Introduction:
The principal contents of this manuscript are two long compilations of medical recipes
and cures. The
second of these is in large part extracted from the body of work by the surgeon and
author John Arderne (1307/08-after
1377), the so-called Liber medicinarum sive receptorum liber medicinalium ('Book of medicines
or book of medical recipes') (see Peter Jones's introduction to
Cambridge, Trinity College, MS
O.2.49
for further details). Arderne is better known for his description of successful operations
to treat anal fistulas. The first compilation, meanwhile, is anonymous - there is
no evidence here to connect it with
Arderne – and is entitled Radix medicinarum in its closing rubric. It is apparently known only
in this manuscript. Like Arderne, its author-compiler was an Englishman, and was evidently
well-acquainted with
important medical authorities, which familiarity he shows off in the prologue. Using
a well-worn modesty topos, he
explained the reasons for undertaking the work, beginning with a quotation from the
Practica
brevis of the Salernitan writer Iohannes Platearius II (fl. 1090-1120) that rather self-consciously
aligns
his own work with that of his illustrious predecessor:
Because, as Platearius says in the first [book] of his Practica, 'He becomes a friend,
who bends to the wishes of his friends', and because, dearest and most beloved friends,
you asked, through the
grace of God, that it be carried out quickly by me, it has been undertaken by me with
the greatest diligence to
address every single part of the body, by dealing in succession with the head all
the way to the soles of the
feet, and for them the simple and also compound medicines, and the sources of illnesses,
towards their [i.e. the
medicines'] more effective use.
The writer affirms the importance of paying close attention to the study of a patient's
urine and its
four regions, which he explained correspond to four regions of the body: the first
of these is the 'circulus' (the
upper layer of urine when it is examined in a flask), which relates to the head and
wherein all of its ailments are
signified. Following the common head-to-toe order of recipe compilations, he explains
that the head and its contents,
as the first region of the body, will be the first in order, along with all of its
related maladies, 'and thus I
descend, describing in detail, all the way to the last region'. The first section
does indeed deal in successive
chapters with allopecia, hair loss, greying, dandruff, sores, 'fanis' ('an ailment
of the head when pus emerges from
the head like honey'), headache, migraine, lethargy, frenzy, mania and melacholy,
epilepsy, apoplexy, spasms,
paralysis, drunkenness, catarrh, sleeplessness, sneezing, watering and various other
problems of the eyes such as
redness or spots, numerous ailments of the ears, nose and teeth, bad breath, tongue
problems, and freckles.
However, the system breaks down thereafter, with the final chapters of this section
addressing coughs,
asthma, breathlessness and complaints of the heart and breasts. While the marginal
rubric on f. 43v states that it marks the beginning of the 'Secunda Regio', the rubric in the text
itself
reads 'De infirmitatibus tertie regionis, que est a diafragmate usque ad renes'. The
section on the kidneys begins on
f. 59r, with genito-urinary and obstetric matters following from f. 61r, before turning without a break to different types of leprosy from f. 63v ('lepra', 'leonina', 'tiria', 'elephancia'), then arthritis, morphew, apostemes
and finally verrucas. The section on surgery runs from ff. 65v-69r, with a final
grouping of miscellaneous cures whose end is marked 'Explicit cirurgia'. The final
section is on fevers. John of
Burgundy is cited in chapter 18, on pestilential fevers (f. 86v). Each chapter
proceeds more or less systematically: for example, Chapter 10 in the first section,
'De frenesis' ('Concerning
delirium/madness', ff. 15v-16v), describes the illness and then its signs, as well
others that indicate the disease is incurable or that death is near. It then provides
potential cures, and advises
what food and drink should be given (this included pumpkin seeds, almond milk, wheatbread,
purslain, and lettuce with
a sour dressing).
At the beginning of the text, the writer lists six authoritative sources from which
his work was
compiled, the first three of whom were connected with the medical school at Salerno:
Constantinus Africanus in his Pantegni and Viaticum, Platearius, 'Gerard' (perhaps Gerardus
Bituricensis, who glossed the Viaticum), 'Roger' (perhaps Roger Baron, author of a Practica medicinae), and Ricardus Anglicus. 'Seventh, and last,' he concludes, 'I will write
down everything tested by myself and all of my secrets, and also everything which
I have seen through others in my
time, whether foreigners or Englishmen...'. However, other sources are mentioned besides
those listed in the prologue.
