The James Catalogue of Western Manuscripts

Shelfmark O.9.10
Manuscript Title

Medical Miscellany

Alternative Title

Medica.

James Number 1422
Century 15th
Physical Description

Double columns of 36 lines. Clearly written.

Provenance

Part of the Gale collection, given to T.C.C. by Roger Gale in 1738. Marked I. 20. No. 363. On a flyleaf the name John Gylberd (xv). On f.55a xvith cent. inscription: Iste liber pertinet as I drew in mynd ad me Willm Feld so gentle and so kind A pena Inferna god hym defend. Also a half-length figure of a man in Elizabethan dress rather carefully drawn.

Second Folio quia quandoque
Donor Gale, Roger (1672-1744), Antiquary
Size (cm) 28.5 x 21
Folio 144 + 4 ff.
Material Parchment
Language Middle English
Collation

4 flyleaves. 18-188. The catchwords have grotesque figures attached to them in many cases.

IIIF Manifest URL https://mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Manuscript/O.9.10/manifest.json
Online Since 03/07/2019

Contents

f.iii Remedium contra pestilenciam (in rhyming verse)
Homo si vis te preseruare}
Summe debes euitare } Replecionem nimiam.
Ends f.iv: Ut dictum est age curando}
Dei opem implorando } Et uiues deo dante.
Amen.
Finitur receptus cathedralis ingressus cuiusdam Baccalarii in medicinis Vniuersitatis Cantabrigie contra epidemiam. Amen. Whalsgraue.

2. f.iv Potus contra pestilenciam.

3. f.1 Tabula
A glossary of medicines with a few English glosses.
Aaron iarus (.i. cokkopintis) . pes uituli. (.i. folefot.)
Ends f.26b: Zucoraria: u. in metridato flos Agnicasti.

4. f.27 Inc. liber Antitodarii Nicholai Mesue Rasis et Galieni Antitodarium. Aurea Alexandria ffaciens ad reuma capitis. The last article is
Yera pigra.
Expl. liber Galieni.

5. f.49b Inc. quedam medicine particulares
Effectus herbarum cirurgie.
f.50 Medicine applicate diuersis infirmitatibus

6. f.52 Inc. Tabula super Auicenna
Alphathius. Idem quod medicus.
...
Zegi. Atramentum uel uitreolum.
Expl. Tabula Auicenne Fen super interpretaciones dictionum Ebraicarum Grecarum et eciam Persidarum script. per Fr. Johannem Holbeche m. ordinis minorum.

7. f.67 Inc. Pronosticaciones et Fortuna cuiuscunque persone secundum signa Zodