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- An early illustration of the octagonal scarificator
An early illustration of the octagonal scarificator, 1801. This plate also includes one of the earliest illustrations of the syringe applied to cupping cups. (From Benjamin Bell, A System of Surgery, 7th edition, volume 3, Edinburgh, 1801.) - King or Chief of Franks armed with the Seramasax, from a Miniature of the Ninth Century
When the Franks took root in Gaul, their dress and institutions were adopted by the Roman society. This had the most disastrous influence in every point of view, and it is easy to prove that civilisation did not emerge from this chaos until by degrees the Teutonic spirit disappeared from the world. As long as this spirit reigned, neither private nor public liberty existed. Individual patriotism only extended as far as the border of a man's family, and the nation became broken up into clans. Gaul soon found itself parcelled off into domains which were almost independent of one another. It was thus that Germanic genius became developed. - Woman using leeches
Woman using leeches, 17th century. (From Guillaume van den Bossche, Historica Medica, Brussels, 1639.) - Scarification without cupping in Egypt
Scarification without cupping in Egypt in the 16th century. To obtain sufficient blood, 20 to 40 gashes were made in the legs and the patient was made to stand in a basin of warm water. (From Prosper Alpinus, Medicina Aegyptorum, Leyden, 1719. - A man employing leeches to reduce his weight
A man employing leeches to reduce his weight, 16th century. (From P. Boaistuau, Histoire Podigieuses, Paris, 1567. ) - Costumes of the Franks from the Fourth to the Eighth Centuries
The period known as the Middle Ages, says the learned Benjamin Guérard, is the produce of Pagan civilisation, of Germanic barbarism, and of Christianity. It began in 476, on the fall of Agustulus, and ended in 1453, at the taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II., and consequently the fall of two empires, that of the West and that of the East, marks its duration. Its first act, which was due to the Germans, was the destruction of political unity, and this was destined to be afterwards replaced by religions unity. Then we find a multitude of scattered and disorderly influences growing on the ruins of central power. The yoke of imperial dominion was broken by the barbarians; but the populace, far from acquiring liberty, fell to the lowest degrees of servitude. Instead of one despot, it found thousands of tyrants, and it was but slowly and with much trouble that it succeeded in freeing itself from feudalism. Nothing could be more strangely troubled than the West at the time of the dissolution of the Empire of the Caesars; nothing more diverse or more discordant than the interests, the institutions, and the state of society, which were delivered to the Germans - Instruments and technique of phlebotomy
Instruments and technique of phlebotomy: Fig. 1 shows an arm about to be bled. A ligature has been applied to make the veins swell. The common veins bled—cephalic, basilic, and median—are illustrated. Fig. 2 shows several types of incisions. Fig. 3 is a fleam, Fig. 4 a spring lancet, and Fig. 5 a “French lancet.” (From Laurence Heister, A General System of Surgery, London, 1759. - Bloodletting
Bloodletting - Civic Guard of Ghent (Brotherhood of St. Sebastian)
- Damoiseau’s terabdella
Damoiseau’s terabdella. (From Damoiseau, La Terabdelle ou machine pneumatique, Paris, 1862. - Cupping Instruments
Cupping instruments illustrated by Dionis, 1708: a, cups made of horn; b, lamp for exhausting air; c, fleam for making scarifications; d, horns with holes at the tip for mouth suction; e, balls of wax to close the holes in the horn cups; f, g, glass cups; h, candle to light the tow or the small candles; i, tow; k, small candles on a card which is placed over the scarifications and lit in order to exhaust the cup; l, lancet for making scarifications; m, scarifications; n, plaster to place on the wound. (From Pierre Dionis, Cours d’opérations de chirurgie demontrées au Jardin Royal, Paris, 1708.) - Paré’s scarificator
