Sloane MS 3525

Contents:

ff. 1r-2v, 1r-7v, 22v, 23r-v: Recipes in a hand of the 17th century.

ff. 3r-5v: Table of contents, probably compiled by the scribe; this does not accurately list all contents, but contains a list of the chapters of the Régime du corps, and of the texts on ff. 82-108.

ff. 6r-16v: A later table of contents which refers to chapter numbers in the manuscript.

ff. 18r-22r: An alphabetical list of simples in Latin, with explanations in French.

ff. 24r-81r: Aldebrandino da Siena, Le Régime du corps, lacking the prologue; begins, 'Diex, qui par sa grant puissance le monde establi', ends at the chapter, 'Les cheveaux' with the words, 'ce sunt cil des euz et du visage. Explicit.' The contents are listed on ff. 3r-4r.

ff. 82r-100v: L'Ordenance de medecine et de diete (there is no rubric here but the title is given in the list of contents on f. 4r); begins 'Trestoutes les sciences devons aprendre pour la bone fin', ends with the chapter, 'Ci dit de trife sarazine' with the words, 'et quant l'en avra mestier ilueques porra l'en recouvrer'. The contents are listed on ff. 4r-5v.

ff. 100v-103r: Le livre des fievres; the text is related to the Latin treatise, Cure Johannis Afflati, discipuli Constantini de febribus et urinis, according to Meyer ('Manuscrits médicaux' (1915), begins, 'Premierement dirons des fievres aigues', ends, 'cest estes choses soufisent a fievres'.

ff. 102r-103r: Les esperimenz, begins 'Prenez la savine et la rue', ends at 'Contre ydropisie' with the words, 'et c'est prouvee chose'.

ff. 103r-108r: Petit traité sur les plantes médicinales, begins 'Ici commence les reprecives', ends at 'Turbie' with the words, 'i metroit ermodaucles et ferruge'.

ff. 108r-178v: Le livre de toutes herbes, a version of the Salernitan herbal, Circa instans on medicinal plants (similar to the text in Sloane MS 1977 but not in alphabetical order); begins without a rubric, at 'Aloen est de chaud et de seche', ends at 'Cestes choses nuisent a l'estomac', with the words, 'onces, ferruge autant come de totes les autres'. The contents list on f. 14v refers to this as the 'livre appelé Circa instans, c'est assavoir les herbes fleurs [etc].

ff. 178v-179r: Recipes in an English hand, beginning, 'Contre routure', ending, 'dune petite feve. P[ro]bat[us].

ff. 180r-208r: Roger of Salerno, La Chirurgie (a French translation of Chirurgia), begins, 'Apres de que Deus out criez le munde', ends, 'et si en oing les jambes. Explicit Cyrugie'.

ff. 208r-209v: Traité sur les urines, begins, 'Orine est si colorée', ends, 'en quarteine senefie salu'.

ff. 209v-219v Medical treatises, including Comment le médecin doit se comporter aupres du malade, a translation of De adventu medici ad aetrotum; begins, 'O tu mires, quant tu vendras al malade'; ailments related to melancholy are included, 'Encontre la maladie qui vient de melancolie' (f. 215r); ends with a recipe for ointment, with the rubric, 'Itele lessive fetes faire'.

ff. 220r-222v: Les Poids et mesures de médicaments, les Antibolonomins.

ff. 222v-244v: Antidotarium Nicolai, a pharmacological guide, begins, 'Apres comence li livres des medicines compostes', ends 'del boivre come del sirop'.

ff. 244v-246v: Treatise by Constantine the African, monk of Montecassino, Li livres Costentin des melancolies, begins, 'Ce qui avient as melancolieus', and contains three recipes (ff. 246v); ends, 'Ici faut li livres de la melancolie'.

ff. 246v-253r: The Trotula in French, with the title Traite sur les maladies des femmes, begins, 'Quant Dex nostre Seignor out le mund estoré', ends, 'la ventosite quant feme est venue a tens davoir enfant'.

ff. 253r-258v: Medical recipes, including remedies (experiments), ointments (oignements) and salves (colires), beginning with, 'Colires a oster tote rogeur deuz', ending with, 'Pour lex denz, raez la corne del cerf....plus chaut que vous porrez'. The colophon, 'Hic liber est scriptus qui scripsis est benedictus' repeated three times.

f. 259r: Notes in an English hand of the 15th century.

For further details of the contents, with transcriptions of parts of the contents, see Meyer 'Manuscrits médicaux' (1915).

Decoration:

Large puzzle initials in red and blue with red and blue penwork decoration, and pen-flourishing extending into partial borders.

Initials in blue with red pen-flourishing, and in red with blue pen-flourishing.

Small initials in red or blue. Rubrics in red.

Paraphs in red or blue. Line-fillers in red.

Marginal drawings of a face (ff. 52r, 122v). 1 initial in brown and red (f. 246v). Faces within some initials (ff. 3-5v).