In the chapter on frenesis, Avicenna, Serapion and Razes are also referred to, though
these are likely second-hand
quotations culled from another source text. 'Magister Johannes arderne londoniensis'
is given as a source for a remedy
for haemorrhoids (f. 53v). On occasion, the writer acknowledges the limits of his
own knowledge. Having described a cure for leprosy, he admitted: 'But I am not experienced
thus far, if you are able
or wish to attempt it' ('Sed ego non sum expertus adhuc potestis si vultis attemptare';
f. 65v).
Elsewhere, the author records a cure for catarrh that he saw used by a 'Master Marcus'
in London (f.
21v; this too may not be original), and mentions another for the same from the
anonymous antidotary text, Pomum ambre. Perhaps one of the writer's 'secrets' is found in the
section on cough or tightness in the chest ('contra tussum et stricturam pectoris')
(ff. 39r-39v). Apparently, sweet and fortified white wine, drunk in moderation, vigorously decongests
the
chests and clears out the lungs. 'This I proved on myself at Aylesford, because on
the day of the birth of Our Lord I
had a severe obstruction of the lungs, from the thickening and clotting of the breath.
The following morning,' he
related, 'I drank sweet wine after lunch and, on the next day, truthfully, the lung
had been cleared' ('Hoc probavi in
meipso apud ayleforde quia in die natali domini habui gravem epilacionem pulmonis
ex viscoso et coagulatio flante. In
crastino potaui de vino dulci post prandium et in sequenti vera diopilatus fuit pulmo').
Aylesford is likely the Carmelite priory founded in Kent in the mid-13th century;
it is possible that the
writer was himself a friar. Members of this and other mendicant orders are known to
have studied and practised
medicine, as Peter Jones has recently illustrated. Indeed, there are references elsewhere
to direct contact with
friars, such as in the section on treating nosebleeds (f. 30r). The writer describes a cure
that involved placing a man's testicles in cold water and vinegar for a good length
of time, and repeating it if it
should become necessary, which he proved on a friar at Stamford, when nothing else
had worked ('Hoc probaui apud
Staunforde in uno fratre quando nihil profecit illud'). Another used shepherd's purse,
nettle, rue and sage, crushed
by hand and placed upon blood or a wound, and is of such efficacy that 'it stops the
blood by odour alone' ('Sanguinem
eciam solo odore stringit'); this, the author noted, came from a Brother John of London
in the Winchester diocese.
Elsewhere, he cites a 'Brother John Holm' (f. 33r), perhaps a mistaken reference to
William Holme, Franciscan friar and author of Tractatus de medicinis (c. 1400) and De simplicibus medicinis (c. 1415).
The two main texts are on discrete groups of quires – the Radix ending in Quire
11, the excerpts from John Arderne beginning in Quire 12 – but the presence of numerous
content markers by a variety
of 15th- and perhaps early 16th-century hands, some of which made notes in both sections,
confirms that the two parts
of the manuscript were bound together from an early stage. Indeed, there is evidence
to indicate that they were in
fact produced together: their leaves are each frame-ruled for two columns, in the
same manner and to similar overall
dimensions (with slight differences in column width), and the hand responsible for
each appears also to be the same
(albeit executing a somewhat larger module of script in the second section). Regrettably,
the manuscript has suffered
badly from damp and its current binding from 1954 is rather tight at the gutter; this
unfortunate combination has
caused many of the leaves to deteriorate where they bend as the book is used. A limitation
on the degree to which the
manuscript may be opened safely has meant that the text immediately adjacent to the
gutter is sometimes obscured and
could not be captured during digitisation. This also prevented further analysis of
the parchment sewing guards wrapped
around the outside and inside of the spinefold of each quire. Many are blank, but
some bear text, and as is often the
case they appear to have been recycled from a contemporary document of some sort.
On the longer ones, some of the
writing is legible and two snippets in particular are worth mentioning – references
to the parish church of
'Westleueton' (probably Westleton) (ff. 65v×66r) and to a monastery dedicated to St
Mary at 'Wyveton' (perhaps Binham
Priory, near Wiveton) (ff. 69v×70r) – which together are suggestive of a Suffolk/Norfolk
provenance at some point in
the manuscript's early history.
Dr James Freeman| Medieval Manuscripts Specialist| Cambridge University Library
(My thanks to Peter Jones for comments on and additions to an earlier draft.)
Language(s): Latin and Middle English
1. [iii] verso
Fragmentary medical recipes
Language(s): Middle English, with one rubric in Latin
?Three medical recipes, the text much abraded and largely illegible, except in the
case of the third, 'Pro dolore
capitis' (for head pain).