Paré’s scarificator, 16th century. (From The Workes of that Famous Chirurgeon, Ambrose Parey, translated by Thomas Johnson, London, 1649.) - W. D. Hooper’s patent cupping apparatus with tubular blades
W. D. Hooper’s patent cupping apparatus with tubular blades. (From patent specifications, U.S. patent no. 68985.) - Costume of the Franks in the Eighth Century
Costume of the Franks in the Eighth Century - Depurator patented by A. F. Jones, 1866
Depurator patented by A. F. Jones, 1866. (From patent specifications) - Advertisement for phlebotomy and cupping instruments
Advertisement for phlebotomy and cupping instruments. Note the rubber cups. (From George Tiemann & Co., American Armamentarium Chirurgicum, New York, 1889.) - Dry cupping for sciatica
Dry cupping for sciatica. (From Frederik Dekkers, Exercitationes Practicae Circa Medendi Methodum, Leyden, 1694. - Instruments for bleeding from the arm, 1708
Instruments for bleeding from the arm, 1708: a, a serviette to cover the patient’s clothing; b, a cloth ligature to place around the arm; c, a lancet case; d, a lancet; e and f, candles to give light for the operation; g, a baton or staff for the patient to hold; h, i, and k, basins for collecting blood; l and m, compresses; n, a bandage to be placed over the compress; p, eau de la Reine d’Hongrie that can be used instead of vinegar to revive the patient if he faints; q, a glass of urine and water for the patient to drink when he revives; r, s, t, implements for washing the hands and the lancets after the operation. (From Pierre Dionis, Cours d’opérations de chirurgie demontrées au Jardin Royal, Paris, 1708. - Patent for a complex cupping pump
Patent for a complex cupping pump, J. A. Maxam, 1916. (From patent specifications, U.S. patent 1179129.) - Wet Cupping for a headache
Wet cupping for a headache. (From Frederik Dekkers, Exercitationes Practicae Circa Medendi Methodum, Leyden, 1694.) - Ballet
Representation of a Ballet before Henri III. and his Court, in the Gallery of the Louvre.--Fac-simile of an Engraving on Copper of the "Ballet de la Royne," by Balthazar de Beaujoyeulx (folio, Paris, Mamert Patisson, 1582.) - Demours’ device for combining cup, scarifier and exhausting apparatus
Demours’ device for combining cup, scarifier and exhausting apparatus. (From Samuel Bayfield, A Treatise on Practical Cupping, London, 1823.) - Junod’s boot applied to a baby in the cradle
Junod’s boot applied to a baby in the cradle. (From Victor Theodore Junod, A Theoretical and Practical Treatise on Maemespasia. London, 1879. - German Soldier
The Germans had brought with them over the Rhine none of the heroic virtues attributed to them by Tacitus when he wrote their history, with the evident intention of making a satire on his countrymen. Amongst the degenerate Romans whom those ferocious Germans had subjugated, civilisation was reconstituted on the ruins of vices common in the early history of a new society by the adoption of a series of loose and dissolute habits, both by the conquerors and the conquered. - R. J. Dodd’s patent cupping apparatus
R. J. Dodd’s patent cupping apparatus. Figs. 4 and 5 are the tubes for cupping the uterus. Fig. 3 is the flexible match scarifier. (From patent specifications, U.S. patent no. 3537.) - Empalement
Empalement (Pal) From a Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster Mediæval punishments included more or less atrocious punishments, which were in use at various times and in various countries; such as the Pain of the Cross, specially employed against the Jews; the Arquebusade, which was well adapted for carrying out prompt justice on soldiers; the Chatouillement, which resulted in death after the most intense tortures; the Pal, flaying alive, and, lastly, drowning, a kind of death frequently employed in France - Anglo Saxon Retainer
- Swiss Grand Provost
The executioner did not hold the same position in all countries. For whereas in France, Italy, and Spain, a certain amount of odium was attached to this terrible craft, in Germany, on the contrary, successfully carrying out a certain number of capital sentences was rewarded by titles and the privileges of nobility - King Louis le Jeune
King Louis le Jeune Miniature of the "Rois de France," by Du Tillet (Sixteenth Century), in the National Library of Paris. - Tunic
