"The physician's hand": trends in the evolution of the apothecary and his art across Europe (1500-1700).
This article surveys the place of the apothecary in the Italian and wider European social and professional context of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In contrast to localized studies, a comparison across Europe can serve to measure the general pace and lines of development. The type of goods the apothecary sold will be analyzed, as well as the professional evolution of the apothecary and the competition offered by rival groups. Here, the apothecary shall be placed somewhere between merchants and medics, but his relationship with the civic authorities and the traditional guild structure shall also be elucidated. We shall see how changing circumstances, economic shifts and new therapeutic technologies affected the apothecary and his place in the world. For the Italian apothecary, trends only pointed to his eclipse, as northern European pharmaceutical texts, manufacture of medicinal goods and precepts of "the new science" came to the fore.
Smith
S Halikowski
SH
D005060:Europe; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D007558:Italy; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000266:history*; D010594:Pharmacies / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010820:Physicians / Q000266:history*; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000266:history
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D055553:Prescription Drugs