Introduction:
While most remedy collections that survive from the late Middle Ages provide ailments
for human
conditions (for instance, Cambridge, University Library, MS Add.
9308), a small but significant number focused on cures for horses, reflecting the importance
of these
animals at the time. This manuscript is a composite of several texts largely made
up of remedies intended for horses
but with a small number of cures for human illnesses and other procedures in the later
sections. Contemporary
horse-care (or hippiatric) treatises – such as the famous On Medicines for Horses by Jordanus
Ruffus – often included advice for horse owners on breeding, stabling, and training
horses, however, this collection
exclusively contains remedies and other materials relating to illnesses or adverse
conditions. This likely reflects
that it was intended for horse-doctors rather than stablemasters. This manuscript
was principally written in Middle
English with some French and Latin mainly in the names of conditions and in the charms
and prayers.
The first and largest component of this manuscript is a section of the relatively
common Boke of Marchalsi, a fifteenth-century horse-medicine treatise in Middle English (other
examples include London, Wellcome Library, MS 5650, ff. 1r-28v). 'Marshalsi' was the practice associated with
'marshals', a professional class that arose in the later Middle Ages and provided
prophylactic and interventionary
veterinary care as well as shoeing horses. The Boke of Marchalsi was set out as a conversation
between a master and their apprentice. This structure provided the author with opportunities
to explain particular
points of pharmacy and medicine as they relate to horse-care such as explaining why
a disease is more likely to
afflict one side of a horse's face than the other (f. 2r) or to explain and justify
particular remedies that at first glance seem contradictory (e.g. 'Master, why should
you give the horse either
vinegar or milk, given that one is sour and the other sweet?': f. 11r). The first
component of this manuscript follows a rough head-to-hoof organisation mirroring the
head-to-toe schema that was
common in contemporary remedy collections.
The rest of the manuscript is made up of several shorter collections of remedies mainly
intended for
horses, and contains cures attributed to several named marshals including William,
marshal of Merton Priory in Surrey,
Piers 'the Moor', and 'Hew Saracyn of Spayne' (f. 19r). Horses were an important
international commodity in late-medieval England, and many were imported from Spain
for royal and seigneurial stables.
It was also not unusual for stablemasters from France and Spain to be employed by
English aristocrats, so it is quite
possible that Piers and Hew lived and worked in England or that their knowledge and
practices were transmitted along
international trade routes. Although this manuscript makes no direct reference to
contemporary European horse-medicine
writers, it does refer to the 'great marshals' and a disease which they called 'pynconeys'
(f. 23v). This is likely a rendering of 'malum pinsanese', a condition found in the Latin
works of
Jordanus Ruffus, Laurentius Rusius and other influential late-medieval writers of
horse-medicine treatises and so
suggests that the authors of this manuscript were familiar with the wider world of
veterinary medicine.
This collection includes remedies targeting a range of conditions: notably contagious
diseases such as
glanders (f. 3r) and farcy (ff. 5v-8v), wounds and
bleeding (ff. 18v and 22v), and diseases of the
eye (ff. 2r-2v, 18r), the face (f. 12v), mouth and tongue (ff. 3v-5r). There is a
particular focus on injuries and conditions of the feet and legs (ff. 11v-14r,
19r-19v, 22v) reflecting how vulnerable a
horse was to these sorts of ailments during its working life. This manuscript also
contains remedies which reflect the
working demands placed on horses, for instance procedures which corrected errors in
a horse's gait (ff. 24r-24v) or issues with a horse's behaviour (ff. 22r, 25r). There are also procedures which aided a marshal or
horse-keeper in their work, for instance advice on judging a horse's virtues (f. 11v), methods for making vinegar for medicines (ff. 14v-15r), and
charms to make a horse stand still whilst it is being cared for or shod (ff. 25v-26r).
As well as veterinary procedures, the latter parts of this manuscript also include
remedies for human
ailments, reflecting the fact that veterinary and medical healing practices were not
strictly separated in this
period. These medical remedies offer cures for a range of ailments such as sciatica
(f. 33v), toothache (ff. 34r, 37r),
migraine (f. 34v), and childbirth (f. 35v).
There are also non-medical instructions, such as an apotropaic procedure to protect
a house from fire that involves
placing a written talisman high up in the rafters of the building (f. 35v). The
breadth of remedies and rituals found in this manuscript is a relatively common feature
of late-medieval remedy
collections which tended to attract an admixture of additional procedures, reflecting
the needs or interests of the
collections' writers and owners.
