La influencia de la medicina: Relación entre literatura y cultura en la temprana edad moderna española

The sciences, in particular the field of medicine, have had an important role in society since its significance has been recorded in historical texts. Due to this fact, the future of medicine depends on, to a certain extent, the knowledge that has been collected in the past from the previously catalogued records. In addition to these records, literature from a specific time period could be useful to study and analyze how opinions have been formulated throughout history, how scientific accomplishments were shared, and what influences impacted society. This study will first explore panoramically the historical context of medicine in Spain from the Medieval through the Golden Age, which is otherwise known as the Early Modern era. Once this foundation has been well-established, this study will evaluate how the authors of each of these specific literary periods used scientific and medical aspects in their literature to reflect the influence and importance of the sciences on the beliefs, opinions, and culture of the individuals and their communities at that time. To accomplish this objective, two relevant literary texts were selected, El conde Lucanor by Don Juan Manuel and Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, so that their characters, plot, and discourse can be analyzed to provide essential information about the role and relationship between medicine, religion, and society in early modern Spanish peninsular literature