Egerton MS 2852

Medical and Natural Science collections in Latin and English. On f.1 is the later title 'A boke of making of prizous waters and medicens, in parchement, haveing the numbre 1565'

Contents:-

1. " Liber de aquis," mostly as in Add. MS. 32622, ff. 95-101 b, but in a different order and including recipes for coloured waters, which are not in the other MS. Beg. " Actus mirabilis aquarum quas composuit Petrus Hispannius " [Petrus Hispanus, Pope John XXI., is the reputed author of the Thesaurus Pauperum, which contains a few of the same recipes], and ends with recipe for " aqua cinaria [cinerea ?]. f. 1.

2. " Secretum Filosophorum," a collection of which other copies are in Add. MSS. 32622, 18752, and Sloane MS. 2579, and at Oxford, Digby MSS. 71 and 153. Most of these, however, are imperfect. Illustrated with diagrams and pictures of apparatus. Beg. " Iste liber quem pre madibus habemus." f. 5v. The work is arranged under the seven arts, viz. (a) Grammar (writing materials, cyphers, medical diction, etc. ; a leaf is lost after f. 9, and at the end are interpolated artt. 3-6). f. 6r;-(b) Rhetoric (lost in this MS.);- (c) Dialectic (deceptions of the senses, specula, etc.). Imperfect at beginning. f. 19r;-(d) Arithmetic (puzzles, etc.). Imperfect at end and by loss of a leaf after f. 27. f. 23r;-(e) Music. All lost, except the last paragraph, " Cum uolueris facere codas lire. " f. 32r; -(f) Geometry and mensuration. f. 32r;-(g) Astronomy (the nature of the elements, and various physical experiments). f. 49v.

3. Note on the complexions, with the usual verses, " Largus amans," etc. f. 13r.

4. Recipes for dyeing, in English, printed from this MS. by Prof G. Henslow, Medical Works of the Fourteenth Century, 1899, pp. 1-8. Beg. " Here by gynnyth pe maner of steynyng of lynne clop. Furst take a porcioun." Colophon, " Expliciunt artes diuersorum colorum et aliorum notabili[um]." f. 13v.

5. A short tract on urines, in Latin. Beg. " Vrina rufa significat salutem." f. 16v.

6. " Contra vexaciones dormiendo," a charm beg. " In Monte Celio requiescunt Septem Dormientes." f. 18 b.

7. Experiments Alberti [Magni] (so the title in Add. MS. 32622, f. 84b), in four parts, herbs, stones, fish and animals. A supposititious work, which occurs in many forms (cf. Ar. MS. 251, f. 25, Sloane MS. 3281, f.17), printed Rouen [1500 ?], etc. Beg. Sicud dicit philosophus omnis sciencia est de genere bonorum." 67.

8. Miscellaneous experiments, cf. Add. MS. 32622, ff. 109-113, but with additional recipes (flint-glass, lead-glass, gilding, against rats and mice by the use of a stone called " operten " found at Wigan, co. Lane., etc.). Beg. " Potus pro scabie. Accipe scabiosam et utraque iaceam." One recipe is ascribed to Bernardus de Gordonio (d. circ. 1320). f. 73 b.

9. Medical recipes in English (a few in Latin interspersed), printed by Henslow, op. cit. pp. 8-73. Beg. " Si quis habet anelitum uel nasum fetentem take blac mynte. " f. 80.

10. Medical commmonplace in Latin, including a charm for the toothache. Beg. " Ad sananduni omne vulnus. Accipe farinam tritici." f. 106.