The veterinary procedures in this collection range from pharmacy, blood-letting and
surgical
interventions to rituals involving charms, prayers, and talismans. This is again reflective
of the breadth of healing
techniques employed in the late Middle Ages, in which magical and religious healing
were equally valued alongside
medical or surgical practices. This manuscript includes a particularly interesting
set of veterinary rituals, which
are indicated for a variety of conditions, notably a group of diseases referred to
as farcy, glanders, or more
generally 'the worm'. These were dangerous and highly contagious illnesses which could
decimate a herd and as such
were particularly feared by medieval horse-doctors and stablemasters. The rituals
and charms in this manuscript range
in complexity from a few simple words or a short prayer to procedures with multiple
stages, prayers, magical
incantations, and written talismans. Charms and prayers often invoked saints and Biblical
figures or narratives that
were perceived as having a particular relevance to the disease or condition under
treatment. For instance, there are
ritual remedies against farcy or the worm which use the figure of St Job (ff. 26v,
31r) who was assaulted by worms as part of his trials, and charms against
bleeding which invoke the figure of Longinus, the centurion who according to legend
pierced Jesus's side with a lance
at the crucifixion (ff. 26r-26v, 32r).
This manuscript also features a set of unusual rituals that were intended to aid a
horse afflicted by
farcy, which involved preparing a talisman or magical object and then attaching it
to the horse with sutures. In one
ritual the reader is instructed to write magical words and symbols on a lead token
and place it under the skin of the
horse's forehead (f. 35r). In another, the object is made from the roots of red
nettle and red dock twisted together into a cross and tied to crosses made of leather
and lead. These three crosses
were perhaps intended to reflect the Trinity or the three crosses at Calvary. The
reader is then instructed to stitch
this object to their horse, 'just as Christ joined His precious body to the cross'
(f. 6r). This type of procedure appears to be peculiar to remedies against contagious diseases
in horses (for
other examples, see, London, Wellcome Library, MS 5650, ff. 14v-16r and London, British Library, Harley MS 6398, ff. 28v –29v). Like many charms and magical
healing rituals from this period, it relied on the performer creating an analogical
relationship between the patient
(in this case a horse) and a powerful Biblical narrative of redemption and resurrection.
Dr Sunny Harrison|Associate Lecturer|Open University
Language(s): Middle English, Latin, and Middle French
1. 1r-18v
Collection of veterinary recipes and charms for the treatment of ailments in horses,
the second
part of The Boke of Marchalsie
Language(s): Middle English recipes, ending with two lines in Middle French
Rubric: 1r Here bygynneþ þe maladies þat hors haueþ of her own kynde
Incipit: 1r There hors beþ norisched in her [ȝowþe] wiþ hard mete and benes or barly or
hard corailes wiþ suche mete whenne he etiþ wiþ grete wille so wexeþ þe humour of
þe hed to muchel and grete undir þe
iȝen and þat makiþ þe iȝen to water and after þat comeþ a goute al ouer þe iȝen
Explicit: 18v A plastre to don awey wickide fleish. Take þe white of an ey and quik
sond and tempere hit to gedre til þat hit be þicke Seynt archedelyn en son haut se
vij. verge de rounce tyent en sa
mayn sy il beyt quit purson chynal [sic] et sors estoyt
The collection contains an elaborate charm-ritual for curing farcy (ff. 5v-7r), and
a charm to staunch blood (f. 18r).
For other copies, see Connolly (2009), p. 9.
Hindley (2023), p. 194 [transcription and translation of charm to staunch blood]
2. 18v
Veterinary recipes for horses
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 18v ffor swellyng þe necke take barly and seþ yt wel and yeue yt þe hors to
etyn and none oþer prouender
Explicit: 18v ffor þe strangloun Take garlyc||
Added in the 15th century. For swelling in the neck, for the 'courbe'
(a sore or swelling on the cheekbones), and for strangury (ends imperfectly and crossed
out, but see 23r, where the same hand has rewritten this recipe and another).
For other copies, see Connolly (2009), p. 9.
3. 19r
Veterinary recipes and charms for horses
Language(s): Middle English with a Latin rubric
Rubric: 19r Practica Willelmi Marescalli Prioris Mertone de infirmitate
equorum
Incipit: 19r Crist hym self was y bore in bemergebyre in benynbyre. Bedleem hit
hiȝt
Explicit: 19r þis hors be delyuered of wormes. botes. and schurf of skyn. by þe offryng
of þes candells in þe worship of seint ffirmyn
The collection begins with a charm to staunch blood and ends with a charm to cure
farcy that invokes St Fermin and
is attributed to ‘Hew sarasyn of spayne’.
