The research undertaken clarifies many aspects of the disease called Saint Anthony's Fire. At the same time though, it also raises issues that were not addressed by a historiography rooted in interpretative criteria from the eighteenth and nineteenth century.

With regard to the lexical question, which is fundamentally important as the lexicon reflects the way in which the disease was perceived, although the universally widespread affirmation that Saint Anthony's Fire is a synonym for ignis sacer corresponding to ergotism is not totally wrong, a careful examination of past sources reveals that it is frequently inaccurate. To start with, I have not found any accounts of epidemics described as Saint Anthony's Fire in medieval sources. When the term appears in medical, hagiographical, legal or literary texts, it refers almost exclusively to individual cases of gangrene of varying aetiology such as the form stemming from frostbite or, more commonly, an ‘infection’ resulting from a wound (I use the term infection in its modern sense, well aware that a similar concept did not exist at the time). We can certainly imagine that the term was also employed to describe gangrene developing from ergotism, but it is impossible to make this distinction as the disease was unknown at the time.

The connection between ergotism and Saint Anthony's Fire was only established in the eighteenth century after the latter had been equated to ignis sacer, a term widely used from the eleventh century onwards to describe epidemics of the burning disease. Ergot poisoning can be recognised in these, although a degree of caution needs to be adopted. As we have seen, however, besides the fact that ignis sacer sometimes simply referred to gangrene of any aetiology, the two terms were not used as synonyms in all sources. Indeed, a difference emerges between medical and non-medical texts, as the former sources maintained the original meaning of ignis sacer first used in antiquity and late antiquity, namely a skin complaint. This pustular disease is not comparable to gangrene or ergotism but rather erysipelas. However, as the latter term was attributed with multiple meanings from antiquity onwards, care needs to be taken when drawing comparisons with the present-day disease.

In terms of the required research methodology, the disease known as Saint Anthony's Fire presents an exemplary case. The importance of Alessandra Foscati's study lies precisely in her duly adopted approach.

This is a textbook case as it forces the historian of medicine and society tout court to constantly rethink the lexicographic and historiographical framework. Numerous challenges must be faced when undertaking a meticulous and thorough historical reconstruction, which must incorporate factors such as medical lexicography, the geography of medieval and early modern Europe and historiography. These three disciplines frequently come into play in the complex history of Saint Anthony's Fire both in the Middle Ages and the early modern period and beyond.

Faced with such intricate circumstances, the historian has to proceed with extreme caution. By implementing a strategy in some way comparable to detective work, the methods adopted must consistently manage to separate myths, legends and historiographical prejudices and beliefs from the clear, incontrovertible and dependable elements that emerge from the exhaustive examination of sources.

In this way, Alessandra Foscati has managed to highlight that the term Saint Anthony's Fire is never used in reference to an epidemic in sources from the Middle Ages and the early modern period. In fact, it is only employed in medical, hagiographical, legal or literary texts to allude to individual cases of gangrene of varying aetiology, perhaps deriving from frostbite or more frequently an ‘infection’ following a wound. These findings are truly important, firstly because they are the result of a comprehensive and astute rereading of the available sources and secondly as they prompt a rethink of the entire medical and social history of Saint Anthony's Fire from the Middle Ages onwards, always taking account of the aforementioned interweaving of lexicography, geography and historiography.

In terms of lexicography, Alessandra Foscati carefully analyses the semantic and semiological evolution of the term Holy Fire (ignis sacer), for which the reader will be grateful. In addition to examining both medical and non-medical sources, the author assesses the influence of ancient sources on medieval and early modern authors.