Harley MS 3407

Collection of Medical Texts and Recipes; late 12th cent. - 15th cent. Latin, Middle English and French. Copies. Many codicological units imperfect. A composite and miscellaneous volume including a proto-ensemble of the so-called Trotula texts (art. 1, ff. 1-19), and excerpts from Kyrannides (art. 2, ff. 21-38v), the Regimen sanitatis salernitanum (art. 3, ff. 39-39v), the Viaticum by Constantinus Africanus (art. 8, ff. 83-90v), Avicenna's Canon (art. 9, ff. 92-101v) in Latin, and the Middle English translation of the Compendium Medicinae by Gilbert the Englishman (art. 6, ff. 68-79v). Also included are an imperfect copy of the Doom of Urine compendium (art. 4b, ff. 43v-48v), verses (art. 4c, f. 48v, 16 couplets), and collections of medical recipes (arts. 5, 7, 10c, ff. 49-67v, 80-81v, 82-82v, 105v-107v) in Middle English and Latin. Annotated (passim) by a 17th-cent. hand, occasionally in red ink (see arts. 2-3). Owned in the 17th cent. by Samuel Knott (d. 1687), Rector of Combe Raleigh and priest of Broad Hembury, co. Devon, and bearing notes by him (passim; on f. 19 he identifies himself as 'Sam. Kanutus'). Later owned by Robert Burscough (1650/51-1709), prebendary of Exeter in 1701, archdeacon of Barnstaple in 1703, rector of Cheriton Bishop in 1705; his MS. no. 65: see Bernard, Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliæ… (Oxford, 1697), t. ii, pt. i, p. 234, no. 7684. For Burscough see E. Vallance in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Acquired with other MSS. by Robert Harley (1661-1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, from Burscough's widow on 17 May 1715, the date noted by H. Wanley on ff. 1, 49, 83, 92: for the negotiation preceding the purchase and Burscough's MS. number see C. E. Wright and R. C. Wright, The Diary of Humfrey Wanley (London, 1966), i, p. 11 n. 6, ii, p. 493. For the provenance see also Wright, Fontes Harleiani (London, 1972), pp. 87-88, 427. Passed on to Robert Harley's son, Edward (1689-1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts. Bequeathed with Edward's library to his widow, countess Henrietta, née Cavendish Holles (1694-1755), during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (1715-1785), duchess of Portland. Sold with the other Harley manuscripts by the countess and the duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum. The Harleian manuscripts became part of the collections of the British Library on its establishment in 1973. Harley shelfmark (f. i) in light brown ink '114.C.18' followed by '3407' in dark brown ink, and '2/III B' in pencil. The MS. is described in A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts (London, 1808-1812), iii, p. 23; art. A in M. H. Green, 'A Handlist of the Latin and Vernacular Manuscripts of the so-called Trotula Texts', Scriptorium, 50 (1996), p. 149.

Parchment and paper; ff. i (modern paper)+117. Modern foliation in pencil ff. '1-117' (followed here). Sec. fol. (f. 2) 'suspicacionem inferrunt'. circa 225 x 165mm. Composite MS. comprising ten codicological units of different origin (ff. 1-19, 21-38v, 40-48v, 49-67v, 68-79v, 80-81v, 83-90v, 92-101v, 102-107v, 108-117v), plus three additional single leaves (ff. 39-39v, 82-82v, 91-91v): for a codicological description of the single units see individual articles below. British Library binding with Harley arms and motto gilt-tooled at centre of covers.

