Add MS 34111

MEDICAL MISCELLANY, Consisting of translations and extracts from various authors. From allusions in two places (ff. 114, 169) to Master William, and in one place (f. 174) to Master Williain Somers, it is probable that the book was compiled for his use or under his direction. The MS. commences, " Now it is to know þe names of þe bokes þat bien ywryte and contyend in þis volume, þe whyche bokes Galyen and Ypocras han ymade and oþer maysters also. And ate first it is to be gynne and to sk of þe chatres þat bien in enery boke þat stondeþ be ordre." Then follow the names of the 'books distinguished by letters A-S. On ff. 1 b-30 b are given the heads of chapters of each book, followed on f. 31 by the contents of the books themselves. The last three, however, mentioned in the first list,-namely, Q. Liber herbarum nomine Macer, R. Liber urinarum, and S. Nomina berbarum-are now missing, only the beginning of Q remaining on the last page (f. 2 3 8 b). The main contents are as follows:-

1. "1 Liber de medicinis et electuariis." f. 31. On ff. 36 b, 37 is the figure of a man with description of' the zodiacal influences on the various parts of the body, and on f. 38 are twenty-one hexameter lines in Latin, headed, " Here bigynnen verses of man from cop of heued doune to þe sole of þe fote." The following remark apars in the text on f. 39b, "þis medicine made hole Frere Johan de Alba Landa of cardiacke." 2. " Sculum medicorum," or " Cum animadverterem," beg. " Her begynneth a boke þat is clepid þe sctacle of medicines wyche wysemen ad seen for. helþ of mannes body, and þis boke was made and icompild of diuers auctours." f. 40. Preceded by eleven introductory elegiac lines in Latin, with translation. On f. 51 b is the paragraph, " I be hight in þe begynning of pis litel boke for to agone doune to sole of fote from þe cop of þe heued, lif pat it hadde lykyd vnto me, Bote for I am broght in 130kenet-se and may nolt geder alle pinges, And alle medicines endyd pat bien from heued þat is þe begynnyng of all body vnto þo chekes of þe Þrote, Bote neuere þe lesse all Þo Þinges pat bien most profitable vnto þe, forsaid I haue done my diligence to saue and heln pat bien in sekenesse brolt "; and on f. 55 b, " þat we haue behight in pis litel boke be oure power we haue broght it to hende." After this follows, " Alphan Arcebyssho seyþ þat þer bien iii dayes in þe twelmonþ, þe first mononday of Aprille, þe secounde day is þe mononday þat begynnep in August, þe thridday is mononday pat goþe out of Decembre and ke welle þes days." By Alphan is probably meant Ælfheah, Archbishop of Canterbury (ob. 1012). This treatise is imrfect at the end, where two leaves of the MS. are missing.

3. " De carminibus et aliis exrimentis," or " Of charmes and or exrinientes " (see f. 1). Imrfect at the beginning. f. 70.

4. " Exrimenta Alexandri," beg. " Here bygynneÞ exrimentes of Alisaundre," by whom rhaps Alexander Trallianus is meant (v. Eloy's Dictionnaire de la Médecine, i. 85). f. 77.

5. " Pomum ambre," beg. ',Here bygyneþ a boke þat is iclepid Pomum Ambre þat skeþ of oyntmentes diverses balles syros and emplastres"; and ending on f. 114 with a paragraph commencing "Inspice scripta lege quod Pomum terminat Ambre," " Maister William made þis syrop to hem pat han greuance of splene." f. 90.

6. " Exrimenta dinamidiorum libri Galieni," beg. " Here bigynneÞ Exrimentes of Galiene." f. 114b.

7. " Exrimenta generalia," or "General exrimentes " (see f. 1), or, as it is given in the detailed list of chapters (f. 19), " Hero bygynneÞ a wrytte for þe festre in þe bygynnyng of a boke of þe general Exrimentes and þe chapytres þat longgen þer to." Imrfect at the beginning. f. 169.

8. " Exrimenta Rustici," beg. " Here bygynneÞ Þe Exrimentes of a Wyseman þat was yclepid Rusticus, þe whiche exrimentes Mayster Gylliam Somers proved be fele tymes and haÞe bygonne ate heued, whiche ys most worÞi of alle mannes body." f. 174. Amongst them is the following (f. 185 b), " A nobil exriment for festre yproued. To gadere pis erbe pat is yelepid Rudmare and sege en pis manere, whan Þat pow take.,; it up of erÞe, I do gader Rudmare in worship of Gode and of Þe iij kinges Jasr + Baltasar + Melchisar + and do þe seek bere upon hem þis erbe and Þei shalle be hole wiÞ oute doute." The author of this workþ is ÞerhaÞs Rusticus ElÞidius, Physician to Theodoric, King of Italy, in the 6th century.

9. " ExÞerimenta Párisii Abbatis sancti marcij," beg. " Here bygynneÞ Þe ExÞerimentes of Parise Þe abbote Þat was sometyme of Seynt Marc." f. I 90 b.

10. " Virtutes aquile," beg. " Here bygynneÞ Þc vertues of Þe Egle Þat is Kyng of all fowles and is of grete boÞe be day and be night and is helÞyng of many man and woman." f. 195.

11. " Liber Trotuli," beg. " Here bygynneÞ a boke Þat is clepid Liber Trotuli." This 'book treats of women's diseases, and the author of it is Trotula al. Erotis. f. 197. For another English translation, see Sloane MS. 421 A.

12. " Liber CoÞhonis," beg. " Here bygynnen Þe exÞerimentes of CoÞhon Þe leche of Salerne." This does not apar to be a translation of this author's De arte medendi Þrinted at Haguenau, 1532. f. 218.

13. " Secreta Ypocratis," beg. " Here bygynneÞ Þe priuetes of Þe gode man and a wyse Þat was yclepid Ypocras, Þe whiche man whan he drew to deÞe yclosed were Þes Þriuetes in a case of euore and leyde Þis case in his sepulcre wiÞ him Þat Þes sanie priuetes ne shulde beo descouered among no man. Now Cesare wolde se Þe sepulcre of Þis gode man Ypocras and Þe cors was deÞe ydolue in Þe erÞe and Þen Cesar Þe Emroure dide make renoueld Þe sepulcre, And Þe body was founden hole and sound, Þe whiche body was presented befor Cesar wiÞ Þe case of euore in whiche case were founden Þes priuetes and Cesar proued Þes sanie priuet,s and hem shewed and sent to oÞer frendes." The same story is told on f. 235 b, where it appears that Julius Cesar, suscting the tomb to contain treasure, discovered the book. f. 231.

14. " Exrimenta Rustici," beg. " Here bygynneÞ ye Exrimentes of Rustici " (v. also art. 8). f. 233 b. On f. 234 occurs " An emplastre for brekyng of bone and for sondyng of hem yproued be Maistere Benet Þat was a man of Englond." 15. " Ypucras his priuetes in a noÞer manere " (cf. art. 13). f. 235 b. Vellum; ff. 238. On f. I is the name " Th. Mid " [ ? Thomas Jones, Bishop of Meath, 1584-1605] ; and at the end, in a hand contemporary with the MS., is the name R. Smith. Two leaves are missing after f. 69, and one leaf alter f. 167. The latter was lost before the original foliation. xvth cent. Large Octavo.