Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

A catalogue of Western manuscripts and papyri at Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and selected Cambridge colleges

Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.9

Medical texts

Contents

Introduction: Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.9 (hereafter Trinity MS O.1.9) is a medical compendium, largely written and assembled in England in the 15th century, with strong connections to the north, and in particular, the north-west of England around present-day Lancashire and Cumbria. The majority of the text in the manuscript is in Latin, but there are occasional words, phrases, and short passages of text in Middle English that can be found on ff. 12-198. The manuscript is composite and is divided into several parts of unequal size. The core medieval leaves are arranged as follows:
  • Part 1: Folios [i]-[ii] (15th century endleaves)
  • Part 2: Folios 1-9 9a-11 (a single quire; the main text is the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitatum)
  • Part 3: Folios 12-198 (the largest section of the manuscript, a medical recipe compendium in Latin and Middle English)
  • Part 4: Folios 199-204 (a 15th century index to the medical recipes on ff. 12-198)
  • Part 5: Folios 205-208 (a 16th century index to the medical recipes on ff. 12-198)
 Part 2 of the manuscript, the first full medieval quire in Trinity MS O.1.9, contains an extremely popular medical poem in Latin, the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitatum (the Salernitan Rule of Health), sometimes known as the Flos medicinae (The Flower of Medicine) or the Lilium medicinae (The Lily of Medicine). The didactic poem was popularised as a distillation of the most important teachings of the famous medical school in Salerno, and it survives in hundreds of medieval western European manuscripts. Trinity MS O.1.9 Parts 1 and 3 are considered here together, as they offer significant detail about the production and provenance of the manuscript. Part 3 (ff. 12-198), the largest section of the manuscript, contains a medical recipe compendium interspersed with occasional short medical treatises on various topics. The medical recipe compendium approximately conforms to the standard head-to-toe order for medical recipes popular with medical compendia since the Classical period, before moving on to groups of recipes for internal and systemic complaints, and finishing with smaller clusters of medical texts on particular illnesses, diseases and medical theories. The majority of the text in Part 3 was copied by a single (?mid-)15th-century scribe, but there are frequent annotations in contemporary and slightly later hands, including substantial annotations and additions by a 16th-century reader of the volume who contributed substantial additions in English. Although the majority of the medical recipes found in Part 3 are formulaic and without a source attribution, one can also find dozens of personal and place names scattered among the hundreds of medical recipes. The surgeon John Arderne and the physician John Gaddesden are each referred to on multiple occasions in Trinity MS O.1.9 (see, for example, ff. 34v and 23 respectively). Both were famous in their time and their writings became standard reading for educated English practitioners. More intriguing are the occasional references to less well-known people and places, for example: a 'cirurgicus comitis northumbrie' ('surgeon to the Earl of Northumbria'; f. 36v); 'agnes in domo westmorland comitis' ('Agnes, in the household of the Earl of Westmorland; f. 93v); and another woman, 'Domina de Clifford' ('Lady de Clifford'; f. 134v). Many of these attributions mention places in the north of England - in particular, the north-west (present-day Lancashire and Cumbria) and the north-east (Northumbria and North Yorkshire) - suggesting that the compiler had ties to this region. The connection of Trinity MS O.1.9 to the north of England becomes clearer when one examines a late medieval ownership inscription by a William Marshall ('Wilelmo Marshall'), who also added a poem below (f. [i] recto; see below for transcriptions). Marshall states that he was given the book as a gift from his maternal uncle ([a]vunculo) in 1484. Marshall offers several biographical details for both himself and his uncle, whom he names as Sir John Wharton, who died in Kirkby Thore in Cumbria ('Johannis Wherton armiger ... qui obijt apud kirkebitere'). He identifies himself as the master chaplain of the collegiate church in Middleham ('Capellano magistro scolarum de Midleham') and records that he received the book after Wharton's death at some time around the beginning of Lent in 1484. His uncle died at 'Carnispriuio', a former term used somewhat inconsistently for Shrove Tuesday, Sexuagesima and Septuagesima; Marshall also notes that his uncle was buried in a tomb alongside his wife in the church of Kirkby Thore on Ash Wednesday ('die cinerum'). Marshall provides three separate dating clauses for the death of his uncle and the transfer of the book, however it is likely that he erred in at least one, which means that the date of the transaction can only be approximated to Lent in (probably) 1484. He states that the transaction took place:
  • a) in 1484 (Anno domini 1484)
  • b) in the second year of the reign of King Richard III (Anno Regni Regis Ricardi tertij secundo)
  • and c) in a year with the dominical letter B (littera domincialis[sic] B)
The regnal years of King Richard III are reckoned from 26 June 1483 and so the second regnal year of Richard III begins 26 June 1484, long past the date of the beginning of Lent (Shrove Tuesday fell on 2 March 1484), or Easter in 1484 (18 April), which was in any case a year with the dominical letter D, not B. The calendrical year 1484 is by far the most memorable and most frequently used of those dating elements and should probably be treated with the highest level of trust unless more evidence comes to light to favour an adjustment according to the Ricardian or dominical dating information. The detail about Sir John Wharton being the maternal uncle of William Marshall allows for a tentative identification of both Wharton and Marshall. The genealogies of both families are somewhat unclear for their members in the 15th century, but it seems that there was a Sir John Wharton of Kirkby Thore who was alive in the 15th century and who was the son of Gilbert de Wharton; this John Wharton seems to have had a sister, Margaret Wharton (b. ?1444) who is believed to have married a John 'Machell'; if 'Marshall' is an alternative spelling for 'Machell', then that would make William Marshall's parents John Machell and Margaret Machell (née Wharton) and William Marshall's maternal uncle would thus have been Sir John Wharton. There are several difficulties with this possible identification, namely that the published genealogies of the Wharton families are at odds with one another for the 15th century, that there are no Williams among the identified children of John Machell and Margaret (sometimes Joan!) Wharton, and that the Sir John Wharton of Kirkby Thore discussed above is sometimes given a lifespan of c. 1424-1499, and that very little of that information can be traced to sources earlier in the 17th century save for the details mentioned directly by William Marshall in Trinity MS O.1.9. It should not be surprising that a compendium owned by a member of the nobility in the north-west of England and then inherited by a cleric and member of the family based in the north-east of England should contain material in both the main text and in the additions that originiated in local communities rather than deriving entirely from other sources. I am undertaking further research on this volume, and in particular its connections to another manuscript that I have identified as being owned by Sir John Wharton, London, British Library, MS Cotton Titus A.xviii , but as it stands, Trinity MS O.1.9 offers a reminder (if one were needed) that the interest in, and the practice of medicine in late-medieval England extended beyond the immediate sphere of Cambridge, London, and Oxford. Dr Sarah Gilbert| Project Cataloguer | Curious Cures in Cambridge Libraries Transcription of the ownership inscription and poem added to f. [i] recto by William Marshall: | Iste liber constat Wilelmo Marshall Capellano magistro scolarum de Midleham ex dono Johannis Wherton armiger necnon Auditor Avunculo suo qui obijt apud kirkebitere Carnisprimo [sic for Carnispriuio] Anno domini 1484 Anno Regni Regis Ricardi tertij secundo littera domincialis[sic] B , cuius corpus sepultum fuit die cinerum in naue ecclesie eadem tumba qua vxor eius prima quorum animarum propicietur deus qui illud aliauerit[sic] seu false abstulerit a predicto Willelmo Anathema sit. | Ad studium pergo ego pronus mento Johannes | et fiere cupiens arte bonam sapiens | Virtutes cumulando bonas viciosa relinquens | vt fugiam vicia mente mea studio | Supinum me minitat(?) quos non formido reficte(?) | Iesum teste deo quae sum vecordia nulla | Corde meo regnat corpore firmus ego | qui fugit eque(?) vides nihil hunc hominem voco nullum | Subuenies non est habes(?) spontem dei.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 2r: Si bene cauissem si ventri frena dedissem
Form: codex
Support: Paper.
Extent: Codex: ii + 2 | 12 | 186 | 6 | 4 + ii leaves. 205 × 140 mm.
Foliation:

?17th-century foliation sequence with 20th- and 21st-century additions and corrections

[a]-[b] + [i]-[ii] | 1-9, 9a, 10-11 | 12-198 | 199-204 | 205-208 + [c]-[d]

Foliation in use in this record. The core medieval leaves (ff. 1-208) are foliated in ink in Hindu-Arabic numerals in the upper outer corner of each recto in a ?17th century hand; this foliation sequence contains several errors that have been corrected in pencil in a ?20th century hand and where an ink and a pencil designation appear on the same leaf, the pencil designation is used. The endleaves are unfoliated in the manuscript and have been assigned the designations ff. [a]-[b] and [i]-[ii] for the endleaves at the front of the volume, and ff. [c]-[d] for the leaves at the rear of the volume.
Foliation:

?17th-century foliation sequence

Folios 1-194 (for ff. 1-199)

Foliated in ink in Hindu-Arabic numerals in the upper outer corner of each recto (final recto foliated in this sequence '194' for the present f. 199). This foliation sequence contains frequent mistakes through duplication and omission, and these mistakes have been corrected in pencil by a later foliator. Where an ink and a pencil folio designation occur in the upper outer corner of a recto, the pencil designation should be followed. The ink sequence was probably added in the 17th century or later, as the 16th century indexer who added folio references to their index of medical treatments on ff. 205r-207r referred to the 15th-century foliation sequence found in the centre of the upper margin of each recto, and not the later foliation sequence in the outer corner of each recto.
Foliation:

15th-century foliation sequence, before 1484

Folios 1-187 for ff. 12-198.

Leaves in Part 3 only (ff. 12-198) foliated in ink in the typical medieval forms of Hindu-Arabic numerals in the centre of the upper margin of each recto, probably by the scribe of the main text. The volume was given as a gift between Sir John Wharton and William Marshall in 1484 (see Provenance), and so the sequence must pre-date that gift.

Collation

A composite manuscript, with all Parts (ff. [i]-208) probably together by the end of the 16th century. The leaves are arranged as follows (note that this collation does not follow the quire designations assigned by M.R. James):

  • Two medieval endleaves (ff. [i]-[ii]) +
  • Quire 110+2 (ff. 1-9 9a-11: ff. 6 (parchment) and 7 (paper) added singletons) |
  • Quire 216 (ff. 12-27)
  • Quire 3?16-2 (ff. 28-41: ?two leaves ?missing between ff. 34v and 35r)
  • Quires 4-816 (ff. 42-121)
  • Quire 920 (ff. 122-141)
  • Quire 1016 (ff. 142-157)
  • Quire 1114 (ff. 158-171)
  • Quire 1216 (ff. 172-187)
  • Quire 1312-1 (ff. 188-198: 12th leaf cancelled) |
  • Quire 146 (ff. 199-204) |
  • Quire 154 (ff. 205-208)

Two medieval endleaves + 110+2 (6th and 7th added) | 216 3?16-?2 (?two missing?) 4-816 920 1016 1114 1216 1312-1 (12th cancelled) 146 154

No leaf signatures common to the entire volume.

No quire signatures common to the entire volume.

No catchwords common to the entire volume.

Additions

Quire signatures ('[a], 1-13, b') in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto side of the first leaf of each quire, and '+' in the same position on the first leaf after the centre of the quire, written in pencil by a hand of the 19th/20th century (no longer indicative: see Collation).

Binding

?18th-century binding

Covers are leather over paste- or mill-boards decorated with blind triple-fillets with Oxford corners at the perimeter of each board.

No raised bands on spine. Spine (not photographed) has label of dark brown leather with title 'MSS. MEDICA VARIA.' tooled in gold on label. Label decorated with gilt double-fillets at the upper and lower perimeters. Blind triple-fillets at the upper and lower openings of the spine. Three small printed paper labels 'O' '1' and '9' for the alphanumeric components of the present shelfmark fixed to the spine with an adhesive.

Shelfmark noted in pencil on the front pastedown.

Folios [a]-[b] and [c]-[d] probably contemporary with the binding. All blank.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Owned by Sir John Wharton ('Johannis Wherton armiger') who is listed as a former owner of the book in William Marshall's donation inscription on f. [i] recto. The donation inscription mentions that Sir John Wharton died at 'kirkebitere', i.e., Kirkby Thore in Cumbria.

Owned by a William Marshall ('Wilelmo Marshall'), who added an ownership inscription and a poem to f. [i] recto (both transcribed below), stating that he was given the book as a gift from his maternal uncle ('Avunculo') in 1484.