For other copies, see Connolly (2009), p. 9.
4. 19r-22v, 23v-25v
Collection of veterinary recipes and charms for horses
Language(s): Middle English with Latin charms
Rubric: 19r þis is þe marchalcie of Piers Moriz good and trewe
Incipit: 19r Thus seiþ Piers þe moriz. þat ȝif hit so be ȝat an hors come to hym to be
marchelid at ȝe first he drawiȝ of his schoon forto seche ȝe foot
Explicit: 25v whan þe hors haþ traueiled and he schal swete and by þis medecyn he schal
amende
Final rubric: 25v Explicit
5. 23r
Two veterinary recipes for horses
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 23r ffor þe strangloun take þe garlyc and stampe yt and tempere yt with þe Jus
of syngrene and boyle yt with swyne ys grece in a litel ale and geue yt þe hors to
drycnke at hote as he may
souery
Explicit: 23r ffor þe stone take pappewort and benet and bappetarde and schaue hem and
seþe hem in white wyn and take þe jus of morelle and of celedoyne and as moche
Full transcription. For strangury and for the stone (?ends imperfectly). Added by
the same 15th-century hand that added recipes to f. 18v. The
first recipe provides the complete text of the third recipe that was begun but crossed
out on f. 18v.
6. 23r
Charm for an unspecified purpose
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 23r maguba magula mala et [?]Jomp magula et Pater noster et ave
maria
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand.
7. 23r
Veterinary recipe for a short-winded horse
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 23r ffor an hors þat ys pursyf
Incipit: 23r Take an holde dogge of þe same here þat þyn hors hys and seþ hym here and
alle excepte þe guttes and bray hym small in a morter bonys and alle and streyne hem
þerwe a cloth wiþ ys same lycour
and let hyt stonde
Explicit: 23r Affter þys tyddynge wolwynge a drenche þat ys to sayng i unce of greynys
a i unce of gynger camphur i unce clouis ij unces dragates [ounces] i anixden succ
j licorices and [ouncs] i candall
all and rubij and citrium
Added by a late 15th-century hand.
8. 25v
Veterinary charm for farcy in a horse, invoking St Job
Language(s): Latin, with a Middle English rubric
Rubric: 25v Þis charme is for þe ffarcioun
Incipit: 25v Christus vincit . christus imperat . christus hanc equum liberet dominus +
crucem + deum . fugite partes aduerse . In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti
amen . sicut piis eliis . agayns
mens . vrie . vir . adonay . sabaoth . saday . emanuel . agyos . agyos . agyos . Beatus
Iob vermes habuit qui
moriebantur initii domini et mortui sunt
Full transcription. The same 15th-century hand copied the following
item.
9. 25v
Veterinary charm for shoeing a horse, invoking St Eligius
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Rubric: 25v Þis charme is for þe ffarcioun
Incipit: 25v In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti Amen . The same charme þat
seynt loye hadde . when þat he first hors schodde . seint loye hym self set þe schoon
. Propeiaiuit [sic] his man þe
nailes out drow . sta equus vel equa + christus regnat + \christus/ vocat Iohannes
predicat . baptizatur auri visum
Iudicium dicio . o quam probet sanctum dei ferre augmentacio . Also I charm þee by
þe same charme þat þen obeye to me
as þou obeyed to seynt loye . In þe worschip of þe fyf woundes þat god suffrid on
good friday . Iste equue + christus
regnat . vocat . Iohannes predicat baptizatur aure visum Iudicium dicio equam probat
sanctum dei ferre augmentacio .
The same 15th-century hand copied the preceding item.
10. 25v
Veterinary charm for shoeing a horse
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Rubric: 25v for to make a hors to stonde still while he ys shoy[?g]
Incipit: 25v Benedicite dominus + Nos a deo qui sumus sumpturi [...] dextera christo .
In nomine patris etc
Full transcription attempted. Partly illegible because the text has faded or has been
erased; added by a 15th-century hand.
11. 26r
Veterinary charm for shoeing a horse, invoking St Eligius
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Incipit: 26r In nomine patris et filii etcetera . The same charme þat Seynt loy hadde
whan þat he fyrst hors chode seynt loy hym self seyd to þe [?]chon propregant hys
man þe naylles ouer proligere Ista
aquat christus Regnat vocat Iohannes predicat baptizatur aure visum Iudicium dicio
hocum propbet [sic] sanctum dei
ferre aumentacio also ycharme the by þe same charms þat þou abite to me as þou abit
to seynt loy yn þe worchip of þe v
woundes þat god souffret þe goode fryday Istat etcetera In nomine patris et fill
Explicit: 26r Also ycharme the by þe same charme þat þou abit to me as þou abit to
Seynt loy in þe worchip of þe v woundes þat god Souffret þe goode fryday Istat etcaetera
In nomine Patri et
fillii
Added by a 15th-century hand. Largely repeats the text of the first
charm for shoeing a horse on f. 25v.