Contents as follows:

First unit (ff. 1-19):

1. ff. 1-19. Trotula: Liber de sinthomatibus mulierum, and De curis mulierum; late 14th - early 15th cent. Latin. Copies. The first two texts of a group of three works on women's medicine, which are believed to have originated from the School of Salerno in the 12th century and are generally known under the cumulative name of Trotula. The first text is devoted to gynaecology and obstetrics; the second treats women's diseases but also encompasses cosmetics and other matters. They are found here in a version identified by M. H. Green as a peculiar English tradition of the early MS. tradition of the texts or 'proto-ensemble' in which these two treatises travelled together with a third: see M. H. Green, 'The Development of the Trotula', Revue d'Histoire des Textes, 26 (1996), pp. 144-145, 149, 175, no. 34 [repr. in M. H. Green, Women's Healthcare in the Medieval West. Texts and Contexts (Aldershot - Burlington, Vermont, 2000; Variorum Collected Studies Series), article v]; described in M. H. Green, 'A Handlist…', cit. above, p. 149, no. 34. This version, which Green calls the 'Harley Group' from this manuscript, is witnessed only by two other MSS., both produced in England in the early 15th cent. (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Digby 29 and Wood empt. 15). The texts are followed (f. 19) by a note by Samuel Knott. Followed (ff. 19v-20v) by prognostics copied by the same hand as the text. The Trotula ensemble has been edited and translated into English in The 'Trotula'. A Medieval Compendium of Women's Medicine, ed. and transl. M. H. Green (Philadelphia, 2001).

Paper. 20 leaves. Old pagination in black ink '1-37' (ff. 1-19, marking only the odd numbers on rectos, omitting ff. 19v-20v). Sec. fol. (f. 2) 'suspicacionem inferrunt'. circa 216 x 150mm. Two gatherings with a horizontal catchword in the lower right corner of f. 12v, and leaf signatures in the lower right corners of rectos. Ruled in metal point only for single horizontal and vertical bounding lines of single columns of 23-27 long lines. Text across top line. Written space 150 x 90-95mm. Written in France in a French cursive bookhand (Cursiva Libraria).

It includes:

1a. ff. 1-11v, Liber de sinthomatibus mulierum. Inc. 'Cum auctor universitatis deus in prima mundi origine rex na-/turas singulas', expl. 'ut sunt sibi [expunged and substituted with 'sepe'] pastinace domestice et cetera.'. The 'Trotula'..., cit. above, pp. 70-115.

1b. ff. 11v-19, De curis mulierum. Inc. 'Ut de / curis mulierum compendiosa fiat traditio', expl. 'et illo panno super indicto [sic] pone desuper et cetera. / Explicit Trotta'. The anecdote (f. 14) containing the name of Trota reads 'unde igitur Trota vocata fuit magistra'. The 'Trotula'..., cit. above, pp. 116-165.

Second unit (ff. 21-38v):

2. ff. 21-38v. Kyrannides, Book I-III; 15th cent. Latin. Copy. Imperfect. A copy of the translation into Latin of a Greek treatise of hermetic tradition on herbs, stones, and animals, divided into four books, called Kyrannides. The text was traditionally attributed to Kyranos, King of Persia (Book I), and Harpocration of Alexandria (Books II-IV), and included in the tradition of texts relating to Hermes Trismegistus. Beginning imperfect at '… quoniam error est apud multos et non cognoscunt naturam uniuscuiusque / herbe. Contra concubitum et erectionem', and breaking at 'Peristera .i. columba … Stercum autem cum'. The fragment contains the text from Book I, element V, to Book III, Element P, De columba, with incipits to Books II and III on ff. 29-29v, 33v, and loss of text within Book II between Element E, De gatta and Element T, De tauro (ff. 30v-31): see L. Delatte, Textes latins et vieux français relatifs aux Cyranides (Liège - Paris, 1942; Bibliothèque de la Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres de l'Université de Liège, 93), pp. 40 (l. 1) - 107 (l. 3), 128 (l. 11) - 168 (l. 13). With marginal notes added by both the scribes and later readers.

Paper. 18 leaves. Old foliation in black ink '132-141, 146-153' (ff. 21-38, lacking four leaves after f. 30). Sec. fol. (f. 22) 'vel versus'. circa 225 x 154mm. Two gatherings with horizontal catchword (f. 30v), and leaf signatures (see ff. 31-32: '3, 4'). Only single vertical bounding lines ruled in metal point for single columns of 31-50 long lines. Text across top line. Written space 156-180 x 105-110mm. Written possibly in France by three or four hands in a cursive script (Cursiva Currens/Libraria). Initials (2 lines) in red with guide-letters in the margins. Incipits underlined in red and occasional marginal rubrics added by the same hand that annotated art. 3.

