Harley MS 3745, ff 159r-177r

Pseudo-Mesue, Canones. A Latin translation of a treatise on simple drugs traditionally attributed to a Pseudo-Mesue (also called Johannes Mesue the Younger). The anonymous translation was made between 1260 and 1290. Rubric (f. 159r): 'Incipit liber / hebenmesue / de simpli/cibus me/dicin/is', preface incipit: 'In nomine dei misericor/dis, cuius nutu sermo re/cipit', explicit: 'scribamus et ceteris tractabimus', rubric 'Distinctio capitulorum li/bri primi', table of contents incipit: 'Quatuor [continues above] intentionum agregabimus sermonem / in hoc libro nostro primo', explicit: 'de spasmo post purgationem', text incipit: 'Dicimus quod medicina laxativa non [continues above] est a re complexionali sic / sed quia talis/ et neque', expllicit (f. 177r): 'eius est a karatis .vi. usque ad [scruple].ii. vel usque ad / [dram].i.'. The text is divided into two books: Canones universales (ff. 159r-166v) and De consolatione medicinarum simplicium (ff. 166v-177v), the latter preceded by a table of contents (f. 166v).

Another copy of the text is Harley MS 3594 (ff. 56r-92r). For the text see also L. Thorndike and P. Kibre, Catalogue of Incipits of Medieval Scientific Writings in Latin, The Mediaeval Academy of America Publication, 29 (London, 1963; with supplements in 1965 and 1968), pp. 415k for the text and 694a, 1688d for the prologue, and its electronic version, its electronic edition (Ann Arbor, MI, 2000), nos. 415K for the text and 694A, 1688D for the prologue. Printed for the first time in Venice by Clemens Patavinus not before 18 May 1471 (the British Library copy is C.14.c.11=IB.19782): see H 11118; William Osler, Incunabula Medica: A Study of the Earliest Printed Medical Books 1467-1480 (Oxford, 1923), p. 44, no. 9; Arnold C. Klebs, Incunabula scientifica et medica (Bruges: 1938; repr. Hildesheim: 1963), p. 226, no. 680.1; ISTC im00508000.