In this study, the author examines fifteenth- to seventeenth-century
French authors who treat writing as a process of medication and whose
literary production effectively yields a therapeutic substance. Through
reference to Plato, Aristotle, Galen, Ficino, and advocates of
alternatives to Western medicine such as John Mesue and Leone Ebreo,
these writers emphasize the material/gendered soul and the role of the
body in cognitive functions, illustrating knowledge as a result of
physical interaction. The study explores Helisenne de Crenne alongside
the 'pneumo-physiology' of Galen and the 'dolce stil novo', Rabelaisian
anatomy together with the anti-Arabist Champier, and debates among
natural philosophical poets on the transmigration of souls. The author
also considers Marie de Gournay in relation to Juan Huarte's humoral
theory and Jean d'Espagnet's alchemical philosophy, as well as Michel de
Montaigne's interest in Jacques Dubois's Arab-influenced approaches to
medicine.