Arnau of Villanova

During the 1280s, Arnau was the physician of King Pedro (Peter) III of Aragon. From 1291, Arnau taught medicine at the Montpellier University. He was a successful medical practitioner, having cured Pope Boniface VIII of a stone.

Arnau is chiefly important for his attempts to integrate empirical medicine with the philosophical medicine of the Greeks and Arabs.

Fluent in Arabic, Arnau was able to translate the works of Galen and Avicenna into Latin. Much of his medical teaching consisted of the works of Hippocrates and Galen. This pioneering approach became the basis of 14th Century medicine.

Arnau's main theoretical medical interest was in the attempt to conceptualise the body as being in a state of equalibrium between the opposing forces of hot and cold.

Towards the end of his life, Arnau's interests became more philosophical, mystical and theological. He invesitagted the world of the occult and even prophecised that the world would end in 1378. His views, however, brought him into serious conflict with Parisian theologians.