imbalance on speech, I revisit the legacies of several heroes and villains of Roman oratory, as well as contemplate the enduring seduction of excess.

Arts et Savoirs, 2021

This article explores various aspects of medical humanism through the figure of French polymath S... more This article explores various aspects of medical humanism through the figure of French polymath Symphorien Champier. A passeur of knowledge between the ancients and the moderns, as well as between Italy and France, Champier developed as a scholar in the wake of the unearthing of ancient medical works, notably Galen’s. This article reveals the interplay between Champier’s intellectual trajectory and the redicovery of Galen’s thought.

Medicina nei secoli, 2013

This article provides new information on the transmission of Galen’s major work on simple medicin... more This article provides new information on the transmission of Galen’s major work on simple medicines (De simpl. med. fac. XI 379-XII 372 K ) in Latin, from late antiquity to the Renaissance. It focuses on the two main medieval translations from Arabic by Gerardus Cremonensis, and from Greek by Niccolo da Reggio, and finally emphasises the impact of the early 16th c. translation by Theodoricus Gaudanus. The results of this preliminary study show that, although a major ancient work in pharmacology, Galen’s Simples could not be accessed to, and read to a satisfactory standard in its entirety until the Renaissance. As for establishing the Greek text, the Greco-Latin translation by Niccolo will be a prominent witness, unlike other Latin translations. Key words : Galen’s Simple medicines - Gerard of Cremona - Niccolo da Reggio

Galen's Treatise Περὶ Ἀλυπίας (De indolentia) in Context

SCRIPTA CLASSICA ISRAELICA , 2020

The present study offers an analysis of selected Greek particles in Galen’s oeuvre. Galen’s prese... more The present study offers an analysis of selected Greek particles in Galen’s
oeuvre. Galen’s preserved works make him by far the most prolific author of his time; he
therefore represents a mine for investigations into the Greek language of the Roman
Empire. Galen was a keen philologist, who produced vast amounts of commentaries and
works of philological interest, the majority of which are now lost: studying Galen’s style
is a gateway to reconstruct Galen’s rhetorical and stylistical profile. Given the vast
quantity of texts at our disposal and their sheer diversity, the particles and particle
clusters under scrutiny are comparatively few; I have privileged examples of particles
and particles clusters that Galen uses to emphasise his point, conclude his arguments and
communicate his intentions to his audience. Some appear to be signature phrases.
Emphasised particles and particle clusters include: ἄρα, τοιγαροῦν, τὰρ οὖν καί.

Rhetoric and Medicine, 2023

Special issue of Rhetorica on Rhetoric and Medicine

Collection Signets, Les Belles Lettres, 2023

Prédécé d’un entretien sur le mal avec Daniel Mendelsohn, prix Médicis Étranger pour Les disparus.

Arts et savoirs 15, 2021

Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences 70, 2020

Warburg Colloquia 34, 2021

Studies in Ancient Medicine (SAM) 52, 2018

mnemosyne supplements (MNS), 2018

Collection des Universités de France (Budé), 2009

Medicine and Law in the Roman Empire , 2023

Galen's Humanistic Medicine. The Essay Quod Optimus Medicus, 2023

Arts et Savoirs, 2021

Galen's Treatise Περὶ Ἀλυπίας (De indolentia) in Context, 2018

Journal for the History of Rhetoric, 2022

Arts et Savoirs, 2021

Medicina nei secoli, 2013

Galen's Treatise Περὶ Ἀλυπίας (De indolentia) in Context

SCRIPTA CLASSICA ISRAELICA , 2020

Arts et Savoirs, 2021

Journal of Greco-Roman Studies, 2020

This paper is a philological note on a little-known passage from Galen's work On simple drugs, X,... more This paper is a philological note on a little-known passage from Galen's work On simple drugs, X, 1 (XII, 249 K.) in which Galen uses rare sexual vocabulary to illustrate his point (ingesting human bodily fluids, especially menstrual blood, however useful for health, is disgusting). Swallowing menstrual blood is as repulsive, Galen argues, as practising fellatio (λεσβιάζειν) and, even worse, cunnilingus (φοινικίζειν)-both oral sex practices for which Galen uses polite, literary terms borrowed from the language of ancient comedy and iambic poetry. This paper argues that Galen's use of those terms, which is paralleled in a contemporary work, Lucian's Pseudologistes 28, illuminates the meaning of the few classical (Aristophanic) occurrences of λεσβιάζειν, as well as the semantical difference between λεσβιάζειν and φοινικίζειν.

Revue des Etudes Grecques, 118-1, 2005

Osler Library Newsletter, 2019

English Abstract The numerous works of Symphorien Champier, a polymath and polygraph of early six... more English Abstract The numerous works of Symphorien Champier, a polymath and polygraph of early sixteenth-century France, were an object of fascination for William Osler. He collected many of them (now preserved at the Osler Library at McGill) and visited the site in Lyon where Champier spent his most active years as an author and a physician. Although some of Champier's production has been well-studied and contextualised, notably his contribution to Renaissance philosophy and his attitude to occult sciences, Champier's medical works remain comparatively neglected. My research bears on the relationship between the rise of 'Galenism' in Renaissance Europe and the works of Champier.