12. 26r-27v
A collection of veterinary recipes and charms for horses
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Twelve remedies written by the same 15th-century hand. They address
the following:
- f. 26r: two for sores on a horse's neck, knee or other parts
('malaundres') and a charm to staunch bleeding (continuing on f. 26v)
- f. 26v: for a blockage of some sort ('cloying'), for severe colic or
intestinal worms ('trenches'), for a sore of some sort ('syones') and a charm for
farcy (invoking Jesus
Christ, St Mary and St Job)
- f. 27r: for swollen testicles, for ?disfigurement of the spine ('moruyng
of the chyne'), for fester
- f. 27v: for fester, for pain
13. 27r
Two ?veterinary charms for unspecified ailments
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 27r Ma tha be o s [...] / Tetragrammaton: prykke the oneres and say the
nethes
Explicit: 27r Bure. Burere. Bue . Rere. and in the worschip of god and of oure lady
seint Marie and seint John the Baptist and for his fadur soule and his modur soule
p[o]ur cherite Pater noster iij
tymes with iij Aves thries ysaid
Full transcription. Added by the same 15th-century hand.
14. 27v
Two veterinary charms for farcy in a horse
Language(s): Latin, with Middle English rubrics
Incipit: 27v A charme for þe fassion +++ Propretia deus destruet de in finem
Explicit: 27v et si fuerit equa ponatur in auricula senystra
Added by the same late 15th-century hand that copied the following
item.
15. 28r
Charm to staunch bleeding
Language(s): Latin, with a Middle English rubric
Rubric: 28r ffor to stanche blod
Explicit: 28r In nomine patris filij et spiritus sancti Amen + Sicud vere credimus quod
sancta maria vere genitt [sic] Christum tu vena reine tuum sanquinem
Presumably intended for use on a horse, though not stated explicitly. Added by the
same late 15th-century hand that copied the previous item.
16. 28r
Veterinary charm for farcy in a horse
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 28r A medycyne for þe farsyoun
Incipit: 28r Sey thus Jhesus wente to bethelem mette he with Seynt John þe ewangelist
whi ledest þow þy fole yn þy hand seyde Jhesus to seynt John the Ewangelist lord for
he hath þe ffassye and may not
go
Explicit: 28r and he shal neuer haue þe ffassyne no non hors þat stant by hym seyde
Jhesus to seynt John þe ewangelist by ix dayes to gedere
Added by a late 15th-century hand.
17. 28v
Veterinary charm for farcy in a horse, invoking St Nicasius
Language(s): Latin, with Middle English rubric
Rubric: 28v A charme for þe fassine In þe name of þe fader + and of þe sone + and þe
holy gost + Amen + Seynt Nicase hadde a lidore euel + And he prayde to god + that
who so euer bere his name vp on hym
+ of þis yvel he shal be delyuered
Explicit: 28v And let hit be bounde in þe right ere of an hors in þe saturday afore
sonne goynge downe And lat hit a byde still tille þe Mounday afore sonne risynge and
þanne take hit out and he shal be
hole. And if a mere haue þis grevaunce put þis charme in to here lift ere in þe same
maner forsayd
Added by a late 15th-century hand.
18. 28v
Veterinary charm for farcy in a horse, invoking St Nicasius
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 28v + In nomine patris + et filij + et spiritus sancti. + amen + sanctus
Nigasius habuit minutam bestiolam que vexabatur morbo ffarciaco Et orauit deum nostrum
Ihesum christum vt quicumque
nomen suum super se portaret non haberet hoc malum Amen + In nomine patris + et filii
+ et spiritus sancti + Amen +
Sanctus Nigasius oret pro te Soror + Opheas + Cleophas + Neophas + Phendula + Gendula
+ dracones sunt + In nomine
domini mortuus est vermis + Amen + In nomine patris + filij + et spirits sancti +
amen + a + g + l + a + + + e + o + r
+ a + g + r + a + m + a + t + o + u + Amen +++++
Full transcription. Added by a late 15th-century hand.