The earliest made-up garment, that in which the art of the tailor was called into play, was doubtless a simple bag, more or less closely fitting to the body and of varying length, with holes for the arms and an opening for the neck. Such a primitive garment has been worn in varying forms at all periods of the world's history, and is in use at the present time in the form of the ordinary singlet. The modern singlet is, in fact, the simple, primeval type of the tunic. - Charles the Simple
Charles the Simple (Charles III) of Francia - Horned Head-dress Beatrice, Countess of Arundel, 1439
- Charlotte of Savoy
Charlotte of Savoy second Wife of Louis XI. - Hanging to music
Hanging to Music. (A Minstrel condemned to the Gallows obtained permission that one of his companions should accompany him to his execution, and play his favourite instrument on the ladder of the Gallows.)--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in Michault's "Doctrinal du Temps Présent:" small folio, goth., Bruges, about 1490. - Entry of Loius XI
The Entry of Louis XI. into Paris From the "Chroniques" of Monstrelet, Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century - Charles V of France
Charles V of France - Coronation of Charlemagme
Coronation of Charlemagne.--Fac-simile of a Miniature in the "Chroniques de Saint-Denis," Manuscript of the Fourteenth Century (Imperial Library of Paris). - Musicians
Musicians accompanying the Dancing.--Fac-simile of a Wood Engraving in the "Orchésographie" of Thoinot Arbeau (Jehan Tabourot): 4to (Langres, 1588). - Water Torture
The Water Torture. Fac-simile of a Woodcut in J. Damhoudère's "Praxis Rerum Criminalium:" in 4to, Antwerp, 1556. In Paris, for a long time, the water torture was in use; this was the most easily borne, and the least dangerous. A person undergoing it was tied to a board which was supported horizontally on two trestles. By means of a horn, acting as a funnel, and whilst his nose was being pinched, so as to force him to swallow, they slowly poured four coquemars (about nine pints) of water into his mouth; this was for the ordinary torture. For the extraordinary, double that quantity was poured in. When the torture was ended, the victim was untied, "and taken to be warmed in the kitchen," says the old text. - Sword Dance
Sword-dance to the sound of the Bagpipe.--Fac-simile of a Manuscript in the British Museum (Fourteenth Century). - An Exquisite
About the year 1658 petticoat breeches crossed the silver streak from Versailles, and became the vogue at the Court of Charles II. Randal Holme, writing in 1659, describes the dress as follows:—"A short-waisted doublet and petticoat breeches, the lining being lower than the breeches and tied above the knees; the breeches are ornamented with ribands up to the pocket, and half their breadth upon the thigh; the waistband is set about with ribands, and the shirt hanging out over them." The petticoat breeches were not ridiculous in themselves—the modern Scotch kilt, which is an extremely picturesque and even reasonable costume, is made upon precisely the same principle; it was the absurd{130} lace ruffles, which hung drooping below the knee, which were worn with the petticoats during the earlier period, and in which Charles II. is figured in Heath's Chronicle, 1662, which made the costume a banality. The figure of the exquisite of 1670 from Jacquemin wears the petticoat breeches, but without the ruffles or frills at the knees. It must be confessed, however, that the gentleman possesses a sufficiency of frill! - Beggar
Beggar playing the Fiddle, and his Wife accompanying him with the Bones.--From an old Engraving of the Seventeenth Century. - Beheading
Beheading.From the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552. - Entry of the Roi de l'Epinette
Entry of the Roi de l'Epinette at Lille in the Sixteenth Century .--From a Manuscript of the Library of Rouen. - The Springboard
THe Spring-board Most of the bourgeois and the villagers played a variety of games of agility, many of which have descended to our times, and are still to be found at our schools and colleges. Wrestling, running races, the game of bars, high and wide jumping, leap-frog, blind-man's buff, games of ball of all sorts, gymnastics, and all exercises which strengthened the body or added to the suppleness of the limbs, were long in use among the youth of the nobility - Clothworker
