1
Desc ip ion o Scu y Symp oms by Olaus Magnus (1555)
Ha i Hemilä,a Timo Ko kiakangas,b Elizabe h Chalke c
a Depa men o Public Heal h, Uni e si y o Helsinki, Helsinki, FINLAND
ha i.hemila@helsinki. i
h ps://www.m .helsinki. i/home/hemila
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-4710-307X
b Academy o Finland; La in Language and Roman Li e a u e, Depa men o Languages,
Uni e si y o Helsinki, Helsinki, FINLAND
i[email p o ec ed]
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-7841-2978
c Na ional Cen e o Epidemiology and Popula ion Heal h, Aus alian Na ional Uni e si y,
Canbe a, ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA
elizabe h.chalke @gmail.com
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-1593-3770
2024-8-27
This documen is loca ed a :
h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.13380746
Backg ound o he ansla ion
Scu y has occu ed in a ious con ex s h oughou his o y. In Wes e n coun ies, he ha ms o
scu y became pa icula ly p e alen when echnology enabled long oyages in sailing ships which
we e slow. I ook se e al weeks o each hei des ina ion, and he e was no esh ood a ailable
du ing he oyages, leading o “sea scu y” [1-4].
To some ex en scu y was also a p oblem on land. In old imes i was e e ed o as “land scu y”,
hough we now know ha he disease is he same. E iden ly, land scu y was a p oblem pa icula ly
du ing wa s, eg in associa ion wi h sieges, when he besieged we e unable o ge esh ood, and
o en he besiege s also had poo ood. One o he e y ea lies desc ip ions o “land scu y” was by
Jean de Join ille in Se en h C usade (1249). He desc ibed symp oms consis en wi h scu y
du ing a siege ou side Damie a in Egyp when he enemy cu o he supply o esh oods [5]:
… we we e a acked wi h he a my sickness, which was such ha ou legs sh i elled up and became
co e ed wi h black spo s, and spo s o he colou o ea h, like an old boo ; and in such o us as ell
sick he gums became pu id wi h so es and no man eco e ed o ha sickness, bu all had o die. I
was a su e sign o dea h when he nose began o bleed: he e was no hing le hen bu o die. Abou a
o nigh a e wa ds he Tu ks, in o de o s a e us ou (a which many o ou people we e
as onished), ook se e al o hei galleys which we e abo e ou camp, d agged hem o e land o a
good league below ou camp, and placed hem in he i e by which supplies came om Damie a.
These galleys b ough amine upon us, o no one now en u ed o come o us om Damie a o b ing
us p o isions by ascending he s eam. We knew no hing o all his un il a small essel o he coun o
Flande s, which ough i s way pas hem, b ough us he news, by which ime he sul an's galleys had
2
cap u ed eigh y o ou galleys ha we e coming om Damie a, and killed all who we e on boa d. The
sickness became much mo e se e e h oughou he camp, and he p oud lesh [gums] in ou men’s
mou hs g ew o such excess ha he ba be -su geons we e obliged o cu i o , o gi e hem a chance
o chewing hei ood o swallowing any hing. I was pi eous o hea h ough he camp he sh ieks o
he people who we e being ope a ed upon o p oud lesh, o hey sh ieked like women in childbi h.
Ano he ea ly desc ip ion o “land scu y” was by Olaus Magnus, a Swedish w i e and Ca holic
cle gyman (1490-1557). He w o e an 800-page book abou li e in he No dic coun ies which was
published in 1555 [6]. Two sec ions desc ibe symp oms which a e consis en wi h scu y. Olaus
Magnus w o e in La in and pa s o his book we e i s ansla ed in o English in 1658 [6].