2. 1r
Three medical recipes
Language(s): Latin
Written in a current hand of the later 15th or 16th century. For uncertain purposes.
3. 1r
Medical recipe
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
1r contra apostema et opilationes
Against swelling and blockages. Copied by the same 15th-century hand that is responsible
for many of the marginal
annotations throughout the rest of the manuscript.
4. 1v
Medical recipes
Language(s): Middle English
The first recipe, for burning or scalding, is attributed to 'R.B.', possibly referring
to the Oxford Franciscan
friar Roger Bacon (see Connolly, Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge (2009), p.
21), or the ‘R. Belis’ mentioned at the end of the final recipe, or Roger Baron (author
of a Practica medicinae). The second recipe is for an ointment to heal itches and scabies.
5. 2r
Synonima herbarum
Language(s): Latin and Middle English
Rubric:
2r Hic incipit sinonoma herbarum
Incipit:
2r Artemisia calida est et sicca in tertio gradu anglice mugworth
Explicit:
2r Amfericon id est herba perforata herba Johannis||
Added in a 15th-century hand that is different from that of the main part of the manuscript.
Apparently ends
imperfectly.
eTK 0146J (t0028050000)
Connolly (2009), p. 354 [other copies]
6. 9v
Medical recipe
Language(s): Latin
Added by a 15th-century hand that is different from that of the main part of the manuscript.
For an unstated
purpose.
7. 9v
Medical recipe to treat haemorrhoids
Language(s): Middle English
Added in the 15th century by a hand that is different from that on ff. 10r-144r.
8. 9v
Alchemical recipe
Language(s): Middle English
Added in the 15th century by the same hand that copied the previous recipe.
9. 10r-89r
Radix medicinarum
Incipit:
10r Quoniam ut ait Platearius in principio sue practice: Amicum induit qui
partibus amicorum condescendit
Explicit:
89r Nunc finem feci penitet me si male scripsi.
Final rubric:
89r Explicit Radix Medicinarum
Large medical compilation divided in three books (Book 1: 10r-43v; Book 2: 43v-69r; Book 3 69r-89r, with a short preface
(10r), previously tentatively attributed to John Arderne.
eTK 0085H (t0016380000)
eTK 0553B (t0107540000)
eTK 1331H (t0254810000)
10. 23r
Medical recipe
Language(s): Latin
Written in the lower margin, by the main annotating hand. The purpose is unstated,
but the context suggests that it
is another eye remedy.
11. 89r
Unfinished list of chapters
Language(s): Latin
Added in the 15th century by a different hand.
12. 89r-89v
List of chapters
Language(s): Latin and Greek
Added in the 17th century, ending: ‘finish τέλως’.
13. 90r-144r
Medical compilation
John Arderne
Rubric:
90r Extracta de libro Magistri Iohanni Arderne in practica sua contra omnem
guttam unguentum probatum etcaetera
Incipit:
90r Recipe ollam nonam rudem interius
Explicit:
144r De escula. Escula dura bona set mollia sunt meliora.
Contains charms for speeding the delivery of child 107r-107v, for staunching
blood 114v, against spasms 117v, and against
fevers 122v.
A medical compilation with works from John Arderne's Liber medicinarum sive receptorum liber
medicinalium, but also including other items, as can be seen from the items listed below.
Full transcription of a charm to stop bleeding (f. 114v: | Ad restringendum
sanguinem. Si caracteres sequenter scribantur et suspendantur ad brachium vel collum
alicuius sanguinantis de naso vel
plaga cito restringetur pro certo 'p . x . b . c . p . o . q . x . a . b . q . a'.
Et si non credis hoc esse verum .
Scribe hec predictam in manubrio cultelli et interfice cum illis porcum et non exibit
sanguis.| Translation: To
restrict the blood. If the following characters are written down and hung on someone's
arm or neck, bleeding from the
nose or a wound will quickly be restricted, for certain: p . x . b . c . p . o . q
. x . a . b . q . a . And if you do
not believe this to be true, write the aforesaid on the handle of a knife and with
it slaughter a pig, and the blood
will not flow.
Full transcription of a charm for curing fevers (f. 122v): | Carmen
probatissimum ad omnes febres. In dextra aure febricitantis fac ter crucem . Et unaquaque
vice dic 'Christus vincit,
Christus regnat, Christus imperat'. Et post in eadem palma scribe: 'On + Pater [.]
On + filius [.] + On spiritus
sanctus Ihesu'. Et mox aqua diluat scripta et bibat. In altero die scribe: 'On + aries.
