Avicenna (980-1036)

Liber medicinalis.

A compendium of the 'Canon' by an unnamed German [?]: including a list of vegetable and animal materia medica, receipts, etc.

Written in a rounded semi-current gothic hand 33-34 lines to a page. Some initials in red or black, paragraph marks in red.

Fol. 1. [IN nomine domini cuis bonitate vobis karissimis sociis et scolaribus / meis debitor sum ad erudiendium in moribus et scientiis] / quia prius vobis tradidi compendium moralium in quo / continentur summe philosophorum et theologorum atque vobis tradidi / breuiter summas librorum aristotelis maioris philosophie et paruorum naturalium / nunc quidem secundum promissionem vobis a me factam volo impartire / vtiliora et meliora artis medicine cum experimentis et secretis / que uel quas maiores medici habuerunt christo adiuuan / te me In cuius nomine hoc opus aggrediar. Capitulum primum / de vtilitate medicine et de quibus considerandum est in medicina. / DIco in primis quod medicina est scientia qua sanitas et insanitas / cognoscitur qua sanitas conseruatur ...

35v, line 23 MEdicina simplex est que non est cum alia medicina / per manum artificis commicta seu composita / ...

77v, line 23 ... vulpis qui desiccatur et bibitus confert asmati et cetera. line 23 Sequitur Tractatus tertius de cibis et potibus.

129, line 2 ... sufficiet ad curandum omnem morbum / curabilem. Si autem volueris pluria videre recurre ad / alios libros auicenne et galieni et aliorum medicorum / autenticorum. Sit igitur deus benedictus et gloriosus qui / ad finem diu desideratum produxit. Amen. anno [14]94.

line 7 Verses in Latin on medicinal weights, receipts, etc.

129v-End Medical receipts, etc.

Ff. 1-35v Medicina simplex. 35v-77v Food and drink. 80-89v Fevers. 89v-122v Treatment of diseases, poisons. 122v-129 Syrups, electuaries, etc.

1494

1 volume The binding is very well preserved and there is a similar example from the Erfürt Town Library which is reproduced by Loubier Der Bucheinband, 1926. Fig. 10 on p. 9.

Purchased at Sotheby's 5 / 6 / 1929, Lot 547.

The suggestion that the MS. was written at Amberg, as stated in Sotheby's catlogue, seems doubtful, and the expansion 'Amen' for the original 'Am' seems more probable.

At Wellcome Collection: This MS. which is lettered on the upper cover 'Liber medicinalis' agrees almost verbatim with the contents of MS. No. 105 [Avicenna] though the order of the text is different, and the 'Compendium de regimine sanitatis' is not included.

Database description transcribed from 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).

This material has been digitised and can be freely accessed online through Wellcome Collection catalogue.