ARTYKUŁ

Anita Magowska

Dawne aptekarstwo polskie w świetle spraw sądowych toczących się od XIV do XVII w.
2010-11-10

Old Polish pharmacies in the light of actions at law from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries

The paper presents lawsuits in which pharmacists and pharmaceutical apprentices were involved in Poland from the 14th to the 17th centuries. Forty one law suits documented in published historical sources and elaborations were analyzed to characterize: pharmacists’ estate, relationship between pharmacists and pharmaceutical apprentices, pharmacists’ and pharmaceutical apprentices’ lifestyle. More than a half of lawsuits was filed by pharmacists who were able to prove their claims. The paper shows that: pharmacists were in a position of great trust, old pharmacies were not profitable, pharmacists came into conflict with apprentices and pupils, some doctors run community pharmacies in the discussed period, pharmacists-foreigners modernized the Polish pharmacy and changed Polish pharmacists’ lifestyle, merchants were unfair competitors.
Keywords: history of Polish pharmacy, old pharmacies, pharmacists being at law, pharmaceutical apprentices.