William Marshall provides several biographical details for both himself and his uncle Sir John Wharton in the ownership inscription. Marshall states that he is the master chaplain of the collegiate church in Middleham ('Capellano magistro scolarum de Midleham') and received the book after the death of his maternal uncle at some time around the beginning of Lent in 1484. Marshall states that his uncle died at 'Carnispriuio', a former term used somewhat inconsistently for Shrove Tuesday, Sexuagesima and Septuagesima; Marshall also says that his uncle was buried in a tomb alongside his wife in the church of Kirkby Thore on Ash Wednesday ('die cinerum'). Marshall provides three separate dating clauses for the transaction, however it is likely that he erred in at least one, which means that the date of the transaction can only be approximated to Lent in (probably) 1484. Marshall states that the transaction took place a) in 1484 ('Anno domini 1484'), b) in the second year of the reign of King Richard III ('Anno Regni Regis Ricardi tertij secundo') and c) in a year with the dominical letter B ('littera domincialis[sic] B'); the regnal years of King Richard III are reckoned from 26 June 1483 and so the second regnal year of Richard III begins 26 June 1484, long past the date of the beginning of Lent (Shrove Tuesday fell on 2 March 1484), or Easter in 1484 (18 April), which was in any case a year with the dominical letter D, not B. The calendrical year 1484 is by far the most memorable and most frequently used of those dating elements and should probably be treated with the highest level of trust unless more evidence comes to light to favour an adjustment according to the Ricardian or dominical dating information.

The detail about Sir John Wharton being the maternal uncle of William Marshall allows for a tentative identification of both Wharton and Marshall. The genealogies of both the Whartons and the Marshalls are somewhat unclear for their members in the 15th century, but it seems that there was a Sir John Wharton of Kirkby Thore who was alive in the 15th century and who was the son of Gilbert de Wharton; this John Wharton seems to have had a sister, Margaret Wharton (b. ?1444) who is believed to have married a John 'Machell'; if 'Marshall' is an alternative spelling for 'Machell', then that would make William Marshall's parents John Machell and Margaret Machell (née Wharton) and William Marshall's maternal uncle would thus have been Sir John Wharton. There are several difficulties with this possible identification, namely that the published genealogies of the Wharton families are at odds with one another for the 15th century, that there are no Williams among the identified children of John Machell and Margaret (sometimes Joan!) Wharton, and that the Sir John Wharton of Kirkby Thore discussed above is sometimes given a lifespan of c. 1424-1499, and that very little of that information can be traced to sources earlier in the 17th century save for the details mentioned directly by William Marshall in Trinity MS O.1.9.

Transcription of the ownership inscription and poem added to f. [i] recto by William Marshall: | Iste liber constat Wilelmo Marshall Capellano magistro scolarum de Midleham ex dono Johannis Wherton armiger necnon Auditor Avunculo suo qui obijt apud kirkebitere Carnisprimo [sic for Carnispriuio] Anno domini 1484 Anno Regni Regis Ricardi tertij secundo littera domincialis[sic] B , cuius corpus sepultum fuit die cinerum in naue ecclesie eadem tumba qua vxor eius prima quorum animarum propicietur deus qui illud aliauerit[sic] seu false abstulerit a predicto Willelmo Anathema sit. | Ad studium pergo ego pronus mento Johannes | et fiere cupiens arte bonam sapiens | Virtutes cumulando bonas viciosa relinquens | vt fugiam vicia mente mea studio | Supinum me minitat(?) quos non formido reficte(?) | Iesum teste deo quae sum vecordia nulla | Corde meo regnat corpore firmus ego | qui fugit eque(?) vides nihil hunc hominem voco nullum | Subuenies non est habes(?) spontem dei.

One of the manuscripts of Thomas Gale (1635/6-1702) , dean of York, antiquary, and fellow of Trinity College Cambridge.

ODNB

One of the manuscripts of Roger Gale (1672-1744) , antiquary and scholar, son of Thomas Gale. Inherited from his father.

ODNB

Donated to Trinity College by Thomas Gale , son of Roger Gale, in 1738. The Gale donation is recorded in .

Part 1: medieval endleaves [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.9, ff. [i]-[ii]]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. [i] recto
Ownership inscription and poem by William Marshall (?Machell) added c. 1484
Language(s): Latin

See Provenance for transcription and further information.

2. [ii] recto
Brief list of the contents of the volume in an early-modern hand

Full transcription of the brief list of the contents on f. [ii] recto:| Scola Salerni | Tractatus Medicus ignoti | Index omnium in Triuem(?) | Receipts 12

Folio [ii] verso blank.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Paper, no watermark visible.
Extent: Codex: 2 leaves. 205 × 135 mm.

Collation

No leaf signatures particular to this Part.

No quire signatures particular to this Part.

No catchwords particular to this Part.

Layout

Informally written.

