Page 290 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

Charity towards the poor and the provision of medical services to the sick are regarded as
a main part of the calling of holy men and clerics. Yet in Jerusalem, the monks’ connections
with medicine and pharmacology often endangered them. The Franciscan monks, who
were the Custodians of the Holy Land from the fourteenth century onwards, were torn
between their main role – which was the preservation of the Catholic presence in the Holy
City – and their commitment to caring for the health of its population (see p. 152).

The Church feared that if they failed to heal, or came into too close a contact with the
Muslim population, this might lead to false accusations and risk the monks’ expulsion from
Jerusalem, and they therefore had to take great care – and were even forbidden to practice
medicine. The few who did engage in medicine despite this warning were obliged to hold
a special papal permit.

The ‘Miracle and the Plague’ gallery displays different artistic and cultural expressions
of the subject. It provides an overview of the tests of faith in Jerusalem’s history, and
presents the meanings attributed to historical and religious traditions. Miracle and plague
in central events in Jerusalem’s development are represented by archaeological finds
from the time of the Bible to the twentieth century, as well as works of art. Traditional
historical events related to sickness and medicine have been depicted in a large variety
of visual arts. Epidemics and diseases were recorded at the time of their occurrence,
and then perpetuated in works of art throughout different periods that took as their
theme the impact of the disasters that shook society. Stories from the Bible and the New
Testament, and many historical and legendary events connected with Jerusalem, have
been depicted in art in later times, and their many interpretations show the significance
attributed to them by different cultures in the mirror of time. The depiction of historical
events is represented in the exhibition by a number of exhibits and images. Gustave Doré’s
engravings of the Bible stories, published in the mid-nineteenth century and circulated
throughout Europe, were viewed by many as visual archetypes of ancient events. Texts,
Bible verses, manuscripts, and documents – all primary historical sources – are on display
in the gallery. The design and format of the letters, as well as the texts projected on the
ancient stone walls of the Citadel, interpret the words and sentences both as visual images
and as original exhibits.

The chronological part of the exhibition, ‘The Apothecary’s Art,’ moves along a timeline and
describes the medicines and remedies produced from medicinal sources found in and around
Jerusalem, or concocted according to local knowledge. The prescriptions on display are taken
from historical manuscripts and documents, and are accompanied by descriptions of medical
indications: The nature of the medicine, its components, and its benefits.

Jerusalem: A Medical Diagnosis ■ 13e