Although R. Weston meant a period somewhat later with these words, his comments also fully apply to consilia of the 16th century, and not only for France. Consilia did not escape the attention of historians engaged in the epistemology of the early modern period at all, but they do not figure as the main topic. They rather constitute a supplementary background in the study and definition of the boundaries of related genres. Awareness of consilia literature of the 16th century as a genre itself remains superficial and we lack especially constituent works covering exclusively the consilia of specific regions, publishers, or individual authors.

The present study was intended as far as possible as a continuation of the work on medieval consilia literature and to supplement current studies concerning related case history genres. 22 collections and anthologies of consilia of 16th-century physicians that were published in print constituted the foundation. The result however is not completely exhaustive, and many particular topics were not even mentioned, while some were just hinted at. These include, for example, the detailed differences in the form and content of the various types of consilia that we came across – classic consilia sent in the form of a letter by a single physician, consilia of members of a faculty of medicine, or consilia that were student records of clinical instruction at a hospital or private home.