19. 29r
Sage leaf medical charm for fever
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Rubric: 29r A medicyn ffor þe Axes
Incipit: 29r Take a sawge lef þat is not perced and write þer on with a penne with ynke
in principio principio erat verboum angelus nunciat
Explicit: 29r And seye þe prayers forseyde and þe þridde day take anoþer lef and write
þer on Et deus erat verbum Cristus tonat and ȝif hit þe seke a[nd] let hym seye þe
prayers forseyde And by goddis
grace he shal be hole
Added by a 15th-century hand.
Connolly (2007), p. 152 [ed. from this manuscript].
For other copies, see Connolly (2009), p. 11.
20. 29r
Medical recipe for haemorrhoids
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 29r ffor þe emerawdes
Incipit: 29r Take lek þat neuer was set: but as hit was sowe oþer ellis take lek þat
was set afore mydsomer
Explicit: 29r ad make a plaster þerof and ley þe plaster vpon a clout of scarlet and as
hot as ȝe may ley hit to ȝowre foundement and þis is proued
Added by the same 15th-century hand that added the charms to f. 27r.
21. 29r
Craft recipe for making dye
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 29r Take a pynte of paynters oyle and an ounce of red led an ounce of mastik
and an ounce of ȝelow oker and a bene gretnesse of frankencense as muche of spaynyssh
grene as much of coperose put
hem in to a pot and sethe hem tille hit reme as brid by [.]ne
Added by a 15th-century hand.
22. 29v-29v
Six craft recipes for dyeing cloth
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 29v A gode medysyn for þe Glaundres
Incipit: 29v ffor to make whit cloth of damaske: Take newe whit cloith þer to beþe a
penyworth of blanke plumme and grynde hit on a stoun
Explicit: 29v ȝif ȝowre cloith be red ȝowre damaske moste be sadder red and ȝif hit be
blew hit moste be lighter blew etcaetera
Added by a single 15th-century hand. The rubric does not relate to the
text that follows.
23. 31r-31v
Collection of veterinary recipes and charms for horses
Language(s): Middle English, Latin, and Anglo-Norman
Incipit: 31r ffor pursie of an hors: Make an hors faste iij dayes and iij nyght and
take an olde mastif dogge and sede hym wel in water and ȝif the hors to drynke as
hot as he may suffre
Explicit: 31v and take out þe pythe with ynne and let sethe hem yn a potell of whit wyn
yn to a quart and vse þis al euen and at morwe with as muche suger as wol make hit
lusty to ȝowre taste and anoynte
ȝow with oynement taghte byfore
Added by a single 15th-century hand; includes two charms for curing
farcy, one against worms, one for curing ‘al maner [of] yveles’, and one for treating
glanders in horses,
invoking Job and St Hippolytus.
For other copies, see Connolly (2009), pp. 12-13.
24. 31v
Medical recipe for purging the kidneys
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 31v for purgyng of a mannys raynes
Added by a 15th-century hand.
25. 32r
Longinus medical charm to staunch bleeding
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 32r Longens Miles Ebreus lancia [added in a different hand: \Christi/] latus
perforauit
Explicit: 31v Credimus quod sancta maria est mater dei: et verum Infantem genuit Jhesum
Christum sic resistant tue vene que [added in a different hand: sunt] sangguine plene
[added: vt ab eis non exeat
sanguis per virtutem eiusdem patris et filij et spiritus sancti amen]
Added by a 15th-century hand.
26. 32r
Medical recipe
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 32r Thys is ffor the vivis
Incipit: 32r Take hounddis tungge ij honde ffull or iij and pound hem in a morter till
thou haue iij sponfull and pitte hit half in the oene ere
Added by a 15th-century hand. Imperfect due to the removal of the
lower half of the leaf.
27. 32v
Excerpts from liturgical texts
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 32v Suscipias dominus sacrificium de manibus tuie [sic: tuis] at laudem
et
Explicit: 32v ffuit homo missus a deo
Added by two 15th-century hands; a fragment of the first inscription
is on f. 32r. See also f. 37r.
28. 33r
Prayer-charm for curing farcy
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 33r God and synt Copelyn swych grase as god ȝaf þe send from þe to me for þese
bestys botye to be amen for charite in nomine patris et fili
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand, but later crossed
out. Another copy of this text features on the lower half of the same page but by
a different hand.
29. 33r
Magical formulae
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 33r + zaron + zer[o]nen + zeronem + betonen + astra + lubia +
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand; two other copies of
this charm occur on f. 35r.
30. 33r
Medical recipe for sciatica
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 33r for þe sietica
Incipit: 33r Take hony and oyle olyf and ueneger and white salt smale ygrounde euene
euene porciouns
Explicit: 33r And boyle hem til þey be brownne and ley hit to þe maledy with blak
wolle
Added by a 15th-century hand.
