[1] Dante seems to reference him in the Paradiso (XII, 82-85), indicating he pursued learning not for spiritual reasons but worldly ambition, contrasting him with St.

Through the middle of the fourteenth century, the universities of Bologna, Montpellier, and Paris had a virtual monopoly on medical education in Western Europe.

[4] As a professor of medicine, Alderotti quickly gained a reputation as an excellent teacher and commanded large crowds of students.

His courses relied on the works of Hippocrates, Galen, and Avicenna, which had been given a position of authority since Constantine the African brought these over from north Africa in the 11th century and translated them.

A doctor of high repute, Taddeo had a large number of patients, including some far outside Bologna and residing as far away as Modena, Ferrara, Rome, and Milan.