Hand(s)

Folio [i] recto written in an idiosyncratic Anglicana script, with Secretary features. Double-compartment a. Loops on ascenders of b, d, h, and l. Letters f and long-s typically drop below the baseline. The descender of q typically loops around in a circle and resembles a modern g. Letter r is typically long and drops slightly below the baseline, but where it follows o the 2-shaped form resembles a modern z with an extra loop.

Additions

Folio [i] recto: Initials added in an ?early-modern hand in ink 'J . D . S' or 'J . D .' and a pen flourish.

Folio [i] verso: Trinity College bookplate with title, 'Collegium S. S. et Individuae Trinitatis in Academia Cantabrigiensi'.

Folio [ii] recto: Former shelfmarks in ink in an early-modern hand - 'C 23' (struck through), 'O.14.23' (struck through), 'No. 154', and 'O.1.9'.

History

Origin: 1484. ; Probably Middleham.

Place and date of production based on ownership inscription on f. [i] recto where William Marshall describes his receipt of the book in '1484' and describes himself as the master chaplain of the College of Middleham ('Capellano magistro scolarum de midleham').

Part 2: Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum and other texts on digestion and bloodletting [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.9, ff. 1-9, 9a, 10-11]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1r-9v, 9a recto, 9a verso, 10r
Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 1r Anglorum regi scripsit scola tota Salerni| Si vis incolunem[sic] si vis te reddere sanum | Curas lingue graves irasti crede prophanum | Parce mero senato parum non sit tibi vanum
Explicit: 10r Sucsis[sic] ventosis studeas remouere cruorem Mingere si nequas fiat tibi tale iuamen| Ex apii maratri leuistici peritoij liquamen| Hec super renes pecten pone fit que iuuamen ||
Final rubric: 10r Explicit

Folio 7 blank, but no disruption to text:| Folio 6v: Si fluat ad pectus dicetur reuma catarrus | Folio 8r: Ad fauces brancus ad nares esto corisa

Excerpt from this poem also found on f. 196v.

Edited (not from this MS) in Virginia de Frutos González, 'Edición crítica del "Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum" transmitido por los manuscritos Add. 12190 y Sloane 351 de la British Library de Londres', Minerva: Revista de filología clásica 23 (2010) pp. 143-195
2. 10rv
Unidentified medical text on digestion, excretion and humours
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 10r Condiciones iste in naturali requiruntur egestione
3. 10v
Table for determining safe times and bodily locations for bloodletting
Language(s): Latin

Table for determining safe times and bodily locations for bloodletting based on the zodiac.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 2r: Si bene cauissem si venri frena dedissem
Form: codex
Support: Quire of 12 leaves: outer bifolium (ff. 1 and 11) parchment, f. 6 parchment, ff. 2-5 7-9, 9a-10 paper. No identifiable watermarks.
Extent: Codex: 12 leaves. 195-210 × 135-145 mm.

Collation

  • Quire 110+2 (ff. 1-9, 9a-11: ff. 6 (parchment) and 7 (paper) added singletons)

No leaf signatures particular to this Part.

No quire signatures particular to this Part.

No catchwords particular to this Part.

Condition

In fair condition. Some rubbing to f. 1r making first lines of text partially illegible. Folio 7 is blank, but with no apparent interruption to the text.

Layout

150 × 105 mm. Ruled in crayon, frame only, ruling only visible in lower margins of some leaves, e.g., f. 4r. Single columns, typically 37 lines to the leaf, written below top line.

Hand(s)

Written in Secretary script. Single-compartment a. No loops on ascenders of b, d, h, l. Letters f and long-s typically drop slightly below the baseline.

Decoration

Large plain initial A in red in the 'Lombardic' style on f. 1r. No other decorative initials in this Part.

Opening initial of each line on f. 1r touched with red. Use of red for underlining and paraph marks on f. 1r and for explicit and incipit on f. 10r.

Additions

Former shelfmark 'O.14.32' in ink in the upper margin of f. 1r.

Erased name in the upper margin of f. 2r, perhaps 'Jhon Myklysen of Char ... B ...'.

History

Origin: 15th century, before 1484. ; England.

Date of production based on palaeographical features and ownership inscription on f. [iii] recto dated 1484 where the volume passed to its (at least) second owner. Place of production based on palaeographical features.