On ouis + [.] On + agnus'. Et
similter bibat. In tercio die: 'On + leo [.] On + vitulus [.] On + vernus'. Et iterum
bibat procul dubio
liberabitur.| Translation: A most proven charm against all fevers. On the right ear
of the feverish, make three
signs of the cross. And with each cross, say in succession, 'Christ conquers, Christ
reigns, Christ commands'. And
afterwards write on the person's palm: 'On + Father. On + Son. On Holy Spirit, Jesus'.
And a little later, he should
wash off the writing with water and drink it. On the second day, write: 'On + ram.
On sheep + . On + lamb'. And he
should drink it in the same way. On the third day: 'On + lion. On + calf. On + spring'.
And again he should drink it.
Without doubt he will be cured.
Jones and Olsan (2015), p. 421 n. 37 [edition of the charm for speeding the delivery
of a child].
14. 124r
Tract on the Twelve Astrological Signs of the Zodiac
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
122v Interpretacio .12.Signorum
Incipit:
122v [A]ries est masculi generis calidus et siccus
Explicit:
124r Qui nascitur in hoc signo gloriosus erit
eTK 0130J (t0024800000)
15. 124r
Tract on the moon's position in the Zodiac
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
124r Nota regulam ad cognoscendum in quo signo inveneris lunam omni die
Incipit:
124r Si vis scire in quo signo sit luna
Explicit:
124r Et in primo subsequentis signi. vnde versus.
Final rubric:
124r Etatem lune dupla post addito quinque. Quinque dabis signo quo lune
cepit origo.
16. 125v-128v
De retardatione accidentium senectutis
Roger Bacon
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
125v De retardatione senectutis secundum Rogerum Bakon
Incipit:
125v Dicit Haly quod caro tiri comesta
Explicit:
124r modice valet eius virtus etcaetera
Perhaps an abbreviated paraphrase from Roger Bacon.
eTK 0418K (t0082820000)
De retardatione accidentium senectutis, ed. by A.G. Little and E. Withington, Opera
hactenus inedita Rogeri
Baconi, 9 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1928), p. xvii.
17. 128v-137v
Treatise on the medical virtues of stones (lapidary)
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
128v Incipit tractatus de virtutibus lapidis preciosorum etcaetera
Incipit:
128v [A]damas est lapis indicus
Explicit:
137v Et non tantum de periculo pertumescat etceterae
eTK 0066B (t0012580000)
18. 137v-142v
Treatise on the medical virtues of herbs (herbal)
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
137v De amilo [? anulo] et alijs speciebus etcaetera
Incipit:
137v Anulum temperate
Explicit:
142v Gaudet epar spodio carparius splen stoma galanga / Pulmo liquericia
mace cor cerebrum quoque musca.
eTK 0112G (t0021530000)
eTK 0149N (t0028680000)
19. 142v-144r
Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
142v De Regime salutis
Incipit:
142v Anglorum regi scripsit tota scola Salerni
Explicit:
144r De Escula: Escula dura bona set mollia sunt meliora
20. 144r
Charm for a bite from a rabid dog
Rubric:
144r Pro morsu canis rabidi
Incipit:
144r scribe hec verba in pane videlicet tripartita pega et sega et dera et
fema
Full transcription. Added in a different 15th-century hand than that of the
main part.
21. 144r
Charm for a bite from a rabid dog
Incipit:
144r alius: Calibus aribus Rives Revas opulusque
Full transcription. Added by a 16th-century hand.
Secundo Folio:
11r: colica nigra
Secundo Folio:
91r: apponatur
Form: codex
Support:
Paper, folded in quarto (ff. 2-144) (with parchment
endleaves, ff. [iii]-1). Folios 2-89:
Bull's head with five-pointed star.
Folios 90-137:
Grapes
and leaves
.
Folios 138-144:
Bull's head with five-pointed star.
Extent:
Codex:
ii + 2 +
88 ; 55 +
iii leaves.
210 × 135-140 mm.
Foliation:
20th-century foliation:
[i]-[ii] + [iii], 1 + 2-89 | 90-144 + [iv]-[vi]
Numbering in pencil in the upper right-hand corner of the recto side of each leaf,
by an unidentified hand
of the 19th/20th century.
