In October, the British Library suffered a major cyberattack, apparently launched to extort money. The London-based library, which is an offshoot of the venerable British Museum, has still not succeed in fully restoring its online resources. Edward Reichman, an expert on the history of Jews in medicine, examines some of the rare Jewish manuscripts found in the library, which include dissertations composed by Dutch Jewish medical students in the 17th and 18th centuries:
Rodrigo de Castro was a Portuguese physician who escaped the Inquisition [and settled in] Hamburg. He authored a landmark work on gynecology, De Universa Mulierum Medicina, and was held in great esteem by both the medical and Jewish communities. His youngest son was Benedict (also known as Benedictus a Castro, Baruch Nahmias, or Benito).
Benedict was a physician to nobles and royalty, including Christina, queen of Sweden, to whom he dedicated a medical work in 1647 Due to his success, he was the victim of attacks by Christian doctors and Lutheran clergy. One particularly virulent diatribe precipitated his publication of a pseudonymous polemical defense entitled Flagellum Calumniantium. In this work, famous among the apologetic works of Jewish physicians, he counters the lies and slanders and enumerates the great achievements of Jewish physicians.
There is no consensus among scholars as to the medical education of de Castro, something we clarify here for the first time. . . . [From] November 16, 1620, . . . we have record of Benedict matriculating to the University of Leiden Medical School, making him the first Jewish student to attend this prestigious institution.
Read more on Seforim: https://seforimblog.com/2024/05/hidden-treasures-in-jewish-medical-history-at-the-british-library-a-post-cyber-attack-homage/