Olaus Magnus’ book was mo e ecen ly ansla ed by Pe e Foo e in 1998 [7]. Nei he he old no
he new ansla ions seem o ully cap u e he o iginal ex desc ibing he condi ion which was
likely o be scu y. Foo e ansla es “ abo” as “pus” and “molli ie pu escen e” as “pu e ying
so ness”. Such ansla ions indica e ha he condi ion being desc ibed migh be boils, which a e
usually acu e and sho - e m. Howe e , desc ip ion ha he issue beha es “like wax ha is abou o
mel ” indica es ha he pa hological change is edema, which is common in scu y [8,9]. Olaus
Magnus also s a es ha he condi ion can be long las ing which is no consis en wi h boils. He
w i es ha sal ed ood was assumed o be a cause o he condi ion desc ibed by him. This was a
common assump ion in he ea ly li e a u e abou po en ial causes o scu y. The desc ip ion o
changes in ee h is also consis en wi h scu y.
We belie ed ha o esea che s in e es ed in he his o y o scu y, a mo e op imal ansla ion can
be p oduced. Links o he o iginal ex s a e a ailable in he e e ences [6], and he o iginal La in
e sions a e also included in his documen .
Swedish ansla ions o he sec ions on scu y a e a ailable h ough he web [6]. The e is an ea lie
Finnish ansla ion o Olaus Magnus’ book in a pape e sion [10], bu he sec ions on scu y we e
also ansla ed in his wo k, see below.
Foo e w o e abou he lack o manusc ip e sions o Olaus Magnus’ book as ollows [7]:
No manusc ip d a s o any pa o he His o ia su i e. The sole au ho i y o he ex is
consequen ly he 1555 edi ion, whose p in ing was pe sonally supe ised by Olaus Magnus.
When he plan o ansla ion eme ged, his had ecen ly been made a ailable in wo decen
acsimile edi ions, one published in England in 1971, he o he in Denma k in 1972 (see he
Bibliog aphy).
3
Re e ences
1. Kenne h J Ca pen e . The His o y o Scu y and Vi amin C. 1986.
h ps://www.camb idge.o g/ i/academic/subjec s/his o y/his o y-medicine/his o y-scu y-and- i amin-c
h ps://a chi e.o g/de ails/his o yo scu y 0000ca p
2. Da id I Ha ie. Limeys: The T ue S o y o One Man's Wa agains Igno ance,
he Es ablishmen and he Deadly Scu y. 2002.
h ps://www. hehis o yp ess.co.uk/publica ion/limeys/9780750939935
3. S ephen R Bown. Scu y: How a Su geon, a Ma ine , and a Gen leman Sol ed
he G ea es Medical Mys e y o he Age o Sail. 2003.
h ps://a chi e.o g/de ails/scu yhowsu geon00bown_0/mode/2up
h ps://www.s ephen bown.ne /scu y-desc ip ion.php
4. Jona han Lamb. Scu y: The Disease o Disco e y. 2016.
h ps://p ess.p ince on.edu/books/ha dco e /9780691147826/scu y
h ps://doi.o g/10.23943/p ince on/9780691182933.001.0001
5. Jean de Join ille. Sain Louis, King o F ance. 1249.
h ps://a chi e.o g/de ails/Sain LouisKingO F ance/page/n97/mode/2up
h ps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go /pmc/a icles/PMC5403999 (p.59-60)
h ps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go /pmc/a icles/PMCc5294660 (p.207)
