Medieval medicine

Moderation has always been in style

Staff #MedievalMonday September 11, 2017December 15, 2017Diets, Giles of Rome, Medieval manuscripts, Medieval medicine, Regimen sanitatis

Giles of Rome’s De regimine regem et principum falls under the ‘mirror for princes’ genre. The ‘mirror for princes’ genre is advice literature, meant to instruct rulers in governance, and the morals and ethics found in good government. This genre dates as far back as ancient Greece, and became popular in Western Europe during the high Middle Ages. Giles of Rome’s De regimine – if we can take extant manuscripts as evidence – was seemingly more popular than any other ‘mirror for princes’, with the exception of the pseudo-Aristotle’s Secretum secretorum.

Giles of Rome, *De regimine regum et principum*. Italy, (Lombardy?); early 14th century. Call number 10a 212.

Peachy keen

Staff #MedievalMonday July 31, 2017July 3, 2017Medieval manuscripts, Medieval medicine, Recipes

So what has De fructibus to say about one of the summer’s most popular fruits? If you want to know how to use peaches in your beauty routine, look no further!

Folios 27v – 28r. Baptista Massa de Argenta, *De fructibus virtutibus*, Ferra, Italy. 1471. Call no. 10a 189.

Summer fruits to rid oneself of a hot fever

Staff #MedievalMonday July 17, 2017April 18, 2018Herbal remedies, History of medicine, Humors, Medieval manuscripts, Medieval medicine

In medieval medicine, humoral medicine was a common practice. (For more about the humors, see my earlier post here.) When patients were ill, food and drugs – often plant-derived – were prescribed, taking into account not only the symptoms, but also his or her temperament, age, location, and time of year.

Balancing the humors seems to me to have been somewhat precarious at times. If one was too choleric (hot and dry), foods and herbs that were considered cold and moist were prescribed. However, too much could cause a swing in the opposite direction. Foods were assigned qualities similar to those of the four humors – for example, cucumbers and watermelons were considered cool and moist.

Folios 65v – 66r. Baptista Massa de Argenta, *De fructibus virtutibus*, Ferra, Italy. 1471. Call no. 10a 189.

The Lily of Medicine

Staff #MedievalMonday June 5, 2017June 9, 2017Bernard de Gordon, History of the book, Medieval manuscripts, Medieval medicine

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 14^th century, and Spanish and Irish in the 15^th 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.

[Al]chemical symbols, anyone?

Staff #MedievalMonday May 22, 2017April 27, 2017Alchemy, Chemistry in medicine, Medieval manuscripts, Medieval medicine

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.

“Allembico”

Staff #MedievalMonday May 15, 2017April 27, 2017History of science, Illustrations, Medieval manuscripts, Medieval medicine

Seen here: a drawing of an alembic vessel.

Part I of vol. 1, folio 16r. Composite volume of medical texts, Italy, 14th & 15th c. Call number 10a 131.

“Neither the rose nor the lily may overpass the violet”

Staff #MedievalMonday April 3, 2017May 5, 2021Herbals, History of medicine, Medieval manuscripts, Medieval medicine

Just in time for spring, we’re having a look this week at a medieval herbal and exploring the medicinal properties of the violet. 10a 159 is 15th century Italian manuscript and contains Macer Floridus’ De virtutibus herbarum, among other texts.