31. 33r
Veterinary charm for shoeing a horse
Language(s): Latin, with a Middle English rubric
Rubric: 33r ffor to make a hors to stond still while he is schod
Incipit: 33r Benedicit dominus + Nos a deo qui sumus sumpturi Benedicat dextera Christi
In Nomine patris et filij et spiritus sancti Amen
Full transcription. Added by the same 15th-century hand that copied
the next two items; another copy of the text was added by a different hand to f. 25v.
32. 33r
Veterinary prayer-charm for curing farcy in a horse
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 33r A prayar ffor þe ffasciun to be seyde with gode deuociun
Incipit: 33r God and Synt Copelyn swych grase as god ȝaff þe send ffro þe to me ffor
þese bestis bote bote to be amen for charite in nomine patris et ffilij et spiritus
sancti amen
Full transcription. Added by the 15th-century hand that copied the
previous and next items; another copy of this text features at the top of the page
(crossed out), but by a different
hand.
33. 33r
Veterinary charm for worms
Language(s): Latin, with a Middle English rubric
Rubric: 33r A charme for þe trenches
Incipit: 33r + vrinem + burnem + baburnen + basion + tetragramaton + repp. +
Full transcription. Added by the same 15th-century hand that copied
the preceding two items; later crossed out.
34. 33v-34r
Collection of nine medical recipes and charms
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Incipit: 33v þis potage wull kepe a man lascatyfe: Take þe leuis of smalache or þe þe
Rote venell water cerssis mercuri cliþeryn of eche liche moche and make wortes and
put þerto oyle or schepis talowe
and salte
Explicit: 34r As þou mayste strayne hem þorow a cloþe and put hit ynto a clene vessell
and þis medycyn haþ ben prouyd
Added by two 15th-century hands. They address the following:
- f. 33v: for a laxative pottage, an ointment for sciatica and a charm to
staunch ?bleeding; another entry has been scrubbed out below
- f. 34r: a charm for toothache (invoking Doubting Thomas), for migraine,
for ?frenzy/delirium ('lenetyke') (repeated on f. 35r), for an aposteme,
for sciatica, and three for the eyes
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
35. 34v
Medical recipe for curing a head ailment (perhaps headache)
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 34v Take the rotys of the pryme rosyne and stanpe hem smalle and temper hame
to gederys wyth the galle of a nox and anoynte the fore hede ther wyth
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
36. 34v
Veterinary recipe for a horse's eyes
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 34v A powder for a hors yȝen good and treu
Incipit: 34v Take the scyllys of hene eggys and brenne hem in a erthen potte and and
[sic] mak poudyr þere off and putte hyt in hys yȝy
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
37. 34v
Veterinary charm for worms in a horse
Language(s): Middle English with Latin formulae
Rubric: 34v A charme for the wormys in an hors
Incipit: 34v In nomine patris et filij et spiritus sancti amen pater noster aue Maria
lord that sendist vertu in Stone in Worde in Grasse Sende Vertu in my vorde
Explicit: 34v Sey thys ffyrst atte nekke then atte mydde side and then atte crowpe wyth
iij tornys j atte eueri time With a pater noster aue maria atte eueri time bende a
peny on the hors hede in the
worshypp of seynte loij
Added by a 15th-century hand.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
For other copies, see Connolly (2009), p. 15.
38. 34v
Two medical recipes for the eyes and gout
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 34v for to clere a manys syȝt: take eufrasye iiij hanful and ij or red feenel
and stylle yt and wasshe the yen therewith
Explicit: 34v for the gowte: ipreuyd by seyn cutbert take mylle of one colowr and the
jusse of merche and barleyme and boyle hit ryȝt welle togedere and al hote ley hit
to þe sore
The second recipe is attributed to St Cuthbert. Added by the same late 15th-
or early 16th-century hand that copied a recipe for the stomach on f. 38r.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
39. 35r
Veterinary charm for shoeing a horse
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 35r Thes wordys scolde be wrete in lede and sette hyt in þe hors hod
Incipit: 35r + zaron + zeronen + zeronem + batonent + astra + lubia
Full transcription. Added by the same 15th-century hand that added the
next item; other copies of this charm occur on f. 33r and f. 35r (lower half).
