1st Edition
The Sense of Smell in the Middle Ages A Source of Certainty
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction: Why Odor?
Part 1 - The Anatomy and Physiology of Olfaction
Chapter 1: "A smell is always a ‘half-breed’": Greek and Arabic Discussions of Smell
Chapter 2: Odor is a Fumous Evaporation: The Medieval Anatomy and Physiology of Smell
Part 2 - The Powers of Odors
Chapter 3: Aromaticity Strengthens the Spirits: Physical Powers of Odors in Scholastic Texts
Chapter 4: Beware Fetid Air: Scholastic Powers of Odor in the Popular Sphere
Part 3 - The Spiritual Sense of Smell
Chapter 5: The Smell of My Son: The Sense of Smell in Theology to c. 1200
Chapter 6: The Sense of Smell of Discretion: Medically-Aware Olfactory Theology in the Later Middle Ages
Conclusion: Certain Odors
Index
Biography
Katelynn Robinson completed her PhD at the University of Missouri. Her current research focuses on the importance of the sense of smell in medieval culture.
"Katelynn Robinson contributes to the growing discourse on smell by centering her work on medieval olfactory theory. Her book examines the explanations medieval writers gave for why and how smell acted as they believed it acted. Her work is, in general, in the mode of the history of ideas, with an emphasis on scholastic and medical conceptions of olfaction." - Richard Newhauser, Arizona State University
