26-03-2016, 09:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 26-03-2016, 10:11 PM by VViews.
Edit Reason: added illustration
)
Koen Gh:
Well, if this is supposedly taking place in a bathhouse or thermal spring or balneological establishment of some sort, water is to be expected.
Medical treatments such as cupping and others could be administered in such places.
As for the depiction of a nude doctor or practitioner, its more rare, but not unheard of: here's one from the influential 10th century surgical treatise, Codex Nicetas (Ms Laur Plut 74.7 c f° 198 v), showing two doctors fixing a patient's dislocated jaw. The whole MS is filled with similar nude consultations:
![[Image: 01.jpg]](http://www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr/sfhad/iahd/06/img/01.jpg)
And here's another medieval depiction of the dogbite/rabies treatment featuring a naked doctor, although sadly I don't have a source (pinterest, tried google search as MarcoP suggested but didn't turn anything up):
![[Image: Medical-Medieval-Dog-bite.jpg]](http://vintageprintable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Medical-Medieval-Dog-bite.jpg)
As for the instrument, I am less sure of the identification: to me it could still be a compass, surgical implement, tongs, or other...
The fact that the patient is holding it could be an indication of the patient's profession, or a heraldic symbol of her family/region, or even related to the ailment from which she suffers (maybe she injured herself with it?), as is the dog in the rabies patient illustration.
But this remains speculation until a better match to the full features of this image is found.
Well, if this is supposedly taking place in a bathhouse or thermal spring or balneological establishment of some sort, water is to be expected.
Medical treatments such as cupping and others could be administered in such places.
As for the depiction of a nude doctor or practitioner, its more rare, but not unheard of: here's one from the influential 10th century surgical treatise, Codex Nicetas (Ms Laur Plut 74.7 c f° 198 v), showing two doctors fixing a patient's dislocated jaw. The whole MS is filled with similar nude consultations:
And here's another medieval depiction of the dogbite/rabies treatment featuring a naked doctor, although sadly I don't have a source (pinterest, tried google search as MarcoP suggested but didn't turn anything up):
As for the instrument, I am less sure of the identification: to me it could still be a compass, surgical implement, tongs, or other...
The fact that the patient is holding it could be an indication of the patient's profession, or a heraldic symbol of her family/region, or even related to the ailment from which she suffers (maybe she injured herself with it?), as is the dog in the rabies patient illustration.
But this remains speculation until a better match to the full features of this image is found.