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Gentile da Foligno

Gentile da Foligno is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gentile da Foligno rather than just read about it. In short: Gentile Gentili da Foligno (died 18 June 1348) was an Italian professor and doctor of medicine, trained at Padua and the University of Bologna, and teaching probably first at Bologna, then at the University of Perugia, Siena (1322–1324), where his annual stipend was 60 gold florins; he was called to Padua (1325–1335) by Ubertino I da Carrara, Lord of Padua, then returned to Perugia for the remainder of his career. H…

Gentile da Foligno — main illustration
Gentile da Foligno — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Gentile da Foligno belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Gentile da Foligno to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Gentile da Foligno from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gentile Gentili da Foligno (died 18 June 1348) was an Italian professor and doctor of medicine, trained at Padua and the University of Bologna, and teaching probably first at Bologna, then at the University of Perugia, Siena (1322–1324), where his annual stipend was 60 gold florins; he was called to Padua (1325–1335) by Ubertino I da Carrara, Lord of Padua, then returned to Perugia for the remainder of his career. He was among the first European physicians to perform a dissection on a human being (1341), a practice that had long been taboo in Roman times. Gentile wrote several widely copied and read texts and commentaries, notably his massive commentary covering all five books of the Canon of Medicine by the 11th-century Persian polymath Avicenna, the comprehensive encyclopedia that, in Latin translation, was fundamental to medieval medicine. Long after his death, Gentile da Foligno was remembered in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493) as Subtilissimus rimator verborum Avicenne, "that most subtle investigator of Avicenna's teachings" Other works by Gentile were De complexione, proportione et dosi medicinarum; Consilium de temporibus partus; De statu hominum; De lepra; De febribus; De balneis; De divisione librorum Galeni; Tractatus de reductione medicinarum; Regimen preservativum; Among these the Consilium, a compilation of therapeutic advice for many diseases. He made commentaries on two works, Carmina de urinarum iudiciis ("Songs of urinary judgements") part of a metrical work, the Carmina medica, that had been composed by Egidius Corbaliensis, and Egidius' De pulsibus ("About pulses"). A mark of the respect in which Gentile's work continued to be held, more than a century after his death, was the rapidity with which they appeared in print, from the Italian presses, beginning in the 1470s. Gentile's commentary de urinarum iudiciis makes a first attempt to comprehend the physiology of urine formation; aided by his dissection of cadavers, Gentile asserted that urine associated with the blood passes per poros euritides ("through the porous tubules") of the kidney and is then delivered to the bladder. Commenting on De pulsibus, he connected the relationship between fast pulse rate and urine output and correlated the color of urine with the condition of the heart. For the originality of his thought Mario Timio suggested that Gentile could be indicated as the 'first' cardionephrologist in the history of medicine. He prepared a widely read treatise on the Black Death, recommending theriac among other prophylaxis, but died of the plague himself.

Notes

Illustrations

Gentile da Foligno: Generic portrait of Gentilis medicus, woodcut in the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493.
Generic portrait of Gentilis medicus, woodcut in the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gentile da Foligno

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gentile da Foligno claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gentile da Foligno before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gentile da Foligno ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gentile da Foligno

In research
Gentile da Foligno appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Gentile da Foligno in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Gentile da Foligno is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1348 deaths, 14th-century Italian medical doctors, 14th-century Italian writers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Gentile da Foligno outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Gentile da Foligno in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Gentile da Foligno means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Gentile da Foligno out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gentile da Foligno in simple terms?

Gentile Gentili da Foligno (died 18 June 1348) was an Italian professor and doctor of medicine, trained at Padua and the University of Bologna, and teaching probably first at Bologna, then at the University of Perugia, Siena (1322–1324), where his annual stipend was 60 gold florins; he was called t…

Why does Gentile da Foligno matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gentile da Foligno?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gentile da Foligno.

Tags

  • 1348 deaths
  • 14th-century Italian medical doctors
  • 14th-century Italian writers
  • 14th-century deaths from plague (disease)
  • 14th-century writers in Latin
  • Academic staff of the University of Perugia
  • Academic staff of the University of Siena
  • History of anatomy
  • University of Bologna alumni

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