The AGM of the Society was held on Wednesday 1st April 2015. The President was in the chair. The minutes of the last ordinary meeting were read and approved. The President then introduced the speaker Dr David Rowen who spoke to the title ‘The Sinister Shepherd: Myths and conspiracy theories – the influence of syphilis on art, literature, and music’. He said the name comes from a Latin poem about a shepherd called Syphilis whom Apollo punished with the disease. It even has its patron saints - St Denis and St George. The tradition is that syphilis was brought into Europe by Christopher Columbus’ sailors but the evidence is poor. Columbus only had 120 sailors so they must have worked very hard to spread it so widely and quickly. However, there is no evidence of syphilis in older bones. In literature references to it only occur after Columbus’ return. There was leprosy in Europe pre 1500 and some of the leprosy skin lesions and nerve damage could have been due to syphilis. Dr Rowen did wonder if there had been a change in virulence about that time which changed everything. It was not realised that syphilis was a sexually transmitted disease until the late 17th century. At that time it took 3 years to suffer from tertiary syphilis. Today it might take 30–40 years. Syphilis appears in the arts. Durer made an illustration in 1496 of an astrologer with syphilis, possibly a reference to a theory that syphilis came from the stars. High-risk groups and activities were depicted in art – soldiers, sailors, vagabonds, prostitutes, courtiers, and students from Oxford and Cambridge. Etchings of bathhouses were not uncommon and depicted graphically. There is a woodcut showing secondary syphilis being treated by the clergy. The Catholics treated it with lignum sanctum crucis and the Protestants used mercury. Dr Rowen then discussed a number of composers and writers who were or might have been infected and how the disease or its treatment may have influenced their work.
The President then thanked Dr Rowen for such an interesting talk. The meeting then proceeded to the AGM of the Society which is recorded elsewhere.