Elijah Montalto

The physician Elijah Montalto (christened Felipe Rodriguez) was born in Castello Branco, Portugal, to New Christian parents. After studying medicine, he moved to Italy, where he first settled in Leghorn (Livorno) and then in Venice. Throughout his career he declined many prestigious positions, fearing they would prevent him from keeping his religious obligations. However, he accepted Maria de’ Medici’s invitation to become physician to the French court, on condition that he was granted religious freedom and not be required to work on the Sabbath. Montalto became a favorite at the French court and was appointed councilor. He died in Tours in 1616, while accompanying King Louis XIII on a journey. His body was embalmed and later buried in Ouderkerk, in the cemetery of the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam. Regarded as an authority in medicine and other branches of science, Montalto wrote many medical works, in addition to polemical texts that have survived in manuscript form.