Royal MS 12 C XV

TREATISES on medicine and natural science, including what seems to be the commonplace-book of a natural philosopher, in Latin, viz.: 1. 'Pantegni Constantini continens x libros' (so table of contents): the Theorica Pantegni or first half of the treatise which Constantinus Africanus translated and appropriated from the Liber Regius of Haly filius Abbatis ('Ali ibn al 'Abbas), see Wüstenfeld, Übersetzungen arabischer Werke (in Göttinger Abhandlungen, xxii), p. 12. The whole work is printed in Isaaci Opera (Lyons, 1515). Preface beg. 'Domino suo Montis Cassinensis abbati, &c. Cum totius scientie generalitas'; text, 'Oportet eum qui medicine uult optinere habitum'. f. 2.

2. 'Incipit Anothomia Galieni': a tract on anatomy substantially, but not verbally, the same as 12 B. XII, art. 6, probably an abridged extract from the Micrologus of Ricardus. Beg. 'Galieno testante in Tegny, qui. cumque interiorum membrorum cognitor'; ends 'liquide breuiterque notata. Explicit'. f. 82.

3. 'Galienus de interioribus' (so later heading): the treatise of Galen De locis affectis. The division into books is not noted by the original hand, but a later hand has divided the work into four (instead of six) books. Colophon, 'Hoc opus hic finit quod G. studiose peregit'. A late 15th cent. hand has added 'Hic secundum quosdam libros deficit sextus liber'. Beg. 'Medicorum non solum moderni uerum etiam antiqui membra corporis loca appellant'. f. 86.

4. 'Megategni Galieni' (so colophon): the Compendium Megategni or abridgement by Constantine of Galen's Printed in Isaaci Opera (Lyons, 1515), fol. 189 b. Without the dedicatory letter. Preface beg. 'Quoniam intentio gloriosissimi Galieni'; text, 'Secta autem medicorum triplex est'. f. 118.

5. 'Liber Alkindi de gradibus compositarum medicinarum' (so colophon): the treatise on pharmacy of Jacobus Alkindus (Ya'kub ibn Ishak ibn Sabbah, al Kindi), usually printed with the works 'of Johannes filius Mesue (Mesue Opera, Venice, 1602, fol. 269 b, &c.). The translation is generally attributed to Gerard of Cremona. Beg. 'Quia primos ueteres ut de uirtutibus cuiusque'. A note at the end (f. 148 b) on Alkindus, mentioning 'that profound Dr. [John] Dee of Manchester'. is in the hand of Henry Fowler (see below). f. 146.

6. 'Tractatus Alpharabii de tempore, translatus a magistro G[erardo] Cremonensi Tholeti' (so colophon): a brief tract from the Arabic of Alpharabius (Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan, al Farabi) translated by Gerard of Cremona, i.e. either the elder, who d. 1187, or the younger, Gerard of Sabbionetta, the translator of Avicenna. It does not seem to be separately mentioned in the list of the elder Gerard's translations which Boncompagni prints (Della Vita e delle Opere di G. C. e di G. da S., Rome, 1851) from a Vatican MS., or in Wüstenfeld's list, but it may possibly be an extract from the distinctions on Aristotle's Physics or one of the other works named. Beg. 'Sicut difficultas sermonum'. f. 149.

7. Translation of Aristotle's zoological works. In nineteen books. Libb. i-x are the Historia animalium, except that part of vi is wanting, and viii, ix, vii are transposed, Libb. xi-xiv contain the De partibus, xv-xix the De generatione animalium. This Latin version undoubtedly comes from the Arabic and appears to be that which is generally assigned to Michael Scot. It is disputed, however, whether the translation comes direct or through the Hebrew. In the passages adduced by Wüstenfeld, in his Übersetzungen arabischer Werke (in Göttinger Abhandlungen, xxii, p. 102), in support of the Hebrew origin, there are notable divergences from the text of this MS. An abbreviation made from it is in 12 F. xv below. Beg. 'Quedam partes corporum animalium dicuntur non composite et sunt partes que partiuntur'. f. 150.

