ABSTRACT

The early years of the seventeenth century saw a continuation of the rivalry between professors of medicine and surgeons who were increasingly literate and publishing their own treatises. This rivalry had already revealed itself in the court case concerning publication of Ambroise Paré’s works. Professors at the Sorbonne felt that Paré had exceeded his limits, and had written on matters beyond the scope of a mere surgeon.1 Increasingly, surgeons were presenting themselves as authorities on matters of medicine, with their power based on practical experience rather than knowledge of ancient texts (one point of criticism of Paré was that he did not know Greek). Thus, in this court case, in exchanges of vituperative pamphlets and medical treatises, an early version of empirical science was vying with the old, bookish ways of understanding the human body. For the professors of the Sorbonne, the issue was no less than potential loss of power over the profession itself.2