Middle English medical miscellany, including receipts and charms (Leech-Books, VI)

Middle-English medical miscellany, including receipts and charms

1. ff. 1r-8r Medical receipts by a late 14th century hand.

f. 1r Here byggynyth medycyns for the hede ache. Take rywe ... f. 8r [ends imperfectly] ... or els the juys of ...

2. ff. 8v-48v Medical receipts in multiple 15th century hands, with some additions by an early 17th century hand.

f. 8v Cardiaca passio. Take the toppys of horse myntys ... f. 48v ... the morne tyde yn whyte wyne.

3. ff. 49r-53v Glossary of herbs in Latin and English (incomplete).

f. 49r Agnus castus anglice tote sayn. oder parkeleuys ... f. 53v Pes de ligno. Anglice portulakke.

4. f. 54r-v Medical receipts in English.

f. 54r Ffor the modyr. Take moggewort ... f. 54v ... rubbe well hyr stomake with [ ...]

5. ff. 55r-66r De urinis

f. 55r De urinis. In the bygynnyg thou schalte take hede to iiii thyngys that longyth toe the dome of uryne ... f. 66r ... and of wykyd stomake and badde lyuyre and badde longys.

6. ff. 66v-78r Medical receipts.

f. 66v Ffor brennyng in the stomake and hote dropesy. Take sylfegrene plantayne ... f. 78r line 4 ... thy bedde.

7. ff. 78r-79v Regimen for diet, bloodletting, etc. by the months.

f. 78r Januarius. In the monthe of Januaryy wyte wyne ys gode ... f. 79v ... xvii day of the monthe.

8. f. 79v List of names of drugs, incomplete

f. 79v These buth the namys of droggys.

9. ff. 80r-98v Medical receipts by various 15th and 16th century hands. F. 84 is wrongly bound and should follow f. 87.

f. 80r Take ... f. 98v ... thys ys provyd.

10. ff. 99r-108v Medical receipts for the cure of wounds, fractures, etc., incomplete

f. 99r Ffor a brokyn bone. Take creyland ... f. 108v ... ys nowe ...

11. ff. 109r-144v Herbal. By a mid-15th century hand. This herbal is recorded in Thorndike's 'Catalogue of Incipits', Col. 31.

f. 109r Agnus castus ys an herbe that men clepyth Tutsayne other parkeleuys ... f. 144v [Of the herb 'Lappa'] ... bote the leuys hereof be the more scharpyr atto[p] then on ende.

12. ff. 145r-146v Receipts by various hands.

f. 145r ... and model it with ... f. 146v ... avaliball after.

Late 14th-early 15th century

1 volume 147 ll. 4to. 20 x 14 cm. On paper and vellum. Original deer-skin binding, with a contemporary leather slip-on cover. Two modern leather and metal clasps. By several hands, with a few 17th century additions. A new foliation in pencil has been added, but there is an older (16th century) foliation in ink. The new pencil foliation accidentally duplicates f. 112, and is corrected in pencil from f. 113. The following leaves (new foliation) appear to be wanting: The first 6 ff.; between ff. 9 and 10, 1 leaf; between ff. 11 and 12, 2 leaves; between ff. 53 and 54, one leaf: between ff. 83 and 84, 4 leaves; between ff. 96 and 97, 108 and 109, one leaf; between ff. 114 and 115, 2 leaves; between ff. 145 and 145, 3 leaves. Many leaves are worn, with frayed margins. Initials, paragraph marks and headings in red. A number of entries, mainly charms, have been struck through or obliterated with ink.

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.

Purchased 1930.

Catalogue description modified in 2014. For original description, see S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973).

Anglo-Saxon letter forms in Moorat's catalogue description (such as contraction marks and thorn and yogh symbols) have been replaced with Latin characters.

The earliest owner's name was John Stacy, who is the writer of an inscription on f. 145, c. 1400: 'Hosomever on me dothe loke I am John Stacys boke'. On f. 146 is the name of John Hemslat [?] de Blakedone in an early 15th century hand. On f. 145 also is the name Peater [?] Palling by a late 15th century owner. On the first leaf, the initials T.B. in an Elizabethan script. On the inside of the lower cover: 'Josephi Maynardi e Coll. Exon', i.e. Joseph Maynard [1607-1670], Rector of Exeter College, Oxford in 1662. On the inside of the upper cover: 'Medicinal Receipts. Bought at Sir G[regory] P[age] Turner's [1785-1843] Sale, March 1827. P'. This inscription is by Sir Thomas Phillipps [1792-1872], whose Library Stamp and 'MS. No. 3132' are on the verso of the last leaf. Above the Phillipps inscription is the pasted-in label of Josephine Dockar Drysdale [c. 1900].