The Ceraneum Centre in cooperation with the Foundation of the University of Lodz conducted a project entitled "Horizons of the Humanities: World Achievements in the Research on Antiquity and the Middle Ages", within which a series of academic events was organised. In this period, students and researchers of the University of Lodz had an opportunity to attend a seminar on the spiritual culture of Byzantium and Slavic Lands and listen to five lectures on the history of ancient and Byzantine medicine.
All events were positively received both by the academic community of the University of Lodz as well as foreign scholars participating in the meetings via the Internet.
The first event within the project was a lecture given by Dr. Petros Bouras-Vallianatos (the University of Edinburgh). In his talk (which was also a keynote lecture at the fourth edition of the international Colloquia Ceranea conference, May 12-14, 2022) the researcher presented the status of and prospects for research on Byzantine medicine.
In mid-October, the Ceraneum Centre was visited by scholars studying the history of heresy and interreligious relations: Dr. Bojana Radovanović (the Austrian Academy of Sciences), Prof. Marie-Hélène Blanchet (CNSR, Paris) and Alessandra Bucossi (the Ca'Foscari University in Venice), who participated in the fifth session of the Bogomil Seminar (October 14, 2022). The event also hosted foreign speakers online: Dr. Octavian-Adrian Negoiță (the University of Copenhagen), Prof. Angel Nikolov (the Sofia University), Prof. Mariyana Tsibranska-Kostova (the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) as well as Prof. Zofia Brzozowska and Dr. Jan Mikołaj Wolski from the University of Lodz (the two latter presented their papers in-person).
In late October and early November, the Ceraneum Centre hosted two experts in the history of ancient and Byzantine medicine: Dr. Irene Calà (Ludwig and Maximilian University of Munich and Ulm University) and Prof. Laurence Totelin (Cardiff University), who both delivered two lectures: one targeted at the students and another aimed at the members of the Ceraneum Centre and foreign scholars who attended the events via the Internet.
From the above-mentioned presentations, students learned about the most important physicians of Greco-Roman antiquity and Byzantium and their achievements in the field of ars medica. In addition, they became familiar with the main points of the medical theory of that period, whereas scholars dealing with the history of medicine had the possibility to discuss those research issues and consult with experts in the field, which they found invaluable for their own studies.
The high attendance of students and researchers from various faculties of the University of Lodz as well as the Medical University shows that the history of ancient and Byzantine medicine is an interesting research area for those dealing with such varied fields as history, philosophy, philology and medicine. What is more, the fact that the audience also included such eminent foreign scholars as, for instance, Prof. Florian Steger (the University of Ulm), Prof. Berenice Cavarra (the University of Modena) and Prof. John Wilkins (the University of Exeter) testifies that the Ceraneum Centre is now recognized by the European academic community as an important research unit for conducting studies into the history of ancient and Byzantine medicine.
All events saw a total of more than 200 participants (including in-person and online attendees).
Below you will find links to the recordings of the lectures.
dr Petros Bouras Vallianatos (University of Edinbourgh)
Byzantine medicine matters: current trends and future avenues (14 V 2022)
(podcast available on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts platforms on the University of Lodz channels).
dr Alessandra Bucossi (University Ca’Foscari in Venice)
Repertorium auctorum polemicorum de pace et discordia inter Ecclesiam Graecam et Latinam: an introduction (14 X 2022):
prof. Marie-Hélène Blanchet (CNSR, Paris)
Analysing the corpus of East-West christian polemics with the help of a database (14 X 2022):
dr Bojana Radovanović (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Profiling the Bogomils in the later Byzantine period: some notes on the Koudougheroi (14 X 2022):
dr Irene Calà (University of Ulm and Ludwig and Maximilian University of Munich)
The physician’s instruments in medieval Constantinople: hands, tools and machines (24 X 2022):
Medical theory and practice in the Eastern Roman Empire: medical treatises, physicians and hospitals (25 X 2022):
prof. Laurence Totelin (University of Cardiff)
A remedy fit for a king: rulers as consumers and creators of drugs in the Greek and Roman world (8 XI 2022)
Perfumers and their perfumes in the ancient drug trade (10 XI 2022)
(podcasts available on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts platforms on the University of Lodz channels)
We hope to continue the project next year.