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
40. 35r
Medical recipe for purging the kidneys
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 35r ffor the purgyng off a mannys raynys
Incipit: 35r Take saxferage mylfoyle aneyse venelsede of euerych a nownce or ij and
gromylle ysoppe hertistong maydyn here mowsere of euryche a quarter of an hondfulle
The rotys of perseli
Full transcription of incomplete recipe: a complete version of this recipe can be
found on f. 31v. Added by the same 15th-century hand that added
the preceding item.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
41. 35r
Medical recipe for ?frenzy/delirium
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 35r Take the rotis of the primrosyin and stanpe hit in a morter and temper hit
withe white wyne and take the juce therof and putte hitte in to his nose and hold
hit ther tille he fele hit in the
rofe of his mowthe and he sachall [sic: schall] be sauide
Final rubric: 35r This is ffor the lenatike
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand. Repeated on f.
34r).
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
42. 35r
Veterinary charm for curing or protecting a horse
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 35r Thes wordys scold be wrte in lede and sette hit in the hors hed
Incipit: 35r + zaron + zeronen + zeronem + betonent + astra + lubia
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand, which also copied
the charm on f. 35r (upper half). A different hand copied the charm on f. 33r.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
43. 35v
Medical recipe for sciatica
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 35v Tak the rotys of the rede netel and the rote of the wyldenepe and wylde
sauge and herbente and oyle oleue and maybotter and grued hem al togedere and do ther
to a penewort of mastyk for the
syatyk
Full transcription. Identical to the next item, but added by a different 15th-century hand.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
44. 35v
Medical recipe for sciatica
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 35v ffor the sciatica
Incipit: 35v Take the rotis of the rede nettil and the rote of wylde nepe and wylde
sauge and herbe bennet oyle olife and mary butter grynd them smale together qand do
therto a pennye worth of
masticke
Full transcription. Identical to the previous item, but added by two different 15th-century hands.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
45. 35v
Medical recipe to strengthen women after childbirth
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 35v To strenghten a woman after her childbirthe
Incipit: 35v Take v leuide gras and take nepe and a litile milfoyle and poude hit
samale [sic: smalle] wrynge owte [added: \the iowse/} and medille alle to gedir and
dryke [sic: drynke] hit ffurste
afftir thy deliueraunse of þe chylde in warme ale or vine vethyr ȝe wille vithe a
litil maye butir warmyde
Full transcription. Added by the same 15th-century hands that copied
the previous item.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
46. 35v
The epitaph of St Agatha (charm for protection against fire)
Language(s): Latin and Middle Englsh
Incipit: 35v Mentem sanctam spontaneam honorem deo et patrie liberacionem
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand; the final rubric
seems to have been added in a different contemporary hand and Connolly (2009), p.
17, lists it as a separate item.
Connolly identifies the rubric as the introductory heading for a medical charm that
has gone missing with the
lower section of the leaf, suggesting that it may have been intended for curing 'erysipelas'
(wildfire). Not only
is there no evidence that a text was ever written below the rubric, but the rubric
also refers to a 'hous', not a
'hors' as Connolly transcribes it. It seems much more likely that the rubric refers
to the preceding Latin
inscription (cited above): this is the epitaph that, according to hagiographic sources
such as the Legenda Aurea,
was inscribed on a marble table that an angel placed at the tomb of St Agatha of Catania
in Sicily. Subsequently,
the cloth that covered her tomb stopped a great fire or eruption of Mount Etna that
threatened the city of
Catania. On this basis, she has historically been invoked for protection against fire,
sometimes with or solely
through the citation of her epitaph.
Evidence of this practice in late medieval England comes from a charm against fire
that cites the epitaph on ff.
121v and 136v of 15th-century English manuscript London, British Library, Add MS
12195 (this manuscript is noted by J.G.N., 'Ancient Charm against Fire', The Gentleman's Magazine, 180 (1846), 383-384 (p. 383)).
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
47. 37r
Medical charm for toothache
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 37r A charme for þe toth ache abraham lay in þe mounte of olyuet
Explicit: 37r th[i]s schal be ysayde þre sydys wyth v pater noster and v aue
knelyng
Added by a 16th-century hand.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
48. 37r
Medical recipe (title only)
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 37r ffor ethyk and tysyk boile þe leues
Full transcription. For coughs. Added by a 15th-century hand.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
49. 37r
Liturgical formulae
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 37r Soror mea hominis [...]
