Carmen Schmechel (Berlin)
Fermentation and Winemaking Analogies in Early Modern Medicine
23.11.2023 16:15 Uhr – 17:45 Uhr
Ort: Historicum, Schellingstraße 12, K026
Zeit: 16-18 c.t.
Wine in medicine is an ubiquitous presence. While most lore refers to the effects of drinking wine and to the medicinal properties of wine itself, it is less known that wine, and the processes related to its production - such as fermentation - have also served as premodern analogies for physiological processes: from digestion to muscle movement. In addition, some aspects of wine manufacture were also deployed to explain mechanisms of disease. In particular, tartar - a by-product of winemaking - was thought to have various effects on the human body, both beneficial and deleterious. In this lecture I will address winemaking analogies in early modern authors, especially as they relate to tartar and its purported medical effects.
Vortrag im Rahmen des Oberseminars "Perspektiven der Wissenschaftsgeschichte"