Item Summary

Manuscript compendium of medical texts from mid-15th century Augsburg, Germany, composed of writings in German and Latin on gynecology, blood circulation, pharmacology, and other topics.

Descriptive Information

Title
[German medical miscellany]
Call Number
Princeton MS. 240
Identifier
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dc8s45qm25g
Publisher
[Germany], [between 1450 and 1455]
Language
German
Date Created
1450-1500
Format
Manuscript
Extent
298 leaves : paper ; 203 x 134 (140-152 x 84-95) mm bound to 215 x 150 mm.
Source Acquisition
Purchase, 2016. AM 2017-52.
Rights Statement
No Known Copyright
Contents
1. fol. 1r: Pondus medicinale. List of 11 pharmaceutical measures of weight.
2. fol. 2r-106v: [De secretis mulierum / Pseudo-Albertus Magnus]. This version of the popular medieval treatise on obstetrics and gynecology begins with a false attribution to Henry of Erfurt. The scribal colophon may refer to Konrad Kastner (d. 1493), of Augsburg, Germany, who bequeathed to the Augsburg Cathedral Chapter at least six other Latin and German manuscripts,
3. fol. 106r-272v: [Commonplace book of medicine]. An anonymous compilation kept by multiple scribes over time, chiefly in Latin, with occasionally German (e.g. fols. 78r-83r). Includes medical treatments, prescriptions, recipes, magical formulas, citations of ancient and medieval medical authorities (e.g. Hippocrates, Galen, and Avicenna), and extracts from medical texts.
4. fol. 78r-83r: [Entries in German on hippiartry (medicine for horses)].
5. fol. 273r-279v: [Additional notes in various hands on intestinal disorders, urinalysis, phlebotomy, and blood circulation].
6. fol. 281r-285r. [Incomplete alphabetical pharmacological list, from "Antos flos" to "Coriander"]. Includes about 200 Latin terms for herbs, minerals, and other substances of medicinal use.
Notes
Incipit: [De secretis mulierum] "Dilecto sibi in Christo socio et amico carissimo Nicolao clerico Erfordie de tali loco ..." -- [Commonplace book of medicine] "Yerapigra galieni ..."
Explicit: [De secretis mulierum] " Expliciunt secreta mulierum per me Chonradum Chastner de Augusta feria sexta post exaltationis sanctae crucis 1452" -- [Commonplace book of medicine] "Explicit iste liber 145iii."
Ms. composite codex.
Title devised by cataloger.
Label on upper cover: "Albert... magnus de medicinis ...". On spine: "... Magni liber medicinaris". Folio 1 is partial (65 mm in height). Blank pages (fol. 285v-298v).
Collation: Paper ; fol. 298 ; partial foliation in ink ; modern foliation in pencil.
Layout: 24-28 lines per page ; partially frame-ruled.
Description: Rubricated ; 2-line red initials ; watermarks.
Origin: Written in the mid-15th century in Augsburg, Germany.
Binding Note
Later binding. Early 16th century? Blind-embossed calf over oak boards. Now missing are two end clasps at the fore edge and five bosses on each board. Front and back pastedowns are bifolia from a 15th-century German manuscript of the Latin grammar book, Aelius Donatus, Ars minor, v-vi.
Binding (early 16th century?), blind-embossed calf over oak boards. Now missing are two end clasps at the fore edge and five bosses on each board. Front and back pastedowns are bifolia from a 15th-century German manuscript of the Latin grammar book, Aelius Donatus, Ars minor, v-vi.

Discovery Information

Subject
Gynecology—Early works to 1800
Medicine—Germany—Early works to 1800
Medicine—Handbooks, manuals, etc—Early works to 1800
Medicine—Formulae, receipts, prescriptions—Early works to 1800
Pharmacology—Early works to 1800

Physical Characteristics

File Count
604

Institutional Information

Collection
Medieval and Renaissance Mediterranean Manuscripts
IIIF Manifest URL

https://figgy.princeton.edu/concern/scanned_resources/ebecee5f-e988-43cc-9717-a802d0184b5a/manifest