The Constitution of Air: Observation and the Limits of Temperament in Italian Renaissance Medical Writing

Abstract

The constitution of air served as a key concept for investigations into epidemic disease in sixteenth-century Italy. Its roots stem from the Hippocratic Corpus and Galen’s interpretation of it. In these ancient works, the constitution of air was directly tied to the temperaments of the seasons and winds. Renaissance physicians, such as Giambattista Da Monte and Girolamo Mercuriale, used these texts to justify observing the air to determine if its constitution caused specific outbreaks of disease. At times, these observations called into question whether temperamental differences were sufficient explanations, leading physicians to posit vapors, exhalations, and celestial influences as causes of outbreaks of epidemic disease.