Single leaf (ff. 39-39v):

3. ff. 39-39v. Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum; 15th cent. Latin. Copy. Imperfect. Excerpt (64 verses) from a short version of the collection of didactic verse on medicine, health, and diet composed by doctors at the School of Salerno and assembled around the 13th cent. Marginal title by a later hand 'Fragmenta e Schola salern. & / quoddam postea sparsi occurrunt', inc. 'Anglorum regi scripsit tota scola Salerni', expl. 'Confert una dies. Quod totus non valet annus'. With marginal notes by a later reader (17th-cent.), partly in red ink. For other copies of the text (short and long versions alike), and bibliographical details see Harley 2268 (art. 2, ff. 118-138), and 3706. This MS. is mentioned in S. De Renzi, Collectio Salernitana, ossia documenti inediti e trattati di medicina appartenenti alla scuola medica Salernitana, ed. G. E. T. Henschel, C. Daremberg and S. De Renzi, v (Naples, 1859; new anastatic ed. Antonio Garzya, Naples, 2001), p. 140, no. 63.

Paper. One single leaf (mounted on guard). Old foliation in red ink '29'. circa 223 x 145mm. Ruled (single bounding lines) in ink for single columns of 32 long lines. Text below top line. Written space 175 x 112mm. Written in England in a cursive bookhand (Secretary with Anglicana influence). Large gothic capital initial (1 line; f. 39) in black.

Third unit (ff. 40-48v):

4. ff. 40-48. Miscellaneous booklet, including a copy of the Doom of Urine compendium; 15th cent. Latin and Middle English. Copy. Imperfect. The name 'Farrant' on the upper left margin of f. 40, repeated as 'Farrant de Peyhimbury' [possibly Payhembury in Devon] in the lower left margin of the same leaf, in a 15th-cent. hand. The title 'Schola Salern[itana]' mistakenly added in red in the upper margin of f. 40 by a later hand.

Parchment and paper. 9 leaves. Old pagination in brown ink '25-[26], 33-48' (ff. 40-48, lacking three leaves after f. 40). Sec. fol. (f. 41) 'raphanus'. circa 218 x 158mm. One gathering originally of ten leaves, eighth cancelled, outer and inner bifolia in parchment, with horizontal catchword (f. 48v). Ruling not visible (obliterated by conservation treatment?); single columns of 26 long lines. Written space circa 165 x 100mm. Written in England in a cursive script (Cursiva Libraria - Secretary). Paragraph signs in red (ff. 43v-48v). Marginal notabilia (ff. 40-43v) and rubrics (ff. 44-48) underlined in red. Half-page repairs for ff. 42-43.

It includes:

4a. ff. 40-43. Verses attributed to the Schola Salernitana. Latin. Copy. Imperfect. Beginning (imperfect?) 'Splen cupie', breaking at 'Semen feniculi fugat spiracula culi / [excised]duo dat maratrum? febris fugat atque [venenum]'.

4b. ff. 43v-48v. Doom of urine compendium. Middle English and Latin. Imperfect. Inc. 'In þe bygynnyng þyu schalt take hede'. See Voigts and Kurtz, Scientific and Medical Writings in Old and Middle English: An Electronic Reference, CD-ROM, 2nd ed. (Ann Arbor, MI, 2006 = eVK2), nos. 2878.00, 5424.00, 7834.00, 7767.00, 7536.00, 3739.00, 5477.00-5482.00.

4c. f. 48v. Verses. Middle English. Imperfect? Introduction to a prose remedy book, 16 couplets. Inc. 'That man þat wol of leche lere / Rede over þys booke', expl. 'Him dare no₃t drede of þat outrage'. With marginal annotations by a later reader. Another copy in Harley 1600 (ff. 3v-4), listed in A Manual of the Writings in Middle English 1050-1500, ed. A. E. Hartung, x, G. R. Keiser, Science and Information (New Haven, 1998), pp. 3839-3840, nos. [264], [265]; G. R. Keiser, 'Verse Introductions to Middle English Medical Treatises', English Studies, 4 (2003), pp. 302-303; J. Boffey and A. S. G. Edwards, A New Index of Middle English Verse (London, 2005), no. 3422/24; eVK2, nos. 6594.00, 5483.00.

