USD $140.00
The Care of Brute Beasts
A Social and Cultural Study of Veterinary Medicine in Early Modern England
Series: - History of Science and Medicine Library, Volume: 14
Author:
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.
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).
"
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)
Suzanne J. Walker, TulaneUniversity (Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Spring 2011), pp. 323-325)
List of illustrations
Introduction
PART I: SETTING THE SCENE
1. Animals in early modern England
2. The principles behind health and illness
PART II: STRUCTURES OF PRACTICE AND KNOWLEDGE
3. The medical marketplace for animals
4. Popular medical literature
PART III: STRUCTURES OF PRACTICE AND KNOWLEDGE
5. Preventative medicine
6. Remedial Medicine
Epilogue
Index
Introduction
PART I: SETTING THE SCENE
1. Animals in early modern England
2. The principles behind health and illness
PART II: STRUCTURES OF PRACTICE AND KNOWLEDGE
3. The medical marketplace for animals
4. Popular medical literature
PART III: STRUCTURES OF PRACTICE AND KNOWLEDGE
5. Preventative medicine
6. Remedial Medicine
Epilogue
Index
All those interested in medical and veterinary history, as well as social, cultural, agricultural, economic history and the history of the book. This will also interest academics working in human-animal relationships and English literature.