Healers: Lexicon, Functions and Roles of Medieval Medici

Abstract

The article presents the latest historiographical guidelines, aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of individuals involved in healthcare activities during the Middle Ages. If one approaches medieval care without adopting a modern professional standpoint, the picture is much broader, more complicated, and less rigid than commonly portrayed. The use of this non-teleological approach also allows overcoming some traditional divisions, such as those between sacred and profane, between the high and late Middle Ages, and between learned and empirical physicians. The therapeutic journey that a patient can undertake becomes enriched.