Part 3: Medical recipes in Latin and Middle English [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.9, ff. 12-198]

Contents

Language(s): Latin and Middle English

1. 12r-198v
Medical recipes and short medical treatises
Language(s): Latin and Middle English
1.1. 115v-116r
Medical recipes in another hand
Language(s): Middle English and Latin

Medical recipes as follows:

  • Recipe in Middle English 'To make all manner of humors rype and to avoyde theyme out of mannes bodye and for to keep thy bodye in ?(?)
  • Recipe in Latin 'Ad extinguendum appatitum carnelem'
  • Recipe in Latin 'Contra fluxum seminis'
  • Recipe in Middle English 'To keepe vyolettis all the yeare'

Added in a 15th century hand, perhaps the hand of William Marshall who added the ownership inscription to f. [iii] recto.

This scribe also added marginal notes and additional recipes throughout the volume in Latin and English, see e.g., ff. 19v, 37r, 134r, 134v, 140v, 178r, 191v etc.

This scribe refers to a 'Thomas Shawe' in the outer margin of f. 126v and supplies an additional recipe to treat itching and ringworm on ff. 1265v.

Middle English recipes on ff. 115v-116r not in IMEP.

Folios 116v-118v blank.

1.2. 134v
Recipe attributed to Lady (de) Clifford
Language(s): Latin and Middle English

Full transcription: 'Item accipe ij manipulos arthemesie et .j. m. de cal canes .id est. houe equshors huf quid ferrarij praescindunt de pedibus equorum quod est mundum sili?(?) interius et perice exterius et coquus in lagena vini rubei vsque ad potellum et bibe sero et mane . Domina de Clifford

The Clifford (de Clifford) family were the feudal barons of Clifford in Herefordshire, of Skipton in Yorkshire, and of Appleby in Westmorland. It is not clear which Lady Clifford (or de Clifford) is responsible for the recipe, but Margaret Bromflete (?1436 - 12 April 1493) , Lady Clifford from 1454 until the death of her husband Sir John Clifford (8 April 1435 – 28 March 1461) is a plausible candidate given the probable mid-to-late 15th century origin of the volume.

A note in the outer margin of f. 134v in a late-15th century hand 'The Ladye Clyfforde'.

1.3. 161v-173v
De curis mulierum
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 161v De curis mulierum
Incipit: 161v Ad prouocationem menstruorum| Primo ad sciendum contra causa mulier laborat
Explicit: 173v Ad idem ponatur egestis mulieris in sotulari viri et etona(?)

This appears to be a compilation of excerpts from several gynaecological texts inserted within the more generalised recipe collection; the scribe does not clearly indicate where this section ends, but the recipes from f. 174r seq are more generally applicable and are not explicitly gynaecological or targeted toward women.

A few significant medical recipes and texts excerpted here and discussed in more detail.

Folios 111r-112v, 116v-118v blank (leaves mounted on stubs of missing leaves).

p>The majority of the medical recipes in this manuscript are in Latin, but there are occasional recipes in Middle English (not in IMEP), see e.g., f. 165r.

2. 193v-196r
Text on bloodletting
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 193v De ffleobota
Incipit: 193v Fleobotamentem sincerat memoriam prebet vesicam purgat cerebrum excitat medullam calefacit
Explicit: 196r Item ad venam ruptam . bibe plantaginem et narstucium
3. 196r
Notes on the origins of illnesses
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 196r In quibus partibus nascitur origo infirmitatis
Incipit: 196r Nota quae in quatuor partibus corporis infirmitatis origo nascitur ; videlicet in capite , in pectore , vesica, et ventre
Explicit: 196r vrina sordida et vix emittit
4. 196v
Excerpt from the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum
Language(s): Latin

Full transcription of the excerpt from the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum on f. 196v : | Anglorum regi scripsit tota scola salerni | Si vis incolumem . si vis te reddere sanum | Curas tolle graues irasci crede profanum | Parce mero cenare caue non sit tibi graue | Surgere post epulas sompnum fuge meridianum | Micturam deferre caue nec cogeris anum | Gallos gallinas perdicem ac fassianum(?) | Et porcum comedas iuxta constantinianum | haec bene si serves, tu longo tempore vives. Quantum vis sume de meusa tempere brume | Temporibus veris modice prandere iuberis | Et calor estatis dapibus nocet immoderatus | Autumpni fructus extremos dat tibi luctus

A longer excerpt from this poem can be found on ff. 1r-10r, but it is evident that neither version served as a direct model for the other due to differences in the texts.