Fourth unit (ff. 49-67v):

5. ff. 49-67v. Collection of medical recipes (circa 130); 15th cent. Middle English. Copy. Imperfect. Begins imperfect '[stained and washed away] þe plaistre upon þe sore as brode as hit is and / þenne'. Listed in eVK2, no. 5484.00. With marginal notes by later readers in Latin and English.

Parchment. 19 leaves. Old foliation in brown ink '100-119' (omitting no. 117). Sec. fol. (f. 50) 'and ley upon'. circa 210 x 152mm. Gatherings: i⁶, ii^10-2 (vii and x cancelled ?), iii^6-1 (vi cancelled ?). Ruled (single bounding line) in ink for single columns of 27 long lines. Text below top line. Written space circa 143-146 x 95-97mm. Written in England in a cursive book script (Cursiva Antiqua Libraria - Anglicana, with some Secretary elements). Rubrics in red.

Fifth unit (ff. 68-79v):

6. ff. 68-79v. Gilbert the Englishman, Compendium Medicinae sive Lilium Medicinae; 15th cent. Middle English translation. Copy. Imperfect. A fragment of the 15th-cent. translation into Middle English (or Middle English Gilbertus) of a Latin treatise on etiology (i.e. the study of the causes and origin of human diseases) written between circa 1230 and 1250, possibly in Italy, by Gilbert the Englishman, the first notable English medical writer, also known as Gilbertus Anglicus or Gilbert of England. The present text is a copy of the portions relating to the spleen and the kidneys. It begins (f. 68: end of chapter 15) 'eateth ? suche metes his spleyne y grieved and whene / he leveth', and ends (f. 79v: chapter 16,4, relating to urinary incontinence) 'But ₃if þis come / of humores þat bath yn þe bleddere if þe' followed by the catchword 'humores ben hat'. See modern edition of the text in Healing and Society in Medieval England. A Middle English Translation of the Pharmaceutical Writings of Gilbertus Anglicus, ed. F. M. Getz (Madison, Wisconsin, 1991; Wisconsin Publications in the History of Science and Medicine, 8), pp. 242-265, with mention of the present MS. at p. lxvi n. 90, no. 3. The MS. is also mentioned in eVK2, nos. 314.00. Complete copies of the Middle English Gilbertus in Add. 25589 (ff. 1-73, chapters 1-15 only) and 30338 (ff. 11v-149); Sloane 5 (ff. 63v-151v, imperfect), 1388 (ff. 1-55v, imperfect), 2394, 3486 (ff. 91-139, imperfect), and 3553 (ff. 21-95v, chapters 2,2-13,3 only); small portions or fragments of the text in Harley 2375 (ff. 4-19, chapters 14-17,1), and Sloane 442 (ff. 38-40v) and 3449 (ff. 1v-5, introduction only). The original text in Latin can be found in Royal 12 G.IV (ff. 5-127); revised and edited by Michael de Capella, it was printed for the first time in Lyon in 1510 by J. Saccon for V. de Portonariis [BL. copy 544.f.1]; see O. Riha, 'Gilbertu Anglicus und sein Compendium medicinae: Arbeitstechnik und Wissenorganisation', Sudhoffs Archiv, 78 (1994), pp. 59-73. For Gilbert, see R. Sharpe, A Handlist of the Latin Writers of Great Britain and Ireland before 1540 (Turnhout, 1997), pp. 143-144, with further bibliography and list of MSS., excluding the present MS.; see also 'Gilbert the Englishman' by F. M. Getz in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Parchment. 12 leaves. Old foliation in brown ink '212-219, 300-303' (omitting nos. 220-299). Sec. fol. (f. 69) 'cold and'. circa 214 x 140mm. One gathering of twelve leaves. Only single vertical bounding lines ruled in ink for single columns of 32-34 long lines. Text below top line. Written space circa 150 x 102mm. Written in England in a cursive script (Cursiva Libraria - Secretary). Large initials (2-3 lines; ff. 68v, 70, 74), paragraph marks, and running titles in red. Traces of an old repair to a natural parchment flaw (f. 77).

