FORMA FLUENS

Histories of the Microcosm

The Blog of the Body

Forma Fluens (“flowing form”) is a blog dedicated to the history of the body. A metaphor for life itself, as a rhythmic flow that alters the shape and the diachronic identity of the human being, this space is dedicated to any curious person interested in the history of medicine and the body.

Material from the blog is free to consult and use but must be credited as per the title, author, affiliation and sources displayed in each article. For queries or to express an interest in submitting an article for the blog, feel free to contact the centre in the dedicated section. Enjoy and stay tuned: more is always coming!

Through an examination of Katharina Kepler's witchcraft trial, Marco Ghione shows how ambiguous bodily symptoms were transformed into legal evidence

Set against the world of cheap print and wonder literature, this article investigates the case of a Spanish nun who

The article examines "Causae et curae" and the "Physica "to show that Hildegard explains disease through the corruption of the

Franciscus Sylvius and his pupil Reinier de Graaf transformed iatrochemistry from a speculative medical theory into a clinically grounded and

How were miners affected by their work? This article traces the illnesses they faced, the vocabulary they created to describe

Paul Sandro Heidelbach explores a 1688 satire that linked Kenelm Digby’s "sympathetic powder" to a supposed method for finding longitude

In this article Sabrina Engert examines how Andreas Vesalius’s "De humani corporis fabrica" and "Epitome" were re-edited, adapted, and transformed

Drawing on Coptic medical writings and related historical sources, this article examines honey’s evolving roles in treatment and ritual from