Early modern perceptions of old age are dominated by medicine’s inability to treat the diseases associated with growing old. This book takes a thematic look at the historical roots of the debate surrounding this process. Though very much a medically-oriented study, this history also covers material of literary, religious and legal derivation. Schäfer examines over 160 Latin texts from all over Europe, as well as many in the vernacular – including some from America – to challenge medical conceptions of old age during the early modern period.