6. Olaus Magnus. His o ia de gen ibus sep en ionalibus. 1555.
h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/A_Desc ip ion_o _ he_No he n_Peoples
See also:
h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Olaus_Magnus
h ps://s .wikipedia.o g/wiki/Olaus_Magnus
h ps://sok. iksa ki e .se/sbl/P esen a ion.aspx?id=7681
Scu y: Book 9, Chap e XXXVIIII (38) and Book 16, Chap e LI (51)
La in, Book 9, Chap e XXXVIIII (38)
h ps:// unebe g.o g/olmagnus/0401.h ml
h ps:// unebe g.o g/olmagnus/0402.h ml
h ps://li e a u banken.se/ %C3%B6 a a e/OlausMagnus/ i la /His o ia/sida/315/ aksimil
h ps://li e a u banken.se/ %C3%B6 a a e/OlausMagnus/ i la /His o ia/sida/316/ aksimil
La in, Book 16, Chap e LI (51)
h ps:// unebe g.o g/olmagnus/0656.h ml
h ps:// unebe g.o g/olmagnus/0657.h ml
h ps://li e a u banken.se/ %C3%B6 a a e/OlausMagnus/ i la /His o ia/sida/570/ aksimil
h ps://li e a u banken.se/ %C3%B6 a a e/OlausMagnus/ i la /His o ia/sida/571/ aksimil
English, Old ansla ion (1658), Book 16, Chap e LI (51)
h ps://www.nb.no/i ems/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018120328001?page=185 Chap e III
Swedish, Book 9, Chap e XXXVIIII (38)
h ps://li e a u banken.se/ %C3%B6 a a e/OlausMagnus/ i la /His o iaOmDeNo diskaFolken/sida/428/ aksimil
h ps://li e a u banken.se/ %C3%B6 a a e/OlausMagnus/ i la /His o iaOmDeNo diskaFolken/sida/429/ aksimil
Swedish, Book 16, Chap e LI (51)
h ps://li e a u banken.se/ %C3%B6 a a e/OlausMagnus/ i la /His o iaOmDeNo diskaFolken/sida/768/ aksimil
h ps://li e a u banken.se/ %C3%B6 a a e/OlausMagnus/ i la /His o iaOmDeNo diskaFolken/sida/769/ aksimil
7. Olaus Magnus. A Desc ip ion o he No he n Peoples, 1555, Volume II.
The 1999 e sion edi ed by Pe e Foo e (Hakluy Socie y)
h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9781315090382
h ps://www. aylo ancis.com/chap e s/mono/10.4324/9781315090382-51/di e si y-sick-pe sons-illnesses-
medicines-pe e - ishe -humph ey-higgens-pe e - oo e-john-g anlund
8. Ha i Hemilä. The symp oms o i amin C de iciency. 1. Obse a ions and desc ip ions by Hess, Lind, T o e and
Blane. Zenodo. 2024
h ps://zenodo.o g/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10685194
9. Ha i Hemilä, Angelique de Man. Vi amin C de iciency can lead o pulmona y hype ension: a sys ema ic
e iew o case epo s. BMC Pulm Med. 2024;24(1):140.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1186/s12890-024-02941-x
h ps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go /pmc/a icles/PMC10949735
10. Olaus Magnus. Suomalaise Pohjois en kansojen his o iassa. Osa I ja II. 2002.
Käännös yö yhmä: Kimmo Linnilä, Me i U io, Kaa i U io, Kai Linnilä.
ISBN 951-31-2637-4 ja ISBN 951-31-2638-2
h ps:// i.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Pohjois en_kansojen_his o ia
h ps://da a.na ionallib a y. i/bib/me/W00558568000
h ps://www. inna. i/Reco d/ekk.993430674006250
Ke ipukkia koske a osuude : Osa I: s.209; Osa II: s.407.
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Olaus Magnus. His o ia de gen ibus sep en ionalibus. 1555.
The ansla ions a e limi ed o he sec ions ha desc ibe scu y.
The ansla ions a e as e ba im as possible. The English ansla ion ollows ha o Foo e (1998)
whe e i can be conside ed e ba im; elsewhe e, he ansla ion is o Timo Ko kiakangas.
9,38
La in ex om he 1555 Venice edi ion (punc ua ion mode nized by Timo Ko kiakangas):
Vi ibus e enim p imis annis, demum (mili e s agibus con inuis diminu o) a ibus, dolis e insidiis
obsiden ium su ipiun commea um, p aese im pecudes, quas secum abduc as in he bosis domo um
ec is pascendas imponun , ne de ec u ca nium ecen io um mo bum incu an quibus is
aeg i udinibus is io em, pa ia lingua scho buk appella um, hoc es saucium s omachum, di is
c ucia ibus e diu u no dolo e abe ac um. F igidi enim ac indiges i cibi a idius sump i mo bum
huiusmodi causa e ide u , qualem medici cachexiam uni e salem appellan . Sed alibi la ius: de
quo e similibus lib o XVI nonnihil e i os endendum.