Galen's Treatise peri alupias (de indolentia) in Context. A Tale of Resilience, 2019

Published in: Aitia Regards sur la culture hellénistique au XXI e siècle 7.2, 2017 (electronic ... more Published in:
Aitia Regards sur la culture hellénistique au XXI e siècle
7.2, 2017 (electronic journal)

This article examines the short treatise De elementis of Galen from the perspective of rhetorical analysis: what are the strategies of persuasion involved in this important (albeit brief) work, and for what purpose? How does the implementation of Galen’s excellent rhetorical training affect the physician’s argumentation? As a pedagogical work, the De elementis was primarily intended for a particular, privileged reader, then reworked to reach a wider audience; according to Galen himself, the treatise then became a fundamental propaedeutic text in his medical oeuvre. A concise, effective and brilliant piece, it is perhaps also, as suggested here, one of the works that helped establish the reputation of the physician of Pergamum in Rome around 170 AD, at the beginning of his career in the capital.

A study of the textual transmission of Galen's treatise On simple drugs, with special reference t... more A study of the textual transmission of Galen's treatise On simple drugs, with special reference to book VI. The article includes presentations of key manuscripts for books VI-XI and discusses broader issues with the transmission of the text, such as the role of Latin and Syriac material.
To appear in the proceedings of the Ecdotica dei testi medici greci conference held in Procida, June 2013. Edited by Amneris Roselli et alii, D'Auria, Napoli.

Collecting Recipes. Byzantine & Jewish Pharmacology in Dialogue (L. Lehmhaus & M. Martelli eds), 2017

In this paper I examine some of Galen's statements about borderline remedies (amulets, "disgustin... more In this paper I examine some of Galen's statements about borderline remedies (amulets, "disgusting" substances, ...) in his treatise On simple drugs. As recognised by late antique readers of Galen (not so much by modern ones) ,a flexible, inclusive approach is the key to effective medical practice. More than a staunch rationalist, then, Galen is a pragmatist, using remedies that have been proven to work by experience. To his medical successors, he provided a framework allowing for inclusion of all kinds of remedies, however questionable from a rationalist perspective.

H-France Review 19, 2019

Book review.

ISIS (111, 4), 2020

A joint review of two new books on Galen's theory of humours. Keith Andrew Stewart, Galen's Theor... more A joint review of two new books on Galen's theory of humours. Keith Andrew Stewart, Galen's Theory of Black Bile (2018); P. N. Singer & P. J. van der Eijk (tr.), Galen. De temperamentis (On Mixtures) (2019).

Medical History, 2019

Medical history 63.4, 519-520 (2019)

proofs of a review to appear in Renaissance Quarterly 71.3

A review of the latest edition of Hippocrates in the Budé series (Epid. 1 & 3, by Jacques Jouanna... more A review of the latest edition of Hippocrates in the Budé series (Epid. 1 & 3, by Jacques Jouanna, 2016)

BMCR (Bryn Mawr Classical Review), 2018

Bulletin Canadien d'Histoire de la Médecine 32-2, 2015, 423-424

review published in CR 66-1, 2016 (83-85)

A review of the above-mentioned book for Bryn Mawr Classical Review, published January 2016.

A comparative review of two recent biographies of the Greek doctor Galen. Proofs of review publis... more A comparative review of two recent biographies of the Greek doctor Galen. Proofs of review published in JRS 2015.

The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 2007

The Classical Review, 2010

The Classical Review, 2006

The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 2008

The Classical Review, 2009

Workshop to be held in Berlin on 7-8 July 2022.

This panel invites papers dedicated to medicine in the vernacular in the Renaissance. While some ... more This panel invites papers dedicated to medicine in the vernacular in the Renaissance. While some particularly well-known medical works in the vernacular (for example, those of Ambroise Paré in the field of surgery) have received considerable attention, others remain little studied. Medicine in the vernacular was important for those practitioners without Latin or Greek, such as barber-surgeons; but writing in the vernacular may have had other purposes and meanings in expanding the potential readership. This panel aims at broadening our perspective on the uses and value of the vernacular in medical communication, teaching, and practice across a variety of genres and sub-disciplines of medicine. Moreover, the expansion of the world of knowledge beyond Europe and the Mediterranean fostered new exchanges and communication strategies, in which translations played a major role. Proposals on the vernacular beyond European borders and languages are most welcome. Possible themes for the participants: *authors of medical texts in the vernacular *readerships of Latin vs. vernacular texts *bilingualism in medical texts *travelling texts and the vernacular *the role of translations of ancient and medieval medical texts in the vernacular *the role of translators and travellers in enriching, for example, the materia medica *national/nativist traditions in botany and pharmacology *anatomy and surgery in the vernacular

This is a call for papers for the upcoming RSA conference, to be held 2-4 April 2020 in Philadelp... more This is a call for papers for the upcoming RSA conference, to be held 2-4 April 2020 in Philadelphia. Sponsored by the Discipline Representative for Medicine & Science.

