Secreta Secretorum, France, 17th century

Manual of medical and other recipes compiled by various hands. With a classification of medicaments.

There seem to have been at least three contributors to the manual. The first uses French, Latin, and occasionally Spanish, apparently indiscriminately, with some words in cipher. There are some alchemical recipes ('secret des secrets de philosophie, f. 82) Other recipes are ascribed respectively to 'Mr de Candalle' (f. 73) and 'Mr de Canton' (f. 80). Later contributors use French, Latin and occasionally Italian, with many words in cipher.

1. (1st hand)

ff. 5r. - 98v. miscellaneous recipes (a few blanks).

ff. 99r. - 104v. medical definitions and classification of medicaments.

ff. 105r. - 106r. additional recipies.

f. 137r. 'opiate ad co$ytum'.

ff. 138r. - 140v. table of contents.

2. (2nd hand)

ff. 107r. - 108v. miscellaneous recipes.

ff. 110r. - 113v. recipes, mainly concerning venereal diseases.

3. (3rd hand)

f. 109r. recipe, partly in cipher.

ff. 114r - 133v. miscellaneous recipes, largely in cipher, many apparently alchemical.

f. 137v. recipe 'ad venerem mouvendam'.

f. 141r. additional contents.

At ff. 142v. - 143r. there is an English prayer in an 18th century hand.