Doctors as Poets: Laudatory Verses Addressed to Antonio Molinetti by British Medical Students at Padua,1650–4

Panckoucke CLF , ed. Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicates. Biographie Médicate. Paris, 1824; 6:283.

Swan HT. RW Innes-Smith: A man to study. Proc Roy Coll Phys Edin 1992; 22:224–37.

English-speaking students included a number of Scots, who at times were numerous enough to form a separate natio (of which, eg, our poet Cadenhead was counsellor, 1648–50).

All sources give his date of death as 1675; according to some, he died at Parma, where he had been called to practise (Facciolati G. Fasti Gymnasii Patavini. Padua 1757:345). But his monument has the date 1685 (this might possibly be the date of its erection, rather than of his death; it seems less likely to be a stone-cutter's mistake); he is described as a sexagenarian (and was thus probably born shortly before 1615) (monument illustrated in: Albertotti G. L'occhio anatomico artificiale del Verle e modelli analoghi. Atti del Reate Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, 1922–3;82:tavola 1). Members of his family appear in the Paduan archives: his daughter Maria, aged one and a half, died on 29 May 1654, when he was living in the parish of St Lawrence at Padua; his wife, Paulina Uberti, died at the age of 63 on 1 September 1691, while living in the parish of All Saints at Padua (Padua, Archivio di Stato, Ufficio di Sanità, b.477 & 484, under those dates).

Absolutissimae humani corporis dissectioni a … Antonio Molinetto … auspicatae et peractae inclytae nationes Anglica et Scota applaudebant. Padua, 1650; In accuratissimam humani corporis dissectionem a … Antonio Molinetto … nationis Anglicae applausus. Padua, 1653; In exactissimam humani corporis anatomen ab … Antonio Molinetto … cetebratam plaudente natione Anglica. Padua, 1654.

Eloy NFJ. Dictionnaire historique de la Médicine. Mons, 1778; 3:313.

Hirsch A Wernich A Biographisches Lexicon der hervorragenden Aertze aller Zeiten und Völker. Vienna, 1884–6:4.260. The maxillary antrum was called at that time the antrum highmoranium, after Nathaniel Highmore of Hampshire (1613-1684), author of Corporis humani disquisitio anatomica. Hague, 1651.

Dissertationes Anatomicae et Pathologicae de sensibus et eorum organis. Padua, 1669; Dissertationes Anatomico-Pathologicae quibus humani corporis partes accuratissime describuntur. Venice, 1675.

Tomasinus JP. Gymnasium Patavinum. Udine, 1654:165–7; the verse praised at Nic. Comnenus Papadopolus, Historia Gymnasii Patavini, Vol 1. Venice, 1726:365-6.

Papadopolus, 1.370: “Vir fuit plane in arte … rediit”.

A later biographer wrote about his son, perhaps with relief, as being “possibly in contrast to his father … more generally affable, polite, honest, easy and considerate in his dealing”. Eloy NFJ (op. cit. ref 6):314.

Tomasinus JP (op. cit. ref 9):465. “1650. Die 20 Septembris controversia … Quarrum Anatomes professor”.

Tomasinus JP (op. cit. ref 9):307. “Vir voce … omnia Cedro digna”.

Page was a leading contributor of laudatory verses, publishing in seven such volumes between 1631 and 1677. Cf also Malloch TA. Finch and Baines: A Seventeenth Century Friendship. Cambridge, 1917: 4 on poetry by Finch and Baines; Baines' poem quoted in full, p 14.

This is most likely John Bidgood, who had been ejected from his fellowship at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1648, and was inscribed at Padua in 1650. After the Restoration he practised medicine at Exeter: “a person of surley and proud nature, and offensive in word and action” (Wood, A. Fasti;2.226). Another possibility is John Bargrave, an ejected fellow of Peterhouse, at Padua in 1647; but he was a cleric, and there is no record of his practising medicine.

Samuel, son of John, of Great Baddow, Essex; at St John's, Cambridge, 1639.

Son of John, of Northiam, Sussex; at St Mary Hall, Oxford in 1642.

A Scot; at Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1635. He was later a Professor at Padua (2nd Chair of Logic, 1661; 1st Chair of Logic, 1663; 2nd Chair of Philosophy, 1665 until his death in 1679: Papadopolus, 1.173, 186–87). He was involved in other literary endeavours; in 1661 and 1662 he published pamphlets (largely Latin prose, with a little verse) in Padua to celebrate the restoration and marriage of Charles n (Astraeae Venetae Plausus; Pallas Pronuba: both printed by the bookseller Paulo Frambotti, who also printed the German collection of 1646); he is the first contributor (in Latin prose) to a collection in honour of two English students, who like himself combined the study of medicine and philosophy, In lauream philosophico-medicam … loannis Constabilis … et Thomae Short … Padua, 1665.

Son of William, of Shrivenham, Berkshire; at St Alban Hall, Oxford, in 1631; vicar of Sutton Courtney, Berkshire, 1661.

Virgil's Eclogue 9.36: “argutos inter strepere anser olores” (to honk like a goose amid melodious swans). The owl may suggest the scholar Cottunius, as well as the modest poet.

From London; at King's, Cambridge, in 1643, fellow 1647–58.

There are no good clues to identify him; one Nicholas (forename or surname?) was inscribed at Padua in 1648.

Much of interest is known about Finch and his companion, Baines (they met at Christ's College, where they are buried together): cf Malloch TA (op. cit. ref. 14). Finch was a prorector and syndic at Padua in 1656–7, during which time it was decided that a volume of Latin and Italian congratulatory verses should be issued to celebrate a Venetian victory over the Turks (Andrich JA. De natione Anglica et Scota iuristarum Universitatis Patavinae. Padua, 1892:15).

Fellow of King's, Cambridge, 1631–75; provost, 1675–81.

From York (pace Munk's Roll), where he practised medicine; admitted extra-licentiate, 1627; married Ellen, daughter of Sir George Palmer. His father, also Alexius, came from Poland, and was admitted extra-licentiate in 1607–8. There is a strong Polish tradition of neo-Latin.

This may be a result of their training at Christ's College; Edward King (Milton's Lycidas), a leading Christ's versifier, was fond of the metre.

Son of Humphrey Henchman, Bishop of Chichester (on whom see the Dictionary of National Biography).

Most probably the Welshman John Morton (Mogtonius), inscribed at Padua in 1653. There are also other, less likely, possibilities.

A zealous Roman Catholic and royalist, in exile under the Commonwealth; created baronet, 1661. He certainly practised medicine from 1668, and was physician to Catherine of Braganza; accused by Titus Oates, acquitted, but preferred renewed exile to further trouble (see Dictionary of National Biography). “Laurentius Gallus” is the Frenchman André du Laurens (1558-1609); for his claims about the hymen, cf his Historia Anatomica. Frankfurt, 1599:273,279.

Expelled from Magdalen, Oxford, 1648: a good reason for travel.