Alchemical miscellany

Alchemical miscellany

Written in a semi-current humanist hand, 28 lines to a page. Titles, initials and paragraph marks in red.

Contents

1. f. 1r-45r (Pseudo?)-William of Ockham, Scientia alkimica

f. 1r Liber occham philosophi super scientia alkimica. Et primo de preceptis generalibus huius artis. Et notandum quod sunt octo ... De bitumen ... Bitumen est quedam confectio ... f. 45r ... sequentibus edoceris.

2. ff. 45r-46r Poem, followed by notes on weights and measures

f. 45r Hic liber brevior melior precetoris extat ... f. 48r ... hoste cave. Finis. Laus deo.

ff. 46v-50v blank

3. ff. 51r-68v Synonyms, mostly Arabic-Latin

f. 51r Incipiunt aliqua sinonima philosophorum. Abara id ist cucurbita ... f. 68v Zegi id est Vitriolum.

4. ff. 68v-69r Tables of the correspondence between metals, planets and signs of the zodiac, in black. 4-5 columns.

ff. 69v-70v blank

5. ff. 71r-75v William Sedacerius(?), De vitro

f. 71r Capitulum de vitro secundum sedecinam. Vitrum est corpus diaphanum ... f. 75v ... sapientiam operantis etc.

f. 76r blank

6. ff. 76v-110r Liber quadripartite, 2 books only

f. 76v Incipit primus liber quadripartite. Primus liber quadripartite. In nomine domine. Incipit prohemium ad lunificum et solificum ... f. 78v ... de Auro et eius preparatione. De Auro et eius preparatione. Aurum secundum latinos vocatur sol ... f. 110r ... ab igne.

7. ff. 110v-111v Table of contents to the Liber quadripartite, in a sixteenth-century hand.

Mid 15th Century

1 volume i + 111 + i ff. 4to. 21 x 15 cm. Modern vellum binding over wooden boards. Corner of f. 41 torn away: inner margins wormed, slightly affecting the text. Index tabs cut in ff. 51-68.

Purchased at Sotheby's, 5/6/1929, Lot 544.

Written in Italy.

Catalogue description modified in 2014. 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 material has been digitised and can be freely accessed online through Wellcome Collection catalogue.

Heavily annotated by a sixteenth-century owner.