Sixth unit (ff. 80-81v) plus single leaf (ff. 82-82v):

7. ff. 80-81v, 82-82v. Two small collections of medical recipes; 15th cent. Middle English. Copies. Imperfect.

Paper. 3 leaves. ff. 80-81 form one bifolium with two old foliations '42-43' and '81-82', circa 202 x 145mm, no ruling, single columns of 28-30 long lines, written space circa 176-180 x 118-120mm, written in England in a cursive script (Cursiva Libraria - Secretary), with marginal paragraph signs to mark the beginning of the recipes, and titles occasionally underlined in red. ff. 82-82v is a single leaf added to the previous bifolium, circa 210 x 145mm, no ruling, single columns of 33-34 long lines, written space circa 150-155 x 90-95mm, written in England in a cursive script (Cursiva Libraria - Secretary), with titles written at the centre of the line and underlined in red.

It includes:

7a. ff. 80-81v. A collection of circa 22 medical recipes, rubric (f. 80) 'fforto breke þe webbe in a monns ey₃e', inc. 'Tak / stronge Eyssel and do hyt in a lampe of bras', expl. (f. 81v) 'ffor ache in a monns away ... and hyt shal do in a monns away þe / ache'. With marginal notes in Latin by a later hand. This portion of the MS. is mentioned in eVK2, 474.00.

7b. ff. 82-82v. A collection of circa 15 medical recipes, title (f. 82) 'for the gowte or syagra', inc. ' Tak in May a pot of erth of [excised] / snales and put þer to the whit [excised] egeys', expl. (f. 82v) 'ffor the skall … anoynt it with hony et sanabitur'. This portion of the MS. is mentioned in eVK2, no. 453.00.

Seventh unit (ff. 83-90v):

8. ff. 83-90v. Constantinus Africanus, Viaticum, Book 1; late 12th cent. Latin. Copy. Imperfect. A fragment (chapters 1-20) from the first book of the medical summa by Constantine the African (circa 1020-1098/9), a monk of African origin. The Viaticum is the adaptation into Latin of a standard medical manual, entitled Kitāb Zād al-musāfir wa-qūt al-hādir (Provision for the Traveler and the Nourishment of the Settled), by the Arab physician Abu Ja‛far Ahmad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn abī Khālid al-Jazzār (d. 979), a pupil of Ishāq ibn Sulaymān al-Isrā’īlī (fl. circa 855-955), known in the West as Isaac Judaeus. Constantine's adaptation followed the 'a capite ad calcem' order of the original work and was written in the 1070s or 1080s at Montecassino from where it was widely disseminated throughout Europe via the Benedictine houses. Rubric (f. 83) 'Incipit viaticum / Constantini', prologue inc. 'Quoniam quidem ut / in retoricis Tul/lius', expl. 'in quo libro inve/niatur'; table of contents inc. 'De allopicia', expl. (f. 83v) 'de rectione et tremore'; rubric 'Incipit liber / primus d'allopitia', text inc. 'Capillus ex fumo grosso et calido / nascitur', breaking (f. 90v) at chapter 20 'sicut aut fide/litas est dilectionis ultimitas?. inter et eros', followed by horizontal catchword 'pater noster'. Other copies of the full text in Harley 3140 (ff. 196-254v) and 3719 (ff. 33-152, with commentary by Girardus Bituricensis). See L. Thorndike and P. Kibre, Catalogue of Incipits of Medieval Scientific Writings in Latin, rev. ed. (London, 1963; The Mediaeval Academy of America Publication, 29; with supplements in 1965 and 1968), p. 187d for the main text, and p. 1298h for the prologue; its electronic version on CD-ROM ed. (Ann Arbor, MI, 2000=eTK), no. 187D for the main text and 1298H for the prologue (however the present MS. is not mentioned). The work was printed for the first time in 1505 in Venice by Bonetus Locatellus for the heirs of Octavianus Scotus, together with the commentary and other works by Geraldus Bituricensis [BL. copy at 546.m.14, ff. 89-192]. The Viaticum fragment is followed here (ff. 91-91v) by a single leaf containing a fragment on weights and measures among other things, written in England in the late 12th cent.

