Guillaume de Harsigny

Guillaume de Harsigny (1300 – 10 July 1393)[note 1] was a French doctor and court physician to Charles V of France.[1]

Tomb of Guillaume de Harsigny in the Museum of Laon

When Harcigny was practicing medicine, he traveled across the Mediterranean - notably to Italy, Palestine, Syria, and Egypt.[2] He learned new medical techniques and compiled information in medical manuscripts as he traveled.

He became most famous, however, for operating on the skull of King Charles VI of France during the Hundred Years’ War. One of the most notable physicians of his day, at age 92, Harsigny played a crucial role in the recovery of Charles VI of France from a coma brought about by a fit of insanity.[3]

In 1393, Harcigny died in his home in Laon, France. Following his death in 1393, Harsigny was buried in a tomb which featured one of the earliest examples of medieval cadaver tomb (transi tomb) sculpture.[4][5]

Just before he died, Harcigny commissioned his transi tomb to be created to mirror what his corpse looked like at the time of his death.[6] The sculpture is currently displayed at the Musée de Laon.


Notes
  1. Some sources show a birthdate of 1310.

References
  1. Glain (2005), 3
  2. Heimerman, Emily (April 2, 2021). "A Portrait of Death: Analyzing the Transi Tomb of Guillaume de Harcigny (1300-1393 A.D.)" (PDF). The Coalition of Master's Scholars on Material Culture.
  3. Tuchman (1978), 525
  4. Tuchman (1978), 529
  5. Church Monument Society Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  6. Heimerman, Emily (April 2, 2021). "A Portrait of Death: Analyzing the Transi Tomb of Guillaume de Harcigny (1300-1393 A.D.)" (PDF). The Coalition of Master's Scholars on Material Culture.

Bibliography
  • Glain, Stephen. (2005). Mullahs, Merchants, and Militants: The Economic Collapse of the Arab World. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-32912-9
  • Tuchman, Barbara. (1978). A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 978-0-345-34957-6


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