In seventeenth-century Rome, the consumption of meat was on the rise. By the 1630s, Romans were eating double the amount of meat they had consumed fifty years previously, even accounting for growth in population. At the same time that all this meat was being consumed, the papacy came to fiercely defend another comestible: the wafer eaten in the Eucharist. These two products came to be at the center of papal reform in Rome. Eating meat, especially at Easter, and regularly partaking in the body of Christ signaled one's adherence to Catholicism and obedience to the Pope. But the matter was not that simple; accusations of cannibalism in Rome—both real and imagined—led to lengthy medical and theological discussion over how the body digests food. Furthermore, most contemporary medical advice did not recommend heavy consumption of meat. This article thus explores how an alliance between the medical community and the papacy sought to remake alimentary and anatomical ideas related to digestion and healthy eating in early modern Rome. Various sections will detail evolving theories of digestion in the papal capital; how such theories were applied to theological and practical issues such as giving the Eucharist to the sick; whether cannibals could gain sustenance from human flesh; and physician commentary on rising meat consumption in the city. In the end, medical expertise allied with Church authority to defend the aims of the Counter-Reformation papacy.

中文翻译：

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消化信仰

在 17 世纪的罗马，肉类消费量呈上升趋势。到 1630 年代，罗马人吃的肉量是他们 50 年前消耗的两倍，即使考虑到人口的增长。在所有这些肉都被吃掉的同时，教皇开始猛烈地捍卫另一种食物：在圣体圣事中吃的薄饼。这两种产品成为罗马教皇改革的中心。吃肉，尤其是在复活节，并定期参与基督的身体，表明一个人坚持天主教并服从教皇。但事情并没有那么简单；罗马关于食人的指控——无论是真实的还是想象的——引发了关于身体如何消化食物的冗长的医学和神学讨论。此外，大多数现代医学建议都不建议大量食用肉类。因此，本文探讨了医学界和罗马教皇之间的联盟如何寻求重塑与现代早期罗马的消化和健康饮食相关的消化和解剖学理念。各个部分将详细介绍教皇首都消化的演变理论；这些理论如何应用于神学和实践问题，例如给病人圣体圣事；食人者能否从人肉中获取食物；以及医生对城市肉类消费增长的评论。最后，医学专家与教会权威联合起来捍卫反宗教改革教宗的目标。各个部分将详细介绍教皇首都消化的演变理论；这些理论如何应用于神学和实践问题，例如给病人圣体圣事；食人者能否从人肉中获取食物；以及医生对城市肉类消费增长的评论。最后，医学专家与教会权威联合起来捍卫反宗教改革教宗的目标。各个部分将详细介绍教皇首都消化的演变理论；这些理论如何应用于神学和实践问题，例如给病人圣体圣事；食人者能否从人肉中获取食物；以及医生对城市肉类消费增长的评论。最后，医学专家与教会权威联合起来捍卫反宗教改革教宗的目标。