Benedict de Castro

Benedict de Castro, who studied medicine in Padua, descended from a distinguished line of physicians. His father, Rodrigo de Castro, a refugee from the Iberian Peninsula, settled in Hamburg and became physician to the king of Denmark. After finishing his studies, Benedict subsequently practiced in Hamburg and was later appointed physician to Queen Christina of Sweden. De Castro was a follower of Shabbetai Tzvi. His work Flagellum calumniantium seu apologia in qua anonymi cujusdam calumniae refutantur (The Scourge of Calumniators or Apology in Which the Malicious Charges of an Anonymous Author Are Refuted) was written against the background of tension between German and Sephardic physicians in Hamburg. It refutes charges leveled against Jewish doctors, describing their achievements throughout history and claiming that the “holy task” of physicians is perfectly suited to Jews. De Castro also composed a treatise on fevers, presented to Queen Christina.