Workshop at BSR, 22 Septembre 2017.

Despite Galen’s own attempts at cataloguing his own works in two famous bio-bibliographical treat... more Despite Galen’s own attempts at cataloguing his own works in two famous bio-bibliographical treatises (On his own books and On the order of his own books), dozens of anonymous works were wrongly transmitted under his name. This confusion started from an early date, in Galen’s own lifetime and continued through late antiquity, the middle ages and beyond. In the standard reference edition (C. G. Kühn, 1821-1833), authentic and spurious texts are mixed together, thus creating ongoing confusion in modern scholarship about which works really are by Galen. Indeed, early editions of Galen’s complete works routinely privileged a thematic classification of Galenic works, regardless of authenticity.

The aim of this conference is to clarify the various processes that informed the Galenic corpus as we know it. The conference will especially focus on the Greek and Latin trends of transmission of pseudo-Galenic texts, from antiquity to the Renaissance, with a view to better understand how Galen's works were collected, assembled and used at various moments in history. It will also address some issues about their transmission in Syriac, Arabic and Hebrew. Ultimately, the aim of the conference is to map out, and get a better grasp of the Galenic corpus, the boundaries of which still confuse many scholars and students.

Since the discovery of Galen's Peri alupias (Avoiding distress), our understanding of ancient psy... more Since the discovery of Galen's Peri alupias (Avoiding distress), our understanding of ancient psychology and psychotherapy has taken a new twist: in that letter to a friend, Galen describes and analyses his losses in the great fire of 192 AD in Rome and beyond (plague, accidents), the stress of living under an autocratic regime, and how to respond calmly and adequately to such difficulties. The PA thus represents a rare testimony on ancient psychology and psychotherapy, and a unique insight into a physician’s approach to self-help in managing stress, anxiety and traumatic experiences, as well as the most suitable way to help others.

In the wake of the publication of Vivian Nutton's new English translation of Galen's Peri alupias, the speakers will consider Galen’s approach to psychotherapy, his self-portrait, his ethics, the medical books and resources which he tells us he lost in a great fire in 192 AD, and the way he plays with generic, rhetorical and linguistic constraints to explore the fundamental problem of controlling emotion and grief. Finally, our special guest and discoverer of the lost manuscript, Antoine Pietrobelli, will discuss the reception of the text in Arabic medical and philosophical literature.

No other classical discipline or ‘art’ (technè) has been as permanently and thoroughly in use in ... more No other classical discipline or ‘art’ (technè) has been as permanently and thoroughly in use in Europe, from Classical Athens to our day, under a variety of guises. Yet for all its permanence, rhetoric as a skill and practice underwent constant changes and transformations, adapting itself to innumerable users, contexts and audiences. The following papers will delve into some aspects of the plasticity of ancient Greek rhetoric from antiquity to early modern times, such as the conditions of its delivery (ὑπόκρισις; actio), the problems arising from reconstructing an author’s theory from fragmentary evidence, the complex relationships between historiography, rhetoric and philosophy, and textual transmission and adaptation in new cultural contexts.

The Escuela de Traductores de Toledo (UCLM) and the University of Warwick organise a workshop ent... more The Escuela de Traductores de Toledo (UCLM) and the University of Warwick organise a workshop entitled "Illness, Health and Healing in Late Antiquity".

Speakers: Valérie Gitton-Ripoll (Toulouse), Grigory Kessel (ÖKW, Vienna), Caroline Petit (Warwick), Uwe Vagelpohl (Warwick), María Teresa Santamaría Hernández (UCLM), Arsenio Ferraces Rodríguez (A Coruña), Antonio Ricciardetto (CNRS), Chiara Thumiger (Kiel), Kate Cooper (Royal Holloway), Stefanie Rudolf (Max Planck Institute, Berlín), Ortal-Paz Saar (Utrecht), Paolo Delaini (Bologna), Lennart Lehmhaus (Tübingen), Ignacio Sánchez (UCLM), Petros Bouras-Vallianatos (Athens), Zachary Chitwood (Munich), Vivian Nutton (UCL

Dates: 10 June (9:30-18:00h) y 11 June (10:00-13:30h)

Venue: Escuela de Traductores, Pl. de Sta. Isabel 5, 45001 Toledo

Free entrance. In-person participation only, limited to 60 people. Contacts: C.C.L.Petit@warwick.ac.uk and JIgnacio.Sanchez@uclm.es.