Definition of the Genre and the Paradigm of an Ideal Consilium

Today, the Latin term “consilium” is exclusively connected with the original meaning of this Latin word, the metonymic designation of an institutional group of experts, which is supposed to arrive at a collective decision. However, one of the many additional meanings of this word designates the expert advice of a qualified and experienced individual, which from the standpoint of consilia literature is the more important meaning because it influenced the genesis of an entire literary genre and even gave it its name in the 14th century. As mentioned above, a consilium was the written advice of a physician, who was asked by a colleague for assistance in resolving a case. The description of the patient and development of the situation to date was also usually in writing so the counselor also had to rely on secondary information when making his diagnoses. He had to arrive at the approach to treatment on the basis of his own experience, trust in his own erudition and faith in the effectiveness of the medical science of the time. At the beginning of his consilia, the physician designated the patient's physical constitution and symptoms and then continued with the diagnosis often even including a prognosis. In the concluding therapy section, he submitted his proposal for the manner of treatment, prescribed medicines and described the dietetic principles in detail.