Edited (not from this MS) in Virginia de Frutos González, 'Edición crítica del "Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum" transmitido por los manuscritos Add. 12190 y Sloane 351 de la British Library de Londres', Minerva: Revista de filología clásica 23 (2010) pp. 143-195
eTK 0569J
5. 196v
Excerpt from the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum on the virtues of wine
Language(s): Latin

Full transcription of the poem on the virtues of wine on f. 196v: | Virtutes vini| Dat vinum purum tibi ter tria commoda primo | Vires multiplicat et viscera plena relaxat | Confortat cerebrum visum dat cor tibi letum | Efficit audacem sudores prouocat auget | Ingenium tali luxu congaudet amico | Sit mensura comes ne violetur opus

Also in  Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.9.38, f. 47r

Edited (not from this MS) in Virginia de Frutos González, 'Edición crítica del "Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum" transmitido por los manuscritos Add. 12190 y Sloane 351 de la British Library de Londres', Minerva: Revista de filología clásica 23 (2010) pp. 143-195
eTK 0569J
6. 196v
Charm to prevent fire
Language(s): Latin

Full transcription of medicinal poem mentioning Saint Columcille (Columba) on f. 196v:| Sante collumquille remoue iam dampna fauille | Atque collumquillus saluet ab igne domus | Flamma feruente peto ne pereat locus iste | Mentem sanctam spontaneam honorem deo et patrie liberacionem

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 13r: Ad non habendum capillos
Form: codex
Support: Parchment and paper; parchment used for the outermost bifolium of each quire, all inner bifolia are paper. No identifiable watermarks.
Extent: Codex: 186 leaves. 200-205 × 140-145 mm.

Collation

Quires of mostly 16 leaves arranged as follows:

  • Quire 216 (ff. 12-27)
  • Quire 3?16-2 (ff. 28-41: ?two leaves ?missing between ff. 34v and 35r)
  • Quire 416 (ff. 42-57)
  • Quire 516 (ff. 58-73)
  • Quire 616 (ff. 74-89)
  • Quire 716 (ff. 90-105)
  • Quire 816 (ff. 106-121)
  • Quire 920 (ff. 122-141)
  • Quire 1016 (ff. 142-157)
  • Quire 1114 (ff. 158-171)
  • Quire 1216 (ff. 172-187)
  • Quire 1312-1 (ff. 188-198: 12th leaf cancelled) |

No leaf signatures particular to this Part.

Quires in this Part numbered 1-12 in pencil in a modern hand in the lower outer corner of the first recto of each quire.

 Catchwords present in the lower margin of the last verso of most quires, often enclosed in a partial frame in red ink, see e.g., f. 73v ('Recipe calamenti').

Condition

In fair condition, some text partly illegible due to rubbing and staining of the leaves. Some leaves partly torn away, e.g., f. 101 resulting in the partial loss of marginal annotations, see e.g., upper outer corner of f. 101r.

Layout

160 × 105 mm. Ruled in crayon, frame only; ruling typically only visible in the lower margin of a leaf. Ruled in single-column format, and written typically 26 lines to the leaf.

Hand(s)

The main scribe (responsible for ff. 12r-115r and 198v writes in Anglicana with some Secretary features. Double-compartment a most common, but occasional use of single-compartment a. Loops on ascenders of b, d, h, and l. Letters f, r, and long-s (typically used in initial and medial positions) drop below the baseline. Six-shaped-s typically used in terminal positions. Letter z typically resembles the Greek letter ζ.

Folios 115v-116r written in a 16th-century Secretary script. This scribe also made occasional additions to recipe texts throughout the manuscript, see e.g., the text in the darker ink on f. 140v. This scribe also seems to be responsible for the list of medical conditions in Part 4 on ff. 199r-203r.

Decoration

Decorative initial 'P' with the upper left corner of the letter branching out into a hatched and shaded sketch of a rose on f. 161v, perhaps added by a later owner of the volume.

Plain initial 'A' on f. 12r at the beginning of the medical recipes.

Marginal sketch in ink of what appears to be a small oak branch with two leaves and an acorn between on f. 73v.

Small drawing of a cross potent in red enclosed by a four-petalled rose with four leaves in the outer margin of f. 104v.

Rubrication in red only throughout the Part by use of red underlining, red paraph marks, and touching minor initials in text-ink with red.