8. The remainder of the volume appears in the (14th cent.) table of contents as (i) 'Tractatus de anima cum aliis tractatibus naturalibus', and (ii) 'Tractatus de substantia orbis cum aliis tractatibus de terra et elementis'. The whole is perhaps better described as a natural philosopher's commonplace-book, without obvious indications to show whether the contents are original or borrowed. It includes, however, several regular treatises, and some of these are certainly translations from the Arabic, made doubtless by the Toledo school of translators to which Michael Scot and, the younger Gerard of Cremona belonged, while others may be original works of the same school. Various readings in the same hand as the text occur occasionally in the margin. Through the lesser notes run several threads of connexion, though the subjects recur in various orders, such as (a) Psychology: Anima, Sensus et Perceptio, &c., including quotations from Aristotle, Avicenna, Boethius, Remigius, and others;-(b) Medicine: Paralysis, Epilepsia, De medicina laxativa, &c., from Avicenna, Galen, and Isaac;-(c) Physics: De motu naturali (including a long commentary, 'quod accepi de dictis antiquorum Caldeorum', on the vision of Ezekiel, with a quotation from Nicholas the Peripatetic), De elementis, &c. . -(d) Zoology: De animalibus cornutis, De oculis hirundinum, &c. Mixed with these and other miscellaneous notes are the following treatises:-(e) A botanical work, including quotations from Virgil and 'Liber manucal' (?), beg. 'Sciendum autem quod cedrus et pinus'. f. 238;-(f) Averroes' commentary on the Parva Naturalia of Aristotle. Without title. The translation, printed in the junta edition (Venice, 1550), vol. vi, is probably by Gerard of Cremona the younger (Gherardo da Sabbionetta). A list of MSS. containing this and the De substantia orbis (see below) is given by J. Wood Brown, Michael Scot (Edinburgh, 1897), p. 123. Add also Paris Bibl. Mazarine 3473 (506), and see below, 12 E. xv, art. 8. Beg. 'Virtutes quidem sensibiles quedam sunt necessarie'. f. 244;-

(g) A tract on appetite, beg. 'Continue alterantur sicut resoluuntur'. f. 25i ;-(h) Averroes, De substantia orbis. The translation, by one of the Toledo school, is printed in the junta edition, vol. ix, and for MSS. see above. Beg. 'In hoc tractatu intendimus perscrutari de rebus ex quibus componitur corpus celeste'. f. 251 b;-(i) De terra et elementis: a tract on various properties of matter, with special reference to metallurgy, also to a mode of obtaining roses at Christmas, &c. Beg. 'Quoniam terra sperica'. f. 254;-(k) De virtute informatiua: a physiological tract, quoting Rasis, also a proverbial phrase 'iudicamus clericos trahentes tibias grossas filios fullonum'. Beg. 'De formatis attendendum'. f. 258 b. Another note (f. 241 b) explains why 'Aurelianenses in artibus non proficiunt'. The whole collection begins 'Considerare animam est dupliciter'. f. 236.

The fly-leaves contain fragments on oratory (f. 1), theology (f. 145), medicine (Joh. de S. Amando, f. 262 and f. 263 b), and on f. 262 b a list of initia of Galen's works. Two cautiones are noted on f. 262 b, one to the 'cista comitisse' (at Oxford, founded by the Countess of Warwick, 1293, see Musimenta Academica), 23 Oct. 1294, the other dated 31 Oct. 1304. The names of the owners are illegible. On f. 26i b is the note 'Henr. de Charwelton spritsit (sic) hoc uolumen', but the note is in a hand much later than the text.

Vellum; ff. 264. 9¹/₂ in. x 7 in. XIII cent. Gatherings, i-ix¹², x⁸, xi¹⁶, xii¹², xiii⁴, xiv-xvii¹², rest uncertain. Written in very small hands, double columns. Sec. fol. 'faucium canalium'. Initials flourished in red and blue. On f. 264 is the note 'Liber magistri Iohannis Napworthi [the surname on an erasure] quem emit de Iohanne Ponfreyt anno dom. m^o. 400'. An illegible name of an owner is also on f. 2. Belonged probably to Henry Fowler, rector of Minchinhampton, see the note on f. 148 b compared with 12 D. VI, ff. 7 b, 10, 12 G. IV, f. 188 b, and notes in a copy of Bale's Scriptores (B. M. press-mark 598 i. 13); afterwards to John Theyer, Theyer sale-cat. no. 156; CMA. 6605.