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MS 169: Composite manuscript containing six medical texts, 1481; 17th century

 Item
Identifier: MS 169
f. 2v
f. 2v

Contents

Contains six medical texts, and recipes inserted at a later date. The whole volume is written by the hand of Robert of Sherburn, with the exception of the recipes, written by Francis Cox.

ff. 1v-2v: A Tabula to the volume, in the hand of Robert of Sherburn, and an ilustration of a physician and patient (described under 'Scope and Contents-Illumination').

Ff. 3r-37r, ff. 41r-44r: 'Expositio cum questionibus super textu Rasis in 9o Almansoris'

Ff. 40v, 83v-87r, 106v-108v, 139v-140v: Recipes (later insertions) in the 17th-century hand of Francis Cox

Ff. 45v-70v : 'Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum'

Ff. 71r-83v: 'Liber urinarum' by Isaac Judaeus, translated by Constantinus Africanus

Ff. 87v-97v: 'De pulsibus', by Aegidius Corboliensis

Ff. 97v-106v: 'Super Hippocratis Prognostica', by Aegidius

Ff. 111r-139r: Miscellaneous suppositions and questions, by the hand of Robert of Sherburn.

The texts and later recipes are described separetely, under the folios and titles listed above.

Writing

The 15th-century hand of Robert of Sherburn is very minute and beautiful. The second hand, that of Francis Cox, is from the 17th century.

Illumination

There are a few ornamental initials, and a full-page illustration at the beginning.

Illumination

  1. F. 2v: A commanding figure in red gown and cap, with staff and vial, entitled 'Rasis Medicus', bearing a scroll reading 'egris salus revertitur', beside him a small crouching figure of a sick man praying to be cured and bearing a scroll, 'Eripe me de morte'.

Dates

  • Creation: 1481; 17th century

Creator

Language of Materials

Latin and English

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to all. The manuscripts can be consulted in the Centre for Research Collections, Edinburgh University Main Library.

Extent

1 bound MS volume

Custodial History

Inscriptions have been erased on f. 1r, but In moste humble Wyse complayinnge unto yowre remains. A contemporary signature on f. 143r reads: Grocynn Schyrburn. The volume seems originally to have been a collection of medical treatises in the single, late 15th-century hand of Robert of Sherburn. The addition of recipes was made by a Francis Cox sometime in the 17th century. David Laing seems to have acquired the volume in 1865.

Previous title

Title given to the manuscript in Catherine Borland’s catalogue: Medica Secundum Scholam Salernitanam.

Previous reference

Laing 187

Bibliography

Duke Humfrey and English humanism in the fifteenth century: Catalogue of an Exhibition in Bodleian Library, Oxford Oxford, 1970, no. 23.

Physical Facet

Material: Paper, but f. 1 and fly-leaves are vellum.

Binding: Modern, lettered 'Schola Salertina, etc., Per Rob. Sherbourn Anno 1481 ms.'

Collation: a2, b10, c7, d8, e8, f5, g6, h8-q8, r5, s10, t8, v2=143

Dimensions

28.90 cm X 20.64 cm

General

Secundo folio: et non ex parte

Foliation and number of lines to a page: ff. 143, 55-70 lines of prose, 24 lines of verse to a page.

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379