Arzneibuch

Book of medical receipts, etc. A physician's handbook of practical medicine, with notes on medical astrology, blood-letting, uroscopy, etc.: in German. Some additions by several 16th cent. hands. There is an original foliation from 1 to 278, which starts from after fol. 60 of the new foliation (in pencil). Illustrated with coloured wash drawings: Fol. 41 Nude female anatomical figure. 48v Veins of head and arm: with the inserted slip. 49 Veins of the hand. With small inserted woodcut of the 'Astrological Man'. 49v Veins of the foot. 50 'Vein Man.' 67v-87v 20 coloured drawings of urine flasks. Inserted between fol. 296 and fol. 297 is a woodcut schematic figure of the eye from Walther Hermann Ryff's 'Beschreibung der Anatomie', published at Strassburg in 1541. In the lower part of this woodcut the compiler of the MS. has written 'He Vogther'. This seems to be an error, as the illustration of the eye found in the 'Eyn Newes hochnutzliches Buchlin und Anothomi eynes auffgethonen augs' issued by Heinrich Vogther at Strassburg in 1539, though similar, contains considerable differences from that of the work by Ryff. [Cf. Sudhoff: 'Tradition und Naturbeobachtung': Leipzig, 1907, pp. 24, 25.] Headings and underlinings in red and blue. Ff. 1-4 Latin-German glossary of medical terms, from 'Elephantiasis' to 'Ulcus'. 5-13 Vocabularius herbarum. Latin-German. 16-23 Notes on the Ages of Man, Complexions, Temperaments, etc. 24-29 Salves and unguents. 32-40 Simplicia. 41v-43 Index. 44v-46 Eclipses, medical astrology. The table of eclipses is for the years 1547-1551. 47-56 Blood-letting. 60-100 Uroscopy. 102-120v Von der verdeulichen artznein aller seucte. Dated at the end 1524. 121-360 Flos doctorum. Diseases and their remedies in alphabetical order. The last entry is 'Tumor et inflatio'.

1524- c. 1550

1 volume 360 ll. 8vo. 151/2 x 91/2 cm. Original stamped calf binding, rubbed: part of the 2 brass and leather clasps missing. The beginning and end are wanting: the present first leaf is frayed and slightly defective, margins cropped in binding. Ff. 47 and 48 are pasted together, and there is a half-sheet inserted between fol. 48 and fol. 49.

Purchased 1910.

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).