From the manuscript to the lancet: evolution of monastic medicine during the middle age in Occident – advances of surgery between the 6th at the end of the 15th century

In the period extending from the end of the Gallo-Roman time to the birth of Ambroise Paré we will examine successively The Early Middle Ages from 540 to 910 (The Merovingian and Carolingian times): the medicine of the bishopric in the xenodochium, the characteristics of charity and monastic hospitality, the “ Mönchsmedizin ”, the origin of knowledge, the influence of the macrocosm on microcosm, the structuring and classification of efficient medicinal herbs, the first medical infirmaries and the first manuscripts. Then during the golden age of monastic medicine from 911 to 1199: the provision of care (material, spiritual and medical) to the patient, the role of the abbess Hildegard de Bingen, water supply and engineering, the advances in hygiene, the importance of exchange and translation, the diffusion of knowledge, the recent data in paleo-pathology, the manufacturing of surgical tools, the evolution of structures of care within “maisons-Dieu” (almshouses), leper asylums and Saint Alpais who will become the patron saint of astronauts. Next, between 1200 and 1350: apothecaries, the consequence of the population growth in population in cities with the creation of universities and medical schools, the comparatively high death rate of careers at the time of the great epidemics, the role of Henri de Mondeville and Guy de Chauliac. Finally from 1350 to 1500: the importance of hygienic and diet rules, “medicine familia”, the devotion to Saint Magdalene, the transition from polyvalent monk to the master craftsman surgeon-barber, the creation of the Hotel-Dieu and the necessary separation between the profession of surgeon, doctor and apothecary. This knowledge of medieval medicine will be transmitted to the surgeons of the Renaissance, including the illustrious Ambroise Paré.