Ve ba im English ansla ion by Timo Ko kiakangas:
Du ing he i s yea s [o he siege], hey1 sna ch supplies om he besiege s by o ce, la e (as he
manpowe diminishes by con inuous igh s) by cunning, plo s and schemes; ca le in pa icula ,
which hey ake away and le g ass on he g een oo s o houses, so ha hey
1
may no con ac ,
om lack o esh mea , he disease mo e mou n ul han any o he illness, which is called scho buk
2
in he e nacula , ha is, ulce ous
3
s omach, which is dissol ed
4
by e ible pains and con inuous
su e ing. Cold and indiges ed ood oo g eedily de ou ed seems o cause his kind o disease,
which doc o s call common cachexy. Bu mo e ex ensi ely o his elsewhe e; some hing mus be
old abou his and simila hings in book 16.
Ve ba im Finnish ansla ion by Timo Ko kiakangas:
[Pii i yksen] ensimmäisinä uosina he sieppaa a pii i äjien uoka a oja äki alloin, sen jälkeen
(mieslu un ähenny yä ja ku issa ais eluissa) konnankoukuilla, pe oksilla ja juonilla; e i yises i
ka jaa, jonka he ie ä mukanaan ja lai a a laidun amaan alojen uohoisille ka oille, jo ei a
uo een lihan puu eessa ajau uisi kaikis a sai auksis a su ullisimpaan, maan kielellä ke ipukiksi
ku su uun au iin, se on ”haa ainen a sa”, jollaiseksi sen iudu a a
5
ko a uska ja ja ku a kipu.
Kylmä ja huonos i sula a uoka-ainee , joi a on nau i u liian ahnees i, näy ä ä aiheu a an
moisen sai auden, jo a lääkä i ku su a yleiseksi kakeksiaksi. Mu a oisaalla la eammin aihees a;
sii ä ja as aa is a äy yy ke oa jonkin e an 16. ki jassa.
1
he besieged
2
skö buk in Swedish
3
saucius ”wounded” al hough hemo hages in he s omach a e no common, hey ha e been epo ed in scu y, e.g.
h ps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go /25058817
h ps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go /23716105
h ps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go /9041012
4
s omachum … abe ac um ” he s omach … ge s dissol ed/mel /was ed/ o en”
5
abe ac um
5
16,51
La in ex om he 1555 Venice edi ion (punc ua ion mode nized by Timo Ko kiakangas):
Mo bi au em Aquilona ium peculia es hi sun : ussis, calculus, den ium oculo umque dolo , o mina
in es ino um, eb is, pi ui a, scabies e Gallicus mo bus ac pue o um mo billi. Pes is e iam quo
a ius eni , eo se e ius in e imi homines, in c apula p aese im in a ua os. Es e alius mo bus
cas ensis, qui exa obsessos e inclusos, alis scilice , u memb a ca nosa s upidi a e quadam
densa a e subcu aneo abo, quasi ce a liquescens, digi o um imp essioni cedan . Den esque elu i
casu os obs upe aci , colo es cu ium candidos ac cae uleos eddi o po emque induci cum nausea
capienda um medicina um. Voca u que ulga i lingua gen is schoe buch, G aece cachexia, o si an
a subcu anea molli ie pu escen e. Quae ide u esu salso um cibo um nec diges o um nasci e
igida mu o um exhala ione o e i. Sed im an am non habebi , ubi mu i in e ius abulis
quo umcunque ligno um sun coope i. Insupe si diu ius g assa u is e mo bus, absyn hiaco po u
con inua o illum a ce e, sicu i e calculi adices pe decoc ionem e e is ce isiae cum bu y o
epo ae olle e, solen .