Explicit: 37r ffuit homo missus a cui nomen erat
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand; similar to the
formulae on f. 32v.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
50. 37r
Medical recipe for throat ailments
Language(s): English
Rubric: 37r for the garget probat
Incipit: 37r Garget wort, hartes horne, Rewe pugil., \[...] chopped smale/ boyle them
in a quarte of stronge ale and geve to drinke. my Aunt Greene
Full transcription. Added by a late 16th-century hand, perhaps that of
‘Thomas Peapes’, who inscribed his name in the outer margin of f. 6v.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
51. 37v-38r
Six medical recipes
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 37v ffor the syatyka: tak ij hanful of wormode and j hanfol of reue and a
quart of rede wyne and a quart of oyle oleve and pyt hym in a pot of newe
Explicit: 38r for a felon broune wert lef and ley þerto and sle hym for a
felon
Added by a single 15th-century hand. They address the following:
- f. 37v: for sciatica, for palsy, for sciatica
- f. 38r: for dropsy, for 'ranklyng', for bruising, for a boil/carbuncle
('felon')
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
52. 38r
Medical recipe to ease the stomach
Language(s): Middle English with some Latin
Rubric: 38r forto defye a mannys stomake
Incipit: 38rTake and by a penyworth of valsyn elys and seþe hem yn sauyre sausse and
ȝete hym bonys and all and hyt most be vsyd iij dayes togeder and an warrantyse he
shal be mery yn his hert and lyȝt
yn hys body body [sic] probatum est
Full transcription. Added by the same late 15th- or early 16th-century
hand that added the recipes for sight and gout on f. 34v.
eVK2 6179.00 (v0058000000)
53. 38v-39r
The virtues of rosemary
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 38v Here bethe vertuis of þe rosemarey
Incipit: 38v Take þe flouris and bray hem a litill and bynd and sethe hem in vater in
hal wyndell and yif þe sek to drink and þat is gode for al maner euellis
Explicit: 39r also mak puder of þe leues and ette þerof and drink þerof wiþ whit vine
and it woll ipourch þe seke stomak
Added by the same 15th-century hand that copied the next item.
Keiser (2008), p. 198 (as ‘AE6’)
For other copies, see Connolly (2009), pp. 17-18.
54. 39r
The virtues of betony
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 38v Here bethe vertuis of betoyn
Incipit: 39r betoyn ettyn or drynkkyn it wolle brekyn þe ston and mak þe seke
pisse
Explicit: 39r betoyn is grassius and foll of vertew and wo so hath aney [else] or aney
othyr ffantissy henge þerof about is nekke [and it s]hall go way
Added by the same 15th-century hand that copied the previous
item.
For other copies, see Connolly (2009), p. 18.
55. 39v-40r
Collection of thirteen medical and veterinary recipes and charms
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Incipit: 39v Ad faciendum nerwalt accipe wylsaygh camamelle boteyn verwyn sauge myntyn
sowe herynwod modyrwort warmot water crassyn maluus cheken met sropes of netellis
lorelle lewys walwort planteyn
rybwort muser pympernoll tannessey herbe robart anens milfoylle peti consent dicaundy
egremon and þe wirt of
orpyn
Explicit: 40r for to scle wormus þat is in a hors tak i potell of se coun alle and as
moch alym as ahen ney and melt it and do þerto a porcioun of argollment and seth hem
to geder and yf it þe seke to
drinke al cold iij dayes
Added by a single 15th-century hand. They address the following:
- f. 39v: for making nerval, for making populeon, two for making 'a gode
tret', for loss of appetite, for making a syrup 'assectus'
- f. 40r: for parasites in a horse ('virsaunt'), a charm for parasites in a
horse, two for a sore/soreness in a horse, for sore penis or testicles in a horse,
another for ailments in a
horse's testicles, for worms in a horse
56. 40r
Medical recipe
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 40r This is for a stubbyng
Incipit: 40r Oile balsam, Mercurye, Elisaunder, ffrankencens, Vynegre, þis is for þe
stubbyng
Full transcription. Added by the same 15th-century hand that copied
the next two items.
57. 40r
Veterinary charm for worms in a horse
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Rubric: 40r ffor þe trenchis a charme
Incipit: 40r + vrnem + burnem + basion + Tetragramaton + Jepp. + [pentagram]
Full transcription. Added by the same 15th-century hand that copied
the previous and next items.
58. 40r
Abacadabra medical charm for curing fever
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 40r þis a charme for þe accesse
Incipit: 40r Abracalans
Explicit: 40r Ab
Added by the same 15th-century hand that copied the previous two
items.
59. 40v
Medical recipe for dropsy (fragment)
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: 40v for the dropesy
Incipit: 40v Tak mathagon and grynde hym in ale and dreng hem in ale fast yn
?etcaetera
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand and repeated twice:
the third version read here because the first version is crossed out and unfinished
and the second version is partly
cut off (however it was originally complete, ending slightly differently from the
third version: 'in ale ferst and
last').
60. 40v
Practice alphabet
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 40v+ aabcdeffghijklmnopq
Full transcription. Added by a 15th-century hand.
