Pseudo-Mesue, Joannes, (d.1015)

Expera extracta ex arte cerugia bona et utilia. Written in a rounded Italian gothic in double column of 32 lines to a column. Capitals, headings and paragraph marks in red. Fol. 1, col. 1 (red) de cura lactuminis puerorum 40 (red) 1v, col. 2 124 (red) Vnguentum optimum ad consolidandum et mundificandum. 2, col. 1 (red) Ista sunt quedam experta extracta ex/arte cerugie bona et utilia.//Solus deus sana langores sua/mirabili potencia et uirtute./(red) de cura lactuminis puerorum./. 1. IN capite puerorum nasciur quedam crusta/... 30, col. 1 Et dicas illa uerba tribus uicibus dextera domini facit/vuirutem [sic]. etc. Below in the same column is a receipt 'ad morbum galcium' headed 'Ego Bartholomeus Bernaregio/scripsi die Sabai mensis zugnesis 1524 pro nepoti mei... At the end of col. 2, the statemen of authorship is repeated. There is another date 15 June 1524 on fol. 32v col. 2. Ff. 30v-32 contain receipts in the hand of the original scribe, as well as that of Bernaregio. On fol. 31v there is apparenly the beginning of the draft of a speech-possibly by the writer of the MS. It is addressed to a Board of Physicians, and refers to the conferment of a Degree in Surgery. In col. 1 of Fol. 32v, there seems to be a continuation of his Address, and the names of two sponsors [or examiners] are given: 'Dominus Magister Marchior de Verona' and 'Artium et medicinae doctor dominus magister Hector Pindemontius' also of Verona. Pasted on the covers are two leaves from an early 15th cen. collection of anecdotes: that on the lower cover has almost enttirely perished. It seems to be written in a Venetian dialect.

Mid 15th Century

1 volume 32 ll. folio. 31 x 20 1/2 cm. Original stamped red vellum binding over wooden boards, damaged: both metal clasps wanting. A piece is torn out of the lower margin on fol. 21, with loss of a few letters of text: some margins frayed.

Purchased 1922.

This MS. is provisionally assigned to the 'Pseudo-Mesue', mentioned in Gurl's 'Geschichte der Chirurgie', Vol. 1, pp. 663-669, as the contens seem o correspond with those of the third book of his 'Cyrurgia', though as far as can be ascertained, the ext is not the same. It has been compared to a similar work, he 'Practica' of Joannes Mesue Damascenus, (cf. Gurlt, op. cit., pp. 618-620), but appears to be entirely different, in spite of the fact that the sentence 'Solus deus sanat langores' is found at the beginning of boh treaises. this MS. must have once formed part of a larger volume, as the Index now begins at fol. 40 of he original foliation.

Please consult the digitised version as this item needs to be accessed in our conservation studio. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request an appointment.

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).