Abstract

CIAPPARELLI, Lidia Beatriz. Medicina y Literatura en el Tratado de Fascinación de Enrique de Villena. Cuad. hist. Esp. [online]. 2005, vol.79, pp.31-56. ISSN 0325-1195.

From ancient times and until late modern times, there has been a strong belief in the "evil eye", known by layman and the physicians to be a disease caused by the influence of a strong person over a weak one. The Treatise on fascination, written by Enrique de Villena in 1425, is a detailed exposition of the characteristics of this illness -which finds scientific explanation on the theory of sight from ancient Greece- and of the means to prevent, diagnose and cure the illness. Many of the aspects dealt with by Villena are present in the medical texts of his time, and even a great part of the qualitative and virtual cures that he advises form part of the traditional medicines used from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Besides, some of the advice given, such as pouring oil into water or using a measuring tape, are still in use.

Keywords : Evil eye; Sight; Magic.