Join me, Dr Julia Martins, as I explore the fascinating world of Renaissance bathing and medicine. From ancient Egypt to 16th-century Italy, discover how therapeutic waters shaped medical practice and social life throughout history.

In this video, I examine historical therapeutic bathing with a focus on Renaissance hydrotherapy. Learn about the strange “bath that makes women pregnant” mentioned by Leonardo Fioravanti in 1561 and the curious proverb that advised men to “send their lady to the baths and not go along.” I uncover what these mysterious references actually meant!

I look at how bathing fit into Renaissance medicine, when doctors were caught between respecting ancient authorities like Galen while facing new evidence from popular healing springs. Watch as I examine the clash between traditional humoral theory and the radical chemical approaches of Paracelsus, who prescribed extreme treatments like 12-hour baths!

This video also covers the social aspects of Renaissance spa culture, where medical treatments overlapped with leisure, socialising, and potentially romantic encounters. From nobility hosting balls to commoners making pilgrimages to healing waters, these baths served multiple purposes in society.

Learn about bizarre treatments, like sulphurous waters that smelled of rotten eggs, patients being lowered down cliffs in baskets to reach thermal pools, and healing springs supposedly discovered by a sick cow! I trace how these practices evolved into modern hydrotherapy and physiotherapy.

Whether you’re interested in medical history, Renaissance culture, ancient healing methods, or the origins of modern spa treatments, this video connects the dots between water and wellness across the centuries. Find out why humans have consistently turned to water for health and pleasure throughout history.

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
02:07 – A Quick Dip Into Bathing History
03:26 – Renaissance Splashes
05:31 – Diving Into Bathing and Medicine
08:23 – Paracelsus Makes Waves
11:18 – Renaissance Bathing Culture
14:59 – From Renaissance Ripples to Modern Waves
16:19 – The Eternal Appeal of Water

References:
Andrea Bacci, De Thermis (Venice, 1571).
William Dieffenbach, Hydrotherapy: a Brief Summary of the Practical Value of Water In Disease, for Students And Practicians of Medicine (1909).
William Eamon, ‘Alchemy in Popular Culture: Leonardo Fioravanti and the Search for the Philosopher’s Stone’, Early Science and Medicine, 5 (2000), pp. 196–213.
———, Science and the Secrets of Nature: Books of Secrets in Medieval and Early Modern Culture (1994).
———, The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, Medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy (2010).
Gabriele Falloppio, De medicatis aquis (Venice, 1564).
Leonardo Fioravanti, Capricci medicinali (1561).
John Floyer, Psykhroloysia, or the History of Cold Bathing… (1732).
Tomaso Giunta (ed.), De balneis omnia quae extant… (Venice, 1553).
Ute Lotz-Heumann, Ute, “Spas from the 16th to the 19th century”, European History Online (2012)
Genevieve Miller, “‘Airs, Waters, and Places’ in History”, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 17(1) (1962, pp. 129–40.
Michel de Montaigne, Journal de Voyage en Italie (Rome, 1581).
Bruce T. Moran, Paracelsus: An Alchemical Life (2019).
Richard Palmer, “In this our lightye and learned tyme”: Italian Baths in the Era of the Renaissance“, Medical History Supplement No.10 (1990), pp. 14–22.
Frank Van Tubergen and Sjef van der Linden, “A brief history of spa therapy”, in Annals of Rheumatic Diseases 61.3 (2002): 273–275
Theophrastus von Hohenheim (Paracelsus), Von dem Bad Pfeffers (1535).
________, Book of Minerals (1530s).
(On Paracelsus, make sure to check out The Zurich Paracelsus Project).
Royal College of Physicians of Edingburgh Blog, “Bathing by Prescription: A Brief History of Treatment by Water”.

Intro Music:
Folk Round by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-…

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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