United Kingdom, London, Wellcome Library, 542

United Kingdom, London, Wellcome Library, 542

English and latin medical miscellany
Physical Description
  • Material: Parchment
  • Pages: 119 leaves
  • Leaves Format: not available
  • Dimensions: 300 x 195 mm
Detailed Description
  • Condition Description:
    Leaves are wanting after folios 14v , 20v , 75v , 99v , 109v , 112v , and all after foleave 119v .
    The upper corner of foleave 21r has been torn away, but without loss of text.
    A few leaves are cockled by damp, or stained.
    On foleave 110r a late 16th century inscription has been deleted.
  • Decoration:
    Headings in red.
  • Layout:


    43 lines to the page.
  • Hand Description:
    Written by the same scribe throughout in a clear English book-hand.
  • Binding Description:
    Modern brown stamped morocco binding over wooden boards.
  • Acquisition:
    Purchased 1911, accession number 44194.
  • Provenance:
    Once the book belonged to John and Peter Sharde or Shearde: In the upper margin of f. 86v 'John Sharde'. And on f. 24v in the outer margin, in red ink: 'Petrus Shearde possessor huius Liber [sic] 1609'.

    From the Payne Collection. There are several notes in pencil by J. F. Payne, and his Ex-libris is pasted inside the upper cover.
    The MS. came from the Library of William Frazer MD. of Dublin [1824-1899], and was sold at Sotheby's 14/3/1900, Lot 397. Sotheby's Catalogue No. 408.
History
  • Origin Date: Early 15th century
  • Origin Place: not available
  • Samuel Arthur Joseph Moorat , Catalogue of Western manuscripts on medicine and science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library Vol. I. Mss. written before 1650 A.D., London (1962) , pp. 400-403 [Link]
  • Wellcome Institute Library (London): Wellcome Library Online Catalogue [description]
Content
Anonymous Medical poem 1r - 20v
  • Incipit:
    Spiritus sancti assit nobis gratia. [T]he man pat wol of lechecraft lere. and preciouse medycinis porw goddis grace. Red ovyr this book and he may here. to saue men lyues in diuerse place ...
  • Explicit:
    Prey we alle to ihesu heuene kyng. that if her sowles god wonnyng.
  • Note:
    This poem is edited and analysed in Javier Calle Martín and Miguel Ángel Castaño-Gil, A Late Middle English Remedy-book: (MS Wellcome 542, Ff. 1r-20v) : a Scholarly Edition (Bern: Peter Lang, 2013).
Constantinus Africanus Viaticum 21r - 65v
  • Incipit:
    [D]e emoptoicis. [D]e emoptoicis sunt qui san[guinem] per os eiiciunt ...
  • Explicit:
    [De pestilentia aeris]...sed si effimeram habeat 1ac acetosum bibat.
  • Note:
    Books I, II and part of III wanting. This tract has not been positively identified, but it seems to be a 'Practica' in seven books, based closely as to order and subjects on the 'Viaticum' of Constantinus Africanus. It may possibly be an original compilation from this source by the unnamed Author of the 'Experimenta' (Item 7). The 'Experimenta' is apparently a collection of receipts and cures extracted from many Authors: many entries bear witness to personal knowledge of the effects of the remedies described, as a note 'ego expertus sum', 'ut vidi frequenter' is frequently added.
Galen De passionibus puerorum 65v - 66r
  • Incipit:
    [D]e passionibus puerorum. [D]e passionibus puerorum incurabilibus iacentium sub breui michi tractare conpendio ...
  • Explicit:
    ...fac puluerem de cornu ceruino combusto tunc pusmalignum suprasperge.
Averroes Colliget 66r - 72r
  • Incipit:
    [P]arcium super quas testimus in corpore humano sunt. 2 ...
  • Explicit:
    ... et quantum habet anothomie membrorum sufficiat. hoc et si aliqui voluerint plus addere addant.
Richardus Anglicus Anatomia 72r - 75v
  • Incipit:
    [I]ncipit anothomia interiorum membrorum. [T]estante G[alieno] quicumque interiorum non apparencium membrorum cognitorum esse disiderant ...
  • Explicit:
    ... habet preterea matrix dupplex orificium exterius quod semper ...
  • Note:
    Incomplete.
Anonymous Notes 76r - 79r
  • Incipit:
    Iste vene inferiores valent tumefaccioni et doloribus testiculorum ...
  • Explicit:
    ... significat habundanciam sanguinis et indiget fleobotom[i]a.
  • Note:
    Notes on phlebotomy, pulses, prognostics, urines etc. Beginning wanting.
Anonymous Experimenta secreta et experta 79v - 101r
  • Incipit:
    Hic incipiunt experimenta secreta et experta. [P]ro dolore capitis. Item intelligentdum quod si urina mingitur tur bulenta et sic maneat ...
  • Explicit:
    .. et per pannum subtilem cola in vase vitreo colige [sic] et cum opus fuerit in aure mitte tepidum.
Zacharias of Salerno De passionibus oculorum 101r - 108r
  • Incipit:
    [I]ncipit trac[ta]tus de passione oculorum. Apud Polion artis nostre tractacio res pauca ...
  • Explicit:
    ... et unam guttam in oculo pone bis in die sanguinem consumit. oculum mundificat wulnus consolidat
Anonymous Glossary of materia medica 109r - 117v
  • Incipit:
    [A]loes lignum sunt autem tria genera ...
  • Explicit:
    Lentigo. natat in aquis cibus anatis. anglica Gudegras.
  • Note:
    With some names in English.
Anonymous Glossary of materia medica 118r - 119v
  • Incipit:
    [A]loes lignum. calidum et siccum in iiO. gradu ...
  • Explicit:
    Eleborus albus herba est. Radix ponitur in medicinis c[alidus] et s[iccus] in iiiO. gradu anglice longwort anglice longwort.