Additions

Marginal notes by the main scribe:

  • 16r:'Corningham ph⟨ys⟩ici Regis'
  • 17r: 'Phi⟨si⟩cus Eboracum'
  • 28r, 'Prior dunelm'
  • 29r: 'Welton nota optime' (?or Wetton?)
  • 34r: 'harryngton apprenticius ruris(?) regni' and 'Dicam fornivell(?)'
  • 36v: 'Cirurgicus comitis northumbrie' ('Habet cirurcius[sic] comitis northumbrie' on f. 177v underlined in red)

The upper margin of folio 12r contains a scribal invocation, 'Ad mea principia consiste virgo maria' flanked by the names 'Iesus' and 'Michael' in what may be another hand. In the ownership inscription on f. [iii] recto, William Marshall states that he received the volume from his uncle Sir John Wharton of Kirkby Thore; the parish church of Kirkby Thore is dedicated to St Michael and so it is possible that the additional invocations to Jesus and Saint Michael were added when the volume was among the community of Kirkby Thore.

Marginal annotation on f. 13v in the same hand that added the alphabetical index on ff. 205r-207r.

History

Origin: 15th century, before 1484. ; England.

Date of production based on palaeographical features and ownership inscription on f. [iii] recto, dated 1484, where the volume passed to its (at least) second owner. Place of production based on palaeographical features.

Provenance

'Tho. ...(?)': name written in upper margin of f. 12r, now erased. Perhaps a former owner of the 16th or 17th century.

Part 4: 15th-century index to the medical recipes on ff. 12-198 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.9, ff. 199-204]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. 199r-203r
List of medical problems treated by the medical recipes on ff. 12-198
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 199r: Tabula huius libri precedentis de medicinis

Informal index in a 15th century hand - perhaps that of William Marschall (compare with the ownership inscription and poem on f. [iii] recto). The index is written informally and is organised by the order of the recipes as they appear on ff. 12r-198v; the indexer does not supply any folio references.

Folios 203v-204v blank.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 200r: Contra
Form: codex
Support: Paper. Watermark: Folios 199: Partial watermark, large Fleur-de-lis in the upper inner quadrant of the leaf, original dimensions and complete design unestablished due to trimming.
Extent: Codex: 6 leaves. 205 × 140 mm.

Collation

Quire 146 (ff. 199-204)

No leaf signatures particular to this Part.

No quire signatures particular to this Part.

No catchwords particular to this Part.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Informally but neatly written in single-column format with no visible ruling.

Hand(s)

Written in Secretary script.

History

Origin: Late 15th or early 16th century. ; England.

Date and place of production based on palaeographical features and provenance.

Part 5: 16th-century index to the medical recipes on ff. 12-198 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.1.9, ff. 205-208]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

205r-207r
Index arranged alphabetically by medical problem to the medical recipes on ff. 12-198
Language(s): Latin

Informal index in a 16th century hand. The index is arranged alphabetically by medical problem in three columns with the first lemma under 'A' on f. 205r being 'Alopesia .1.' (for alopecia). The indexer used the medieval foliation sequence present in the centre of the upper margin of each leaf when supplying folio references - this can be verified by consulting the second lemma 'apoplexia' for which the indexer refers the reader to folios '15' and '109'; the present folio 26r has the earlier medieval designation '15' and contains a heading 'Ad apoplexiam', and similarly, of the three leaves with a '109' designation only the leaf now designated f. 122 has a recipe to treat 'apoplexia' on the verso.

Folios 207v-208v blank, but ff. 207v-208r ruled in three columns.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 206r: Ad mulieres quae habent magnes ventres .128.
Form: codex
Support: Paper. Watermark: Folios 208rv: Partial crown topped with crescent moon in the centre of the folio along the gutter-fold, dimensions unestablished due to folding.
Extent: Codex: 4 leaves. 205 × 135 mm.

Collation

Quire 154 (ff. 205-208)

No leaf signatures particular to this Part.

No quire signatures particular to this Part.

No catchwords particular to this Part.

Condition

In fair condition; edges of leaves in this Part are a little ragged and uneven.

Layout

Informally ruled in ink, frame and three columns.

Hand(s)

Written in an informal note-taking hand with influences of humanistica cursiva.

History

Origin: 16th century. ; England.

Date and place of production based on palaeographical features and provenance.

Additional Information

Record Sources

This catalogue entry draws on M.R. James, The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College Cambridge - A Descriptive Catalogue: Volume III: Containing An Account of the Manuscripts Standing in Class O (Cambridge, 1902), pp. 8-9, no. 1033

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Funding of Cataloguing

Wellcome (cataloguing). All images provided by Trinity College, Cambridge.

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