Medieval manuscripts

The Lily of Medicine

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Bernard de Gordon finished his Lilium medicinae in 1305 at the University of Montpellier.  Lilium medicinae (literally, the lily of medicine) is his most well-known work.  It is an encyclopedia of diseases with their symptoms, causes, effects, and treatments; and includes plague, tuberculosis, scabies, epilepsy, anthrax, and leprosy.  Lilium survives in approximately 50 manuscripts (and numerous later, printed volumes) and was translated into French, German, and Hebrew in the 14th century, and Spanish and Irish in the 15th century.  It was considered required reading at Montpellier beginning in the early 1400s.

 

Front cover, Bernard de Gordon’s Lilium medicinae, 1348 (Oxford?). Call no. 10a 249.

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[Al]chemical symbols, anyone?

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This is the second blog post about this manuscript asking for help from the medieval and/or history of medicine and/or history of science communities.  The table below is found on f. 12r of the second volume of 10a 131.  I don’t believe they are alchemical symbols, but perhaps abbreviations for chemicals.

Table of chemical [?] symbols, vol. 2, folio 12r. Composite volume of medical texts, Italy, 14th & 15th c. Call number 10a 131.

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Secreti medici…still a secret to me

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10a 131 is comprised of two volumes: one from the 14th century and one from the 3rd quarter of the 15th century, both (probably) from the Veneto in Italy.  Donated to the Library by Morris Wickersham sometime in the 1880s, the volumes were soon bound together.

Part I of volume 1, folios 8v – 9r. Composite volume of medical texts, Italy. Call number 10a 131.

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Tracing 10a 159 through time*

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We know, thanks to our scribe Christoforus B., that 10a 159 was completed in July 1493.  But where did go from there?  We don’t know who the first owners may have been, but book stamps, inscriptions, and sale catalogues can tell us about later owners.

 

front flyleaf, Macer Floridus, De virtutibus herbarum , 1493, 10a 159

 

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A medieval ‘table of contents’

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The idea of a table of contents or index is not a new one; in fact, even early Greek papyri contained sections and often lists of items.  In 10a 159, a 15th century Italian manuscript which includes Macer Floridus’ De virtutibus herbarum, the section headings are listed in the back of the volume.

 

f. 41r, Macer Floridus, De virtutibus herbarum , 1493, 10a 159

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