Guglielmo da Varignana, also Gulielmus Varignana (1270–1339) was a professor of medicine and philosopher from

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. He is best known for his medicinal tractate ''Sublime secrets of medicine to cure various diseases'', which he wrote at the court of

Mladen II Šubić of Bribir Mladen II Šubić of Bribir (, ; c.1270 – c.1341), a Croatian leader and member of the House of Šubić, Šubić noble family, was a Ban of Croatia and Lord of all of Bosnia. After succeeding his father Paul, he further consolidated the Šub ...

in 1319.

Biography

He was a son of Bartolommeo da Varignana, a physician originally from Bologna, pupil of

Taddeo Alderotti Taddeo Alderotti (Latin: Thaddaeus Alderottus, French : Thaddée de Florence), born in Florence between 1206 and 1215, died in 1295, was an Italian doctor and professor of medicine at the University of Bologna, who made important contributions ...

(died 1295); Bartolommeo gained fame as the physician to the Marchese Aldobrandino d'Este and the emperor Henry VII. Bartolommeo died in 1318 in Genoa. Guglielmo was born in 1270 and is also named as a pupil of Taddeo Alderotti. Guglielmo is first recorded as professor of medicine, but was forced to flee his native Bologna as a

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centu ...

in 1318, subsequently becoming a personal physician and advisor to

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

Mladen II Šubić.Uloga crkvenih redova u medicini i farmaciji kod Hrvata, V Bazala
pp. 259 At the same time, he contributed to curing residents of

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. There he wrote his first work ''Secreta sublimia ad varios curandos morbos'' (Sublime secrets of medicine to cure various diseases) in 1319, under the orders of Mladen. In 1320, he is sent as a diplomat to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

to negotiate terms regarding the city of

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

. After the fall of Mladen at 1322

Battle of Bliska The Battle of Bliska (present day Blizna in the hinterland of Trogir called Zagora, southern Croatia) was fought in 1322 between the army of a coalition of several Croatian noblemen and Dalmatian coastal towns (with the support of the king Char ...

, he offered his services to the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

, signing a two-year contract, which had proved fruitless. After his political opponents were defeated in Bologna, he returned there, remaining until he died in 1339.

Works

Titlepage and Inscription Wellcome L0043978

The following medicinal works were written by him: *De febrium dispositione tractatus duo. *Practica Canonica Ioannis Michaelis Savonaro; Johannes Michael. *Secreta sublimia ad varios curandos morbos *Ad omnium interiorum & exteriorum partium morbos remediorum praesidia In 1519, his ''Secreta sublimia'' was published in print for the first time and achieved great popularity.The Age of Secrecy: Jews, Christians, and the Economy of Secrets, 1400–1800
Daniel Jutte, pp. 35-36

External links

Ad omnium interiorum exteriorum partium morbos remediorum Praesidia
on

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

Secreta sublimia ad varios curandos morbos
on Gonelli.it

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varignana, Gulgielmo da 14th-century Italian physicians 14th-century Italian philosophers People from Bologna Italian medical researchers 14th-century Italian writers 1270 births 1339 deaths 14th-century writers in Latin