Relief of Fevers
Encyclopedia
Relief of Fevers is an erudite encyclopedic study written by medieval Armenian physician Mkhitar Heratsi
in 1184, which has survived in full to our days. The author uses the word fever to designate diseases that cause fever
, such as malaria
, yellow fever
, and typhoid, which seem to have been common in the flatlands of Cilicia
at the time. The fact that the book is written not in Classical Armenian (grabar) but in the vernacular is evidence that the author wanted to make it available to the people. He speaks at length on the symptoms of various fevers; for example, he gives a clinical prognosis of three types of malaria, namely, quotidian (miorya), tertan (alternate days, yerekorya), and quartan (three days apart, chorekorya).
The manuscript was discovered in 1727 in Constantinople
and was purchased by the National Library of Paris. It appeared in print for the first time in 1832 in Venice
. Later in the century it was brought to the attention of Western scholars by a number of German researchers who published some excerpts in German. Excerpts were also published in French by Vahram Torkomian in 1899. The whole work was translated into German by Ernst Seidel in 1908. A Russian translation was published in Yerevan
in 1955.
Mkhitar Heratsi
Mkhitar Heratsi was an Armenian physician of the 12th century, the father of Armenian medicine, the author of famous "Relief of Fevers" tractate, a cyclopedic work in which he discussed, among other subjects, surgery, diet and psychotherapy. Yerevan State Medical University is named after M. Heratsi...
in 1184, which has survived in full to our days. The author uses the word fever to designate diseases that cause fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
, such as malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
, and typhoid, which seem to have been common in the flatlands of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
at the time. The fact that the book is written not in Classical Armenian (grabar) but in the vernacular is evidence that the author wanted to make it available to the people. He speaks at length on the symptoms of various fevers; for example, he gives a clinical prognosis of three types of malaria, namely, quotidian (miorya), tertan (alternate days, yerekorya), and quartan (three days apart, chorekorya).
The manuscript was discovered in 1727 in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and was purchased by the National Library of Paris. It appeared in print for the first time in 1832 in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. Later in the century it was brought to the attention of Western scholars by a number of German researchers who published some excerpts in German. Excerpts were also published in French by Vahram Torkomian in 1899. The whole work was translated into German by Ernst Seidel in 1908. A Russian translation was published in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
in 1955.