Parchment. 9 leaves. Sec. fol. (f. 84) 'fricationem cutis'. circa 217 x 155mm. One gathering of eight leaves with one added leaf at the end, hairside out, with horizontal catchword (f. 90v). Pricked (from rectos) and ruled (double vertical bounding lines) in ink for double columns of 34-35 lines. Text above top line. Written space circa 149-155 x 95-100mm. Written in brown ink possibly in France in a protogothic bookhand (Littera Praegothica). Puzzle initial (f. 83; 7 lines) in blue and red with marginal extensions. Book and chapter initials (2-5 lines) alternately blue or red with simple pen-flourished decoration in contrasting red or blue. Table of contents initials (1 line) alternately red or blue. Title and rubrics in red throughout. Paragraph marks in black, occasionally touched in red. Period initials between two bounding lines when at beginning of lines. Occasional marginal or interlinear corrections and notes (ff. 83, 85, 88) by a later hand in black ink. A small stag sketched in ink in the upper margin of f. 83. f. 91 is written by different hands, the earlier being an English protogothic hand of the late 12th cent.

Eighth unit (ff. 92-101v):

9. ff. 92-101v. Avicenna, Canon, Fragment; late 14th- early 15th cent. Latin. The text contains excerpts from the first book of the Canon by Ibn Sina, Abú 'Ali Al-Husain ibn 'Abd Allah (d. 1037), better known in the West as Avicenna, in the Latin translation by Gherardo da Cremona (1113/4-1187). The extracts come from Liber 1, fen 2, in particular from sections relating to the varieties and quality of places of residence and their effect on the human body, the various causes of illnesses and their manifestations (from doctrina 2, summa 1, chapters 11 to doctrina 3, chapter 10). Title (f. 92) 'Capitulo .xi. de eis quae proveniunt ex habitationibus locis. / et in [...] de locis habitabilibus calidis', inc. 'Loca habitabilia calida nigrificant capillos et iterum crispant quod eos cum collingunter piperi similes efficiunt', breaking at (f. 101v) 'In Capitulo .x. de signis apostemata significantibus / Est autem cum in occultis apostematibus … et est cum est mala. Bona', followed by the horizontal catchwords 'autem est cum de membro nobili ad ignobile?'. Copies of the complete Canon in Latin in Add. 14424, Royal 12 G.VI, Harley 3799-3809, Sloane 1933 (ff. 184-275, imperfect), 2157, 3095; single books or excerpts from the Canon in Harley 3594 (ff. 7-53), 3744, 3757, 4087 (ff. 39-108v). Gerard of Cremona's translation of the Canon was possibly printed for the first time by Philippus de Lavagnia at Milan on 12 Feb. 1473: see H 2200; Osler, Incunabula medica… (1923), p. 55, no. 35; BMC VI 700; GW 3155; ISTC ia01417500 [BL copy at IC.26105 (part three only)]. According to ISTC this edition precedes that of Strasbourg by the R-Printer (Adolf Rusch) published after Feb. 1473: see H *2197; Osler, Incunabula medica… (1923), p. 115, no. 186; Klebs, 'Incunabula scientifica …' (1938; repr. 1963), p. 68, no. 131.1; Goff A1417; GW 3114; ISTC ia01417700 [BL copy at IC.657]. For Avicenna and the Canon see N. G. Siraisi, Avicenna in Renaissance Italy : the Canon and medical teaching in Italian universities after 1500 (Princeton, NJ, 1987); for Gherardo see Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 53 (1999), pp. 620-633, with extensive bibliography.

