nd attempts to cure
disease rather than help nature. In surgery, which developed very
wonderfully in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Salerno must be
credited with the incentive that led up to the marvellous development
that came. With this, however, Arabian influence has nothing to do.
Gurlt, besides calling attention to the fact that the author of the
first great text-book on the subject not only did not draw his
inspiration from Arab sources, insisted that "instead of any Arabisms
being found in his [Roger's] writings many Graecisms occur." The
Salernitan school of surgery drank at the fountain-head of Greek
surgery. Apart from Greek sources Roger's book rests entirely upon his
own experiences, those of his teachers and his colleagues, and the
tradition in surgery that had developed at Salerno. This tradition was
entirely from the Greek. Roger himself says in one place, "We have
resolved to write out deliberately our methods of operation such as they
have been derived from our own experience and that of our colleagues and
illustrious men."

ROGER, ROLAND, AND THE FOUR MASTERS

Ruggero, or Rogero, who is also known as Rogerio and Rogerus with the
adjective Parmensis, or Salernitanus, of Parma or of Salerno, and often
in German and English history simply as Roger, lived at the end of the
twelfth or the beginning of the thirteenth century and probably wrote
his text-book about 1180. This text-book was, according to tradition,
originally drafted for his lessons in surgery at Salerno. It attracted
much attention and after being commented on by his pupil Rolando, the
work of both of them being subsequently annotated by the Four Masters,
this combined work became the basis of modern surgery. Roger was
probably born either in Palermo or Parma. There are traditions of his
having taught for a while at Paris and at the University of Montpellier,
though these are not substantiated. His book was printed at Venice in
1546, and has been lately reprinted by De Renzi in his "Collectio
Salernitana."

Roland was a pupil of Roger's, and the two names that often occur in
medieval romance became associated in a great historic reality as a
consequence of Roland's commentary on his master's work, which was a
favorite text-book in surgery for a good while in the thirteenth century
at Salerno. Some space will be given to the consideration of their
surgical teaching after a few words with regard to some disciples who
made a secon