Medical and magical miscellany (Miscellanea Medica IV)

Medical and magical miscellany

Contents

1. ff. 16r-30v Theobaldus Lonetus, De pestilentia

f. 16r Tractatus de pestilentia Theobaldi Loneti de Aurigneo. Cum ego Theobaldus Loneti de aurigneo bisuntinensis diocesis provincie burgundi essem Bononie civitatis Italie ... f. 30v ... et in multis aliis passionibus probavi sudorem multum prodesse. Finis.

2. ff. 30v-57v Plague remedies and other medical receipts in Latin and Italian, including charms against 'Morbus caducus' (ff. 54v-57r).

3. ff. 58r-61v Arnold of Villanova, De vinis

f. 58r De vini compositi virtutibus. Quoniam vinum album inter cetera alia ... f. 61v cum que iam dicta sunt sufficiant.

4. ff. 62r-63v Anonymous, De virtutibus rosmarini

f. 62r De virtutibus Rosmarini. Hec sunt virtutes Rosmarini. XXV. numero. 1. Primo recipe flores eius et liga in panno lini ... f. 63v ... et bibat pthysicus/et liberabitur. Explicit.

5. ff. 64r-88r Arnold of Villanova, De vinis, continued

f. 64r Ad opilacionem Epatis Splenis et ictericiam. Vinum contra opilacionem ... f. 88r ... et obturetur bene vas vini. et erit muscatellum.

6. ff. 88v-96v Theodoric of Cervia, De aqua vitae

f. 88v De virtutibus Aque Vite. Virtutes Aque vite sunt ut infra annotatur. In prima distillacione ardet et non cumburrit pannum ... f. 96v Multa quidem et alia utilia. humane nature procurat. per gratiam altissimi domini nostri yhesu christi. amen.

7. f. 97r-99r Arnold of Villanova, Epistola de sanguine humano

f. 97r Epistola magistri Arnaldi de Villanova ad magistrum Jacobum de Tolleto. De prestancia et virtutibus aque humani sanguinis. Magister Jacobe amice carissime. dudum me rogasti. ut tibi secretum ... f. 99r ... quemadmodum est in distillacionibus ultimis Alkimie. explicit. Nota de sanguine isto humano quod permiscendo ipsum recentem ... Et sic faciam 3o et erit pro terrio elemento. et hoc probabo.

8. ff. 99v-100v Anonymous, Prognosticatio de vindemia, etc.

f. 99v Pronosticon de vindemia. Vincenti festo si Sol radiat memor est ... f. 100v [De virtute herbe chelydonie] Si autem flet. tunc evadet. Followed by an additional recipe.

9. f. 101r-105v Anonymous, Cyranides, extract from Book II

f. 101r Extractus de quodam Libro qui vocatur Liber Ellementorum [sic] de capra foemina. Heges. 1. capra foemina omnibus nota que oraculum dat ... f. 105v [De camelo] ... Epilensiam sanat. quod est admirabile et excellentissimum.

A modern edition of the Latin Kiranides (as opposed to the Greek) can be found in L. Delatt's Textes latins et vieux francais relatifs aux Cyranides (Paris, 1942).

Late 15th Century

1 volume ff. 16-105. 4to. 21 x 14 1/2 cm. Modern vellum binding. The first 15 ff. and the end of the last work are wanting. Margins slightly worn and stained. Written mainly by two different semi-current humanistic hands: 21-25 lines to a page.

Purchased 1911.

The writer of this MS. as far as fol. 57 is apparently Valentus de Vescontis (No. 2) who speaks in the first person in 'Remedia contra pestem' on fol. 38: 'Quod agere curavi ego Valentus de vescontis physicus', and again 'Hec sunt remedia quibus ego Valentus suprascriptus utor in hoc casu'.

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

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).

A fly-leaf contains a pencilled note of the contents of this MS. by the hand of Dr. Joseph Frank Payne [1840-1910]. From the Payne Collection. In Sotheby's Catalogue, Lot 375.