Cloth Worker Fac-simile of Engravings on Wood, designed and engraved by J. Amman, in the Sixteenth Century. - Joan of Navarre
Queen of Henry IV - German Beggar
German Beggar Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552. - Judge
Judge The Parliament of Paris--or Great French Parliament, as it was called by Philip V. and Charles V., in edicts of the 17th of November, 1318, and of the 8th of October, 1371--was divided into four principal chambers: the Grand Chamber, the Chamber of Inquiry, the Criminal Chamber, and the Chamber of Appeal. It was composed of ordinary councillors, both clerical and lay; of honorary councillors, some of whom were ecclesiastics, and others members of the nobility; of masters of inquiry; and of a considerable number of officers of all ranks - Sculptured Comb
Sculptured Comb, in Ivory, of the Sixteenth Century (Sauvageot Collection) - Imperial Procession
Imperial Procession. From an Engraving of the "Solemn Entry of Charles V. and Clement VII. into Bologna," by L. de Cranach, from a Fresco by Brusasorci, of Verona. - Torture of the wheel
Demons applying the Torture of the Wheel.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in the "Grand Kalendrier ou Compost des Bergers:" small folio, Troyes, Nicholas le Rouge, 1529. - Gentleman of the French Court
Gentleman of the French Court, of the End of the Sixteenth Century. From the "Livre de Poésies," Manuscript dedicated to Henry IV. - King of the Franks
The King of the Franks, in the midst of the Military Chiefs who formed his Treuste, or armed Court, dictates the Salic Law (Code of the Barbaric Laws). The tariff of indemnities or compensations to be paid for each crime formed the basis of the code of laws amongst the principal tribes of Franks, a code essentially barbarian, and called the Salic law, or law of the Salians. Such, however, was the spirit of inequality among the German races, that it became an established principle for justice to be subservient to the `rank` of individuals. The more powerful a man was, the more he was protected by the law; the lower his `rank`, the less the law protected him. - King Childebert
King Childebert III (Seventh Century).--From a Statue formerly placed in the Refectory of the Abbey of St. Germain-des-Prés. - Jeanne de Bourbon
Jeanne de Bourbon, Wife of Charles V From a Statue formerly in the Church of the Célestins, Paris. A fact worthy of remark is, that whilst male attire, through a depravity of taste, had extended to the utmost limit of extravagance, women's dress, on the contrary, owing to a strenuous effort towards a dignified and elegant simplicity, became of such a character that it combined all the most approved fashions of female costume which had been in use in former periods. The statue of Queen Jeanne de Bourbon, wife of Charles V., formerly placed with that of her husband in the Church of the Célestins at Paris, gives the most faithful representation of this charming costume, to which our artists continually have recourse when they wish to depict any poetical scenes of the French Middle Ages - Costume of Slaves or Serfs, from the Sixth to the Twelfth Centuries
Costumes of Slaves or Serfs, from the Sixth to the Twelfth Centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel, from original Documents in the great Libraries of Europe. - Labouring Colon (Twelfth Century)
Labouring Colons (Twelfth Century), after a Miniature in a Manuscript of the Ste. Chapelle, of the National Library of Paris. At the onset, the slave only possessed his life, and this was but imperfectly guaranteed to him by the laws of charity; laws which, however, year by year became of greater power. He afterwards became colon, or labourer, working for himself under certain conditions and tenures, paying fines, or services, which, it is true, were often very extortionate. - German Knights
German Knights (Fifteenth Century). from Drawings by Albert Durer. - Doge of Venice
Doge of Venice in Ceremonial Costume of the Sixteenth Century.