Medical Recipe Collection, England, 15th Century

Collection of medical recipes [written in the area of Worcestershire, first quarter of the 15th century]. Coloured drawings serve as extravagant decoration for the catchwords.

Contents

1. ff. 1r-3r Coloured drawings, partly obliterated, of St Anthony by an oak tree, with a pig and a deer (f. 1r.), St James, seemingly chopping down a tree with his bare hand (f. 1v.), St John the Baptist with an oak tree and rabbits (f. 2v.), a bishop between two candles (f. 3r.).

2. ff. 3v-7v Contents list, recording 129 recipes found on ff. 8r.-53v., followed by a coloured drawing of a swaddled baby in a cradle on rockers (f. 7v.).

3. ff. 8r-61v Recipe collection

'Medicine for hede ache. Make lye of betoyne other of verveyne other of chervile other of wermot ...' (includes, ff. 54r.-57v., '?ys was sent from alle ?e leches and alle ?e ficyciens of mount pelery to dame Isabel ?e quene of engelonde ...').

4. f. 61v Prayer to St Kenelm [patron saint of Winchcombe Abbey, Gloucs.], added in a 15th- century anglicana script.

15th century

1 volume Textura script, with section headings in red, and initial letters in red and blue. Membrane. 1 volume: 140 × 110 mm., 61 ff. (foliation of c. 1500 continuous from ff. 3-61). Written space 90 × 65 mm., 17 lines. Collation 1 6 + 1 after 4 (f.5), 2 4 + 1 after 3 (f. 11), 3 6 + 1 after 3 (f. 14) wanting 1 and 4, 4 6 + 1 after 3 (f.21), 5 6 + 1 after 5 (f.30), 6 6 + 1 after 1 (f. 33), 7 6 + 1 after 3 (f.42), 8-9 8. Medieval binding of wooden boards sewn on four double thongs pegged into the boards. Clasp missing.

Purchased with the aid of the V & A Purchase Grant Fund (acc. 345475).

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

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).

This manuscript has been photographed in its entirety: images are held on the Wellcome Images website under the references L0064445 to L0064580. Wellcome Images also holds earlier photographs of several illustrations within the manuscript plus external images of the binding (image references L0049299-L0049312 and L0060580).

16th-century ownership inscriptions of 'Andrewe Wylkynson, Surgeon' (ff. 34r., 60r.) and of 'Henry Dyngley' (f. 12r.) [Henry Dyneley/Dineley or Dingley, d. 1589, of Charlton, Worcs. Cf. Western MS. 244, Oxford Bodleian MS Rawlinson C 506 and British Library, Royal MS. 17.A.xxxii].

Inscription 'Liverpool May 1782' (f. 39r.).

Acquired by Sir Norman Moore (1847-1922), whose grandson sold it at Sotheby's 25 June 1985, lot 71.