Paper. 10 leaves. Old foliation in black ink '13-22'. Sec. fol. (f. 93) 'de locis habitabilibus meridionalibus'. circa 222 x 145mm. One gathering with horizontal catchword on last verso. Unruled. Text on single columns of 33-39 long lines. Written space circa 160 x 100-105mm. Written possibly in England in a cursive bookhand (Cursiva Libraria - Secretary- with Anglicana influence). Initials (1-3 lines), occasionally puzzle initials, followed by first word in a hesitant gothic bookhand (Textualis Formata). Titles to chapters at centre of lines. Marginal scribal additions. Watermark of an anchor (see ff. 93, 94), similar but not identical to Briquet ancre 346 (Limoges, 1392, with variants from Antwerp, 1395; Châteaudun, 1396; Leyden, 1398; Lubeck, 1398) or 347 (Argences, 1393, with variants from Paris, 1395-8; Châteaudun, 1396).

Ninth unit (ff. 102-107v)

10. ff. 102-107v. Medical texts and recipes; 15th cent. Latin, French, and English. Copy. Imperfect.

Paper. 6 leaves. A marginal note on f. 104v by the 17th-cent. annotator explains the removal of twelve leaves from the centre of the gathering, as indicated also by the medieval foliation in black ink '5-7, 20-22' in the lower margin of rectos, repeated by the 17th-cent. annotator. Sec. fol. (f. 103) 'Quod sic diligentissime'. circa 215 x 152mm. One gathering. Traces of ruling (single vertical bounding lines) in hard point for single columns of 24-32 lines. Written space circa 170-175 x 110mm. Written in brown ink in England in a cursive hand (Cursiva Antiqua Libraria - Anglicana). Title of sections underlined at the centre of lines. Marginal annotations by a 17th-cent. hand. Watermark of a coat-of-arms with one fleur-de-lys (see ff. 104-105), similar but not identical to Briquet armoiries - une fleur de lis 1541 (Châteaudun, 1428; with variants from Neubourg (Eure), 1428/55; Châteaudun, 1439-54; Lorris, 1441-49; Orléans, 1442; Angers, 1442-50; Chartres, 1443; Holland, 1447-48; Saumur, 1449; Nantes, 1450) or 1546 (Châteaudun, 1457, with variant from Blois, 1496).

It includes:

10a. ff. 102-104v, Text on urines. Latin. Title '[excised]one ypostasis', inc. 'O [excised] intelligas quia ypostasis len[excised] / et alba in fundo quoque atque iuncta omnibus est / preferenda et salutis et digestionis est signi/ficativa', expl. 'si non moretur'.

10b. ff. 105-105v, Text from pseudo-Hippocrates. French. Title 'Chest le livre Ypocratis', inc. 'Chest livre envoia ypocras ad cesar / emperor de rome'. Mentioned in R. H. Robbins, 'Medical Manuscripts in Middle English', Speculum, 45, no. 3 (1970), p. 409 n. 47; G. R. Keiser, 'Verse Introductions to Middle English Medical Treatises', English Studies, 4 (2003), pp. 302-303.

10c. ff. 105v-107v, Medical recipes (3 recipes) relating to the distillation of Aqua vitae. Middle English. Title 'This is the makyng of aqua vite perfectissima', inc. 'Take þe rote of saxifrage and parcyl and alisander / fenell tyme ysope sauge calamynte', expl. 'þe monthe / of June for all the ₃ere'. Mentioned in R. H. Robbins, 'Medical Manuscripts …', cit. above, p. 403 n. 28.

Tenth unit (ff. 108-117v):

11. ff. 108-117v. Expositions on biblical passages; 15th cent. Latin. Copy. Imperfect.

Paper. 10 leaves. Sec. fol. (f. 109) 'Quod autem'. circa 219 x 146mm. One gathering. Unruled. Text on single columns of 65-66 long lines. Written space circa 191 x 123-5mm. Written in black ink in England in a cursive hand (Cursiva Antiqua Libraria - Anglicana). Biblical passages underlined in red. Sparse notabilia. Watermark of two circles surmounted by a double cross (see ff. 109, 116), not found in Briquet (a variant with a single cross is Briquet circle 3172, Padua, 1374).

Recipes: Medicine and Surgery: Collection of medical texts and recipes: late 12th-15th cent.: Lat., Enm. and Fr: Copies.