Allergy through 20 centuries: History of allergy in the middle ages and renaissance

In the Middle Ages little innovative medical literature came from Western Europe. The Greek-Roman tradition with the scriptures of Hippocrates and Galenos was preserved in Byzantium and then in the Middle East by Arabic medicine; it then returned to Europe in Latin translations mostly made in Italy and Spain. There were innovative developments in Arabic medicine also with regard to the history of allergy, especially with the first description of 'rose fever', which is described as very similar in symptomatology to hay fever. Under Arabic influence, the first medical university in Salerno was famous for its wellknown text Tacuinum sanitatis in which a description of asthma can be found. With the beginning of renaissance new developments were also registered in Europe, with new observations and a new way of thinking.