Medical Diagnosis and the Colour Yellow in Early Modern England
This article will survey the colour yellow in early modern England using resources chiefly from medicine but also literature, sumptuary law, and quotidian culture. In doing so, it interrogates the extent to which this colour changed in symbolism and meaning from the early 15th to the early 17th cent...
محفوظ في:
| الحاوية / القاعدة: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/erea, |
|---|---|
| المؤلف الرئيسي: | |
| التنسيق: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| اللغة: | Anglais |
| منشور في: |
E-rea
2015
|
| الموضوعات: | |
| الوصول للمادة أونلاين: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| id |
openedition-oai:revues.org:erea_4413 |
|---|---|
| record_format |
openedition |
| spelling |
openedition-oai:revues.org:erea_4413 https://doi.org/10.4000/erea.4413 urn:doi:10.4000/erea.4413 en https://journals.openedition.org/erea/4413 2015-06-15T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/fv4a https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Medical Diagnosis and the Colour Yellow in Early Modern England E-rea Laboratoire d’Études et de Recherche sur le Monde Anglophone info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1638-1718 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/erea HICKEY, Helen théorie humorale histoire de la couleur jaune littérature de conseils prémoderne tempérament colérique uroscopie Thomas Elyot Barthélemy l’Anglais Stephen Batman Andrew Boorde humoural theory history of colour yellow early modern advice literature choleric temperament uroscopy Thomas Elyot Bartholomaeus Anglicus Stephen Batman Andrew Boorde This article will survey the colour yellow in early modern England using resources chiefly from medicine but also literature, sumptuary law, and quotidian culture. In doing so, it interrogates the extent to which this colour changed in symbolism and meaning from the early 15th to the early 17th century. It takes as its starting point humoural theory, which was a vital component of not only medieval but early modern medical diagnosis. The discernment of a person’s underlying disposition relied on knowledge of humoural properties: phlegmatic, sanguine, melancholic or choleric. In especial, the humours were “colour-tagged”, with the choleric temperament usually described in medieval medical treatises as “yellow”.Michel Pastoureau has alerted us to the ambiguity of interpretation the medieval world imposed on particular hues. An examination of colour in early modern England also illuminates the perceptual edges that flow from a society’s chromatic practice, medical understanding and cultural symbolism. Although we cannot assume a transhistorical shared optics of any colour, “yellow”, by its affinity with various bodily byproducts, holds a special place in medical diagnosis. This leads us to question how we might interpret its meanings, both fluid and complex, within early modern England. Cet article vise à analyser la couleur jaune dans l’Angleterre pré-moderne en utilisant les ressources de la médecine, de la littérature, des lois somptuaires, et de la culture quotidienne de l’époque. Ce faisant, il étudiera comment cette teinte a changé de symbolisme et de sens entre le début du XVe et le début du XVIIe siècle. Il prend comme point de départ la théorie humorale, élément essentiel du diagnostic non seulement médiéval mais aussi renaissant. Le discernement de la disposition humorale sous-jacente d’un individu s’est en effet longtemps appuyé sur la connaissance des propriétés de cette disposition (propriétés flegmatique, sanguines, mélancoliques ou colériques). Or, les humeurs étaient caractérisées par des couleurs précises. Ainsi, le type colérique décrit dans les traités médicaux médiévaux est toujours « jaune ».Michel Pastoureau a déjà mis en lumière l’interprétation pour le moins ambiguë des couleurs du monde médiéval. Mais un examen de la couleur dans l’Angleterre de la Renaissance éclaire également les perceptions chromatiques de la société du XVIe siècle, ainsi que ses habitudes culturelles et sa compréhension des problèmes médicaux. Si la perception de la couleur varie toujours selon l’époque dans laquelle on se trouve, le « jaune », de par son affinité avec divers sous-produits corporels, occupe une place bien particulière dans le diagnostic médical. Il faut donc nous demander comment nous pouvons interpréter ses significations, fluctuantes et complexes, dans l’Angleterre de la première modernité. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
théorie humorale histoire de la couleur jaune littérature de conseils prémoderne tempérament colérique uroscopie Thomas Elyot Barthélemy l’Anglais Stephen Batman Andrew Boorde humoural theory history of colour yellow early modern advice literature choleric temperament uroscopy Thomas Elyot Bartholomaeus Anglicus Stephen Batman Andrew Boorde |
| spellingShingle |
théorie humorale histoire de la couleur jaune littérature de conseils prémoderne tempérament colérique uroscopie Thomas Elyot Barthélemy l’Anglais Stephen Batman Andrew Boorde humoural theory history of colour yellow early modern advice literature choleric temperament uroscopy Thomas Elyot Bartholomaeus Anglicus Stephen Batman Andrew Boorde HICKEY, Helen Medical Diagnosis and the Colour Yellow in Early Modern England |
| description |
This article will survey the colour yellow in early modern England using resources chiefly from medicine but also literature, sumptuary law, and quotidian culture. In doing so, it interrogates the extent to which this colour changed in symbolism and meaning from the early 15th to the early 17th century. It takes as its starting point humoural theory, which was a vital component of not only medieval but early modern medical diagnosis. The discernment of a person’s underlying disposition relied on knowledge of humoural properties: phlegmatic, sanguine, melancholic or choleric. In especial, the humours were “colour-tagged”, with the choleric temperament usually described in medieval medical treatises as “yellow”.Michel Pastoureau has alerted us to the ambiguity of interpretation the medieval world imposed on particular hues. An examination of colour in early modern England also illuminates the perceptual edges that flow from a society’s chromatic practice, medical understanding and cultural symbolism. Although we cannot assume a transhistorical shared optics of any colour, “yellow”, by its affinity with various bodily byproducts, holds a special place in medical diagnosis. This leads us to question how we might interpret its meanings, both fluid and complex, within early modern England. |
| author |
HICKEY, Helen |
| author_facet |
HICKEY, Helen |
| author_sort |
HICKEY, Helen |
| title |
Medical Diagnosis and the Colour Yellow in Early Modern England |
| title_short |
Medical Diagnosis and the Colour Yellow in Early Modern England |
| title_full |
Medical Diagnosis and the Colour Yellow in Early Modern England |
| title_fullStr |
Medical Diagnosis and the Colour Yellow in Early Modern England |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Medical Diagnosis and the Colour Yellow in Early Modern England |
| title_sort |
medical diagnosis and the colour yellow in early modern england |
| publisher |
E-rea |
| publishDate |
2015 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/erea |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/erea.4413 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/erea/4413 |
| _version_ |
1877242922649255936 |