Collation
The collation in this catalogue record deviates from the modern collation supplied
in the manuscript in that it
identifies ff. 2-9 as Quire 1 (instead of ‘a1’). Consequently, the subsequent quire
numbers used in this
catalogue record differ by one from those given in the manuscript (e.g. Quire ‘1’
in the manuscript is
‘2’ in this record). The collation in this catalogue record also deviates from existing
descriptions
in that it divides the manuscript into two codicological units.
- Quires 1-118 (ff. 2-89) ;
- Quire 12-178 (ff. 90-137)
- Quire 188-1 (ff. 138-144: 8th leaf
missing)
1-118 ; 12-178 188-1: 8th leaf missing
Catchwords in decorative banderols in the right lower corners of the last versos of
quires throughout the manuscript
Condition
The lower margins and halves of ff. 62r-144v have been significantly
affected by damp, but without rendering text illegible.
Layout
145 × 95 mm.
Folios 2r-89v: ruled in ink, frame only. Double columns.
30-34 lines to the page, written below top line.
145 × 100 mm.
Folios 90r-144v: ruled in ink (except for a few pages
that have been ruled in blindpoint: ff. 90r-91v, and 141v-142r), frame only. Double columns. 30-32 lines to the page, written below top
line.
Hand(s)
Folios 10r-89r and 90-144r have each been
written by a single scribe (perhaps the same scribe), writing in a Secretary script
with Anglicana features.
The list of herbs on f. 2r has been written by a single scribe in a cursive script
with Anglicana and Secretary features. The same hand copied
the unfinished list of chapters on f. 89r.
Decoration
Drawing of a medical instrument (clister) in brown ink on ff. 88v and 95v.
Spaces for large (2- to 6-line) initials have been left blank throughout (but guide
letters are present).
Large (2 lines) initial with penwork decoration and pen-flourishing in brown ink on
f. 90r ; an unfinished one on f. 97v, where the initial has only been
outlined in black ink.
Two large initials ‘J’ in red ink on ff. 57v and 65v.
Large (2- to 6-line) plain initials in red ink.
Headings, underlining and paraph marks in red ink.
Capitals in brown or red ink decorated with cadels.
Additions
Marginal content markers, by several 15th- or early 16th-century hands. The most common
writes in a pale ink in a
style of handwriting resembling chancery script (see recipe added to f. 23r).
Quire signatures numbers ('1-17') in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto side
of the first leaf of each
quire, written in pencil by an unidentified hand of the 19th/20th century (see Collation
for further discussion).
Binding
Quarter-leather binding with marbled paper covers and blank pastedowns, perhaps by
J.P. Gray and son
of
Cambridge in 1954, as suggested by a blue stamp on the inside upper cover: ‘Repaired
by [?]Ca[...] Gr[...]
binding guild’, with the handwritten note: ‘83/5 : 1954’.
Binding height: 220mm, width: 140mm, depth: 40mm.
Previously bound together with Dd.5.54 (a catalogue of books at St John's College
from about 1620): the two volumes
were separated on 27 July 1901, as per a handwritten note on f. [vi] recto: ‘Dd.5.54
taken out and bound
separately 1901 July 27 F.J.’ (i.e.
Francis Jenkinson
(1853-1923)
,
University Librarian 1889-1923). On f. [iii] recto of MS Dd.5.53 there is still an
early classmark for the joint
manuscripts: ‘53-54’.
Sewing guards recycled from a 15th-century document, presumably from a 15th- or 16th-century
binding. See Summary
and Provenance for further details.
Origin:
15th century.
; England.
Provenance and Acquisition
Unknown owner, their erased ownership inscription in a 15th-century script on f. [iii] verso:
‘Liber Gilbert [...]’.
Unknown owner, their faded user inscription in a late 15th- or early 16th-century script on f. [iii]
verso: ‘Per me Bartho[lomeus] A[...]’.
Unknown owner, their inscription of a price that may refer to the sum paid for
the manuscript at the top of f. 1r: ‘Precium [?a] xiijs iiijd’.
Sewing guards recycled from a 15th-century document, containing references to the
parish church
of 'Westleueton' (probably Westleton) (ff. 65v×66r) and to a monastery
dedicated to St Mary at 'Wyveton' (perhaps Binham Priory, near Wiveton)
(ff. 69v×70r) – which together are suggestive of a Suffolk/Norfolk provenance at some
point in the manuscript's early
history.
John Moore (1646-1714)
, bishop of Ely: no. 31 (inscribed on f. 1r) in Bernard, Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliæ et Hiberniæ (c. 1697).
Presented to the University Library in 1715 by
George I
: donation bookplate engraved by
John Pine
in 1736 on the inside of the upper cover.