11. Prognostications, viz. (a) From thunder in the various months, cf. Royal MS. 12 C. xii. f. 86. Beg. " Si tonitruus sonuerit mense Januarii," and ends " pacem et concordiam in populo significat." f. 107;-(b) From the days of the lunar month: a table like that called Lunationes, which usually accompanies the so-called Somnia Danielis (Cotton MS. Tib. A. iii. f. 32 b, Sloane MS. 2030, f. 134, etc., but there is great variety in the texts). Beg. " Luna prima. Hec dies utilis est omnibus rebus faciendis. In lecto qui inciderit," and ends " sompnia vana erunt." f. 107;-(c) " Supputatio Esdre et argumentum Joseph de natiuitate domini," a prognostication from the day of the week on which Christmas falls. Occurs in many forms, Latin, French and English, usually with the name Esdras, cf. Cotton MS. Tib. A. iii. f. 36, but Royal MS. 12 C. xii., f. 87, and others are nearer to the present text. Versions in Sloane MS. 1609, f. 47 (Engl.), and 12 C. xii. f. 88, and Sloane 3469, f. 37 b (French verse). A French prose version is printed (s. 1. et a.) under the title Les deux grandes et vrayes prophecies . . du vray prophete Esdras. Beg.. " In die dominico si natalis domini euenerit yemps bona erit sed ventuosa." f. 108 b.

12. " A quibus cibis abstinendum est et a quibus non," etc., diet for the mouths. Beg. " Ab octo ydus Febr. usque in.viii. May augentur humores." f. 109.

13. " Lorica Jeronimi," two other charms and the " spera Pintagoria," with explanations. f. 110.

14. Gynaecological tract, beg. " Matrix constat ex quattuor tunicis." f. 112.

15. De conferentibus et nocentibus, a common form of tract, the contents of which differ considerably in MSS.; cf. Royal MSS. 12 B, xii. f. 127, 12 B. xxv. f. 24, and Arnaldi de Villa Nova Opera (Basel, 1585), col. 613. Beg. " Conferunt cerebro lignum aloes, absinthium." f. 114.

16. Directions for a week's masses " pro anima amici mortui," attributed to St. Bernard. Beg. " Sanctus Bernardus dicit quod quicumque facit ista subsequencia." f. 115.

17. A few brief notes beg. " Si vis facere acum natare." f. 115 b.

18. " Phisonomia Aristotilis " (so colophon): one of many mediaeval treatises bearing this title. Another copy is apparently in the Oxford MS. Ashm. 1471, f. 74. lt is in part a commentary on the Latin version of the Greek treatise Physiognomonica attributed to Aristotle. Thirteen chapters. Beg. "Natura occulte cooperatur in homine," and ends " viciosis declinemus." Among tho authors quoted is Albertus Magnus. f. 115 b.

19. Treatise on the ma,-net, astronomical instruments and a "rota perpetui motus," by Petrus Peregrinus de Maharncuria (Maricourt). Without author's name or title. It differs in arrangement from the printed text, Augsburg, 1558 (repr. G. Hellmann, Neudrucke, no. 10, 1898), and is perhaps an abridgement or an earlier form of the complete work. Copies of somewhat similar form are at Oxford, Digby MSS. 75, f. 65, and 193, f. 13. Beg. "Inter omnes res inferiores lapis quidam qui vacatur magnes in se gerit similitudinem cell," and ends " propter equalitatem virtutis." Spaces are left for diagrams. f. 126.

20. Extract from some work in defence of astrology (influence of moon on shell-growth in crustaceans, tides, etc.). Beg. " Videmus similiter aliquas res sencibiliter habere influencias a superioribus." f. 129.

21. " For to make aqua vite," an addition; printed by Henslow, op. cit. p. 73. Beg. " Take sauge and f l." f. 129 b. On one of the blank spaces for diagrams in art. 20 (f. 129) is scribbled " anno Christi 1464 videlicet in die Ypoliti computavi eum Iuliana Rede et omnibus computatis et allocatis debet mini de claro 108." etc.

On f. 129 b are scribbled in a later (15th-16th cent.) hand notes of burials of " Godfryes wyfe " 15 Dec., " Peeke " 16 Dec., " Peekes daughter " 18 Dec., and some christenings.

The vellum flyleaves are (a) Fragment of a service-book, circ. 1300, music not inserted. f. i;-(b) Fragment of quaestiones on theology or canon-law, early 14th cent. ff. ii, iii;-(c) Fragment (14th cont.) of an alphabetical index to Gratian's Decretum, resembling, but not identical with, the Margarita Decreti of Martinus Polonus. ff. iv-vii.

Decoration:

Large initials in red with pen-flourishing in brown, or in green with pen-flourishing in red, some in the form of leaves. Large initials in red or green. Diagrams in combinations of red, green yellow, and/or brown. Paraphs in red.