REGIMEN SAMTATIS SALERMTANUM. 179 



to pass into other hands than those of the monks. Still, we find St. 

 Bruno practising physic, until his death in 1126, and the archbishop of 

 Salerno, Romualdus II, called to attend medically William, King of Sic- 

 ily, in 1127. Some of the names of eminent physicians which appear 

 about this time are apparently Jewish, and it seems that even the wo- 

 men of Salerno studied, practiced and taught medicine. Four females 

 wrote acceptable wofks on medicine, at least one received the honors of 

 the doctorate, and Sentra Guerna stands as the name of the only individ- 

 ual of the fair sex, vvho ever filled a chair of the Practice of Medicine ! 

 The School seems to have assumed the style of a University, about the 

 beginning of the 13th century. Its faculty consisted of ten Doctors, 

 the eldest of whom had the title of Prior. Their seal bore the proud 

 inscription Civitas Hippocratis. The form of conferring the degree 

 was peculiar, the Prior placing a book in the hands of each candidate, 

 next a ring on his finger, then a crown of laurel on his head, and finally 

 implanting a kiss on his cheek ! 



Such was the School which produced the little work we are noti- 

 cing. The book consists of aphorisms, containing instruction for pre- 

 serving health and curing disease. The first lines explain the immedi- 

 ate object of its composition. 



Anglorum regi scribit Schola tola Salerni, 

 Si vis incoiumen, si vis te reddere sanum, &c. 



Some of the French copies read Francorum regU which is evidently 

 an alteration, and is regarded by Sir A. Croke as a striking evidence of 

 *' that mean spirit of envy, too often found even among superior French- 

 men " — a sweeping condemnation of a whole people, because of the 

 follies of some stupid editor, which proves only the surly John Bullism 

 of Sir Alexander Croke. The King referred to, is evidently Robert, the 

 eldest son of William the Conqueror. He passed the winter of 1096- 

 97 at Salerno on his way to the Holy Land. He returned there in 1099 

 suffering under an obstinate fistula on his arm, arising from the wound 

 of an arrow, supposed to be poisoned. Here he became attached to 

 and married Sybilla, daughter of Geoffrey, Count of Conversano, in 1100. 

 The next year (1101,) according to Pougens, the fistula still remaining 

 open, the Faculty of Salerno gave, as their opinion, that the wound was 

 poisoned, that it could be cured only by suction, and that whoever per- 

 formed that operation would fall a victim to the poison. Sybilla would 

 gladly have run the risk, but her husband refused. Watching her op- 

 portunity while he slept, she sucked the wound, he recovered, and she 

 received no injury. This story is of course apocryphal, although it is 

 certain thai Robert recovered his health under the judicious care of the 