Ve ba im English ansla ion by Timo Ko kiakangas:
The diseases peculia o No he ne s a e hese: cough, s ones
6
, pain in he ee h and eyes, g iping o
he bowels, e e , sni le
7
, i ch
8
, and he F ench disease
9
, as well as child en’s ailmen s. The pes
also, he less o en i comes, he mo e se e ely i kills people, pa icula ly hose blun ed by
d unkenness. The e is also ano he disease, peculia o o esses
10
, which dis u bs bo h he
besiege s and hose unde siege – namely a disease such ha he leshy pa s o body, which a kind
o numbness
11
and co up ion unde he skin
12
ha e caused o s i en, yield o he p essu e o he
inge s, like wax ha is abou o mel . The disease also makes he ee h eel as i hey will all ou
13
and u ns he skin whi ish and bluish. I also b ings abou a o po accompanied by a disgus a
aking medicines
14
. The disease is called schoe buch2 in he language o he people, cachexia
15
in
G eek, pe haps om he pu e ying so ness unde he skin
16
. I seems o be caused by ea ing sal y
and indiges ible ood and o be os e ed by he cold exhala ion o he walls
17
. I will no ha e such
o ce whe e he walls a e co e ed on he inside wi h wooden boa ds o any kind. Mo eo e , i he
disease ages o a longe ime, hey a e used o es ain i by d inking wo mwood
18
cons an ly in
he same way as hey a e used o e adica e he oo s o s ones
19
by d inking he decoc ion o old
bee and bu e .
6
calculus “a s one in he u ina y ac ”
7
pi ui a
8
scabies; indica es “i ch” bu p obably in he con ex e e s o he “scabies” disease
9
syphilis
10
cas ensis “belonging o mili a y camp”; in he 16 h cen u y wa a e was la gely abou besieging o esses
11
s upidi as
12
subcu aneum abum ”subcu aneous co up ion”; abum (o abes) e e s o all kinds o physical was ing and con-
sump ion om a ophy o pu e ac ion and pus. Based on he “like wax ha is abou o mel ” i seems ha in his con-
ex abum may e e o “edema”
13
obs upe aci ; Foo e 1998: ”deadens he sensi i i y o he ee h, which eel as i hey will all ou ”
14
nausea capienda um medicina um ”nausea conce ning he aking o medicines”
15
cachexy
16
subcu anea molli ie pu escen e; in he con ex , also based on he “like wax ha is abou o mel ” abo e, his p oba-
bly e e s o “edema” a he han pu e ac ion
17
he walls o a o ess
18
absin hiaco po u “ he d inking o absin h po ion”
19
calculi adices … olle e ” o emo e he oo s o he s ones”; appa en ly e e ing o u ina y calculi
6
Ve ba im Finnish ansla ion by Timo Ko kiakangas:
Pohjois en seu ujen asukkaille ominaisia sai auksia o a nämä: yskä, ki i au i, hampaiden ja silmien
kipu, a sakipuja, kuume, nuha, syyhy ja anskan au i
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sekä las en pikkusai aude . Vaikka u o
uleekin melko ha oin, se appaa ihmisiä si äkin anka ammin, e i yises i juomisen ylsis y ämiä.
On myös e äs oinen, so ilaslei eille ominainen, sai aus, joka ai aa pii i äjiä ja pii i e yjä,
sellainen nimi äin, e ä e äänlaisen jäykis ymisen sekä ihonalaisen nes eke ymän u o ama
lihaisa uumiinosa an a a pe iksi so mien painallukselle kuin lähellä sulamis a ole a aha. Se
myös ekee hampaa u aksi ikään kuin ne olisi a pu oamaisillaan sekä ihon ä in alkoiseksi ja
siniseksi sekä uo mukanaan u umuksen, johon lii yy as enmielisyys lääkkeiden o amis a
koh aan. Kansan kielellä si ä ku su aan ke ipukiksi2, k eikaksi kakeksiaksi, ken ies ihonalaisen
pehmeän u o uksen mukaan. Se näy ää syn y än suolais en ja huonos i sula ien uoka-aineiden
syömises ä sekä kehi y än kylmää hohkaa ien muu ien aiku ukses a. Sillä ei ole niin suu a
oimaa siellä, missä muu i on sisäpuolel a pei e y mis ä ahansa puus a ehdyillä le yillä. Si ä
pai si, jos ämä au i ii aa pidempään, heidän on apana o jua si ä juomalla ja ku as i
koi uohojuomaa, niin kuin heillä on myös apana kiskoa pois i sa ieki ien juu ia juomalla anhan
oluen ja oin sekoi us a.
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kuppa
