Diploma of Doctor of Medicine (University of Padua)

Artist Unknown

1695

Facing-page manuscript with Latin text on right-hand page surrounded by floral border and man in circular frame on top and bottom of page, and portrait of man on left-hand side surrounded by floral border and two cherubs with man in frames on top and bottom of page. — This diploma of Doctor of Medicine was awarded to Jacob Mahler by the University of Padua, Italy. Mahler, born in Bingen-on-Rhine, Germany, studied medicine and philosophy, and in 1695 was awarded a diploma consisting of three beautifully illuminated parchment sheets, in the style of the time. Four scholars are depicted, each with a Latin quotation. Top left: holding a skull, Hippocrates (“Opposites are cured by opposites”); top right: Galen (“Life is short, the art is long”); bottom right: seated, Avicenna (“The purpose of medicine is health”); bottom left: with an armillary (celestial) sphere, Aristotle (“Cause of causes, have mercy on me”). The renowned medical school in Padua accepted Jews, who came from all over Europe to study there, but they were required to adopt a Christian name upon entering the university. The name on the diploma is therefore not Jacob Mahler but rather Capilius, son of Yosef Piktor. This document is the first of several pages; the names of other individuals, including signatories to the diploma, appear in the text. Interestingly, this diploma begins with the words “In the name of the eternal God” and is dated “in the current year,” not employing the explicitly Christian phrases commonly found in such diplomas.

Credits

The National Library of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel Ms. Fr. 789.1.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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