Lo strumentario podologico nella mascalcia medievale. Testi e iconografia

Abstract

In the context of clinical surgery of veterinary medicine, medieval podiatry played a key role both for disease incidence and for evolution, and therefore the success, of therapeutic treatments. The paper aims to investigate the surgical instruments used by the medieval veterinarian for his daily activities in the field of podiatry. To do this, the authors use both documentary and iconographic sources putting them in parallel. The first provides information on the choice of instruments, their nomenclature and their usage, and the analysis of iconographic sources allows the critical reconstruction of the actual instruments favoring a concrete visualization of both the technical characteristics of the instrument and of its use. The final objective is a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of podological practice of the time.

Keywords

• podiatry
• hoof
• farriery
• shoeing
• illumination
• shoer