Glandes
Rutab.i.dactili
Portulaca Citarea
Terratusule 
Lactuce
Mala Acetosa
Melones Insipidi
Nabach.i.Cendrum
Citra
Granata Acetosa
Castance[click images for full size versions]
The 'Tacuinum Sanitatis' is an important medieval herbal/medical health treatise based on the manual 'Taqwin al‑sihha', written by an Arab, Ibn Butlan, in the 11th century.
It is an holistic work that provides advice regarding the most important elements of life: breathing, exercise, eating/elimination, sleep and mental wellbeing. In particular it provides information about plants in terms of the their health benefits and pharmaceutical properties.
I've posted about this treatise previously but I thought this was worth revisiting as I came across a digital copy of the Rouen manuscript from the 15th century. These are the best quality images I've seen - other examples suffered from poor quality colour balance and digitization artifact.
- There are 107 pages from this beautiful illuminated manuscript available at the Bibliothèque Rouen site [put: 'Leber 1088' in the search box - giving 8 thumbnail pages]
- The Stanford University site provides commentary/translations about each of the images.
- Finns Books provide some useful background.
- There are a couple of other links in the previous post.
6 comments :
A few years ago I picked up a used copy of this wonderful book published as The Medieval Health Handbook by George Braziller, Inc. It is out-of-print but available used online. The books does not include pictures of the entire mss. page, but rather only of the illustrations themselves. The English edition is apparently based on the Italian edition by Luisa Cogliati Arano and includes an introduction discussion the various mss. of the work.
I love your blog. I don't where you find this stuff, but thank you so much for sharing. I find the pictures to be very inspiring...
i love this book! and not just because it has beautiful lettering, but because it talks about the uses of ricotta:
"it nourishes the body and fattens it... [but] it causes occlusions, is difficult to digest, and favors colic." hee!
gl. from the scarlet letters:
http://www.scarletstarstudios.com/blog/
I have seen the fourth image down, with a man, basket in hand, gathering black balls, interpreted as being about truffle-finding. Can't quite believe it considering the eating of truffles was discouraged -- for most people -- at the time these images were made. Can anyone enlighten me? Truffles are my subject...
100% correct Elatia. From the Rouen site....
Référence BI-051008-0122
Fonds Leber
Cote Leber 1088 fol. 09 v° (Ms 3054)
Catégorie Manuscrits
Titre Tacuinum sanitatis
Légende Terratufule (Truffes).
Type de document [matériel textuel manuscrit numérisé]
Auteur(s) - Contributeur(s) Ibn Butlan (10..-1066?, aut. du texte)
Publication Italie, 15e siècle
Description matérielle 53 feuillets sur vélin, ornés de 70 dessins coloriés; 243 x 162 mm (f.)
Fabulous, PK -- I need a really good truffle image from those centuries when they were forbidden fare. Nice big ones too. That mild-mannered looking gatherer may not have known what he was touching. I was baffled by the stem and leaf nearest the truffles not resembling an oak leaf, or a hazelnut leaf. What a contribution to botany it would be to discover that another kind of tree was once involved in the mychorrization. Thanks!
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