Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31745/s.74.5
Croatian Glagolitic Folk Medicine Books – Written Sources Between Rhetoric and Experience
Marija-Ana Dürrigl
orcid.org/0000-0002-7715-1953
; Old Church Slavonic Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Stella Fatović-Ferenčić
orcid.org/0000-0001-9637-4792
; Institute of the History and Philosophy of Science Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Croatian Glagolitic folk medicine books combine the experience and theurgical understanding of disease and treatment with echoes of ancient magical procedures. They do not simply provide instructions on healing, but—in line with their purpose—bring the text into dialogue/ interaction with the reader, originally the person who would prepare and administer the medication. These books instruct the reader on what to administer (words) and how to prepare and apply the medicine. They are not merely derivative sources relying on older traditions; on the contrary, their composition and rhetoric are exemplary of the creativity and dynamism typical of the Middle Ages. The analysis of the chosen therapeutic procedures has shown that the style of folk medicine books is unique. They are complex sources combining religious, medical, and narrative discourse with elements of performability. Therefore, any modern approach to re-evaluating the importance of folk medicine books within the framework of the Croatian Glagolitic literary heritage must be interdisciplinary.
Keywords
Croatian Glagolitic folk medicine books; medieval medicine; literature; religion; medical instructions
Hrčak ID:
325727
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2024.
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