Herbariums and surgery. Medicine at Montecassino

In the Rule, St. Benedict gives instructions for the care of sick monks.

The abbot ensures that they receive the necessary care and that a suitable environment is provided. Each sick person is assisted by a monk. Sick monks are granted certain privileges: they can take therapeutic baths and, if very weak, eat meat to recover more quickly. In addition, those who are able to work are assigned less strenuous tasks.

At Montecassino, interest in medicine has been documented since at least the 9th century. During this period, probably under the rule of Abbot Bertario (850-883), a valuable herbarium was created. The book describes the virtues and therapeutic uses of natural remedies. The text is accompanied by illustrations of plants and animals (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, ms. Plut. 73.41 [https://tecabml.contentdm.oclc.org/customizations/global/pages/mirador-project/mirador/cdm.html?manifest=https://tecabml.contentdm.oclc.org//iiif/info/plutei/1233574/manifest.json]). The success of this type of book at Montecassino is also demonstrated by the illustrated herbarium Cod. 97, dating back to the 10th century.

In the 11th century, Constantine the African arrived at Montecassino. He was a famous scientist, probably from Carthage, who, after studying in the East, became a Benedictine monk. He translated many texts from Arabic into Latin and introduced new works such as the ‘Liber Pantegni’, which brings together medical knowledge of Hellenistic and Islamic origin. The book is dedicated to Abbot Desiderius, who played a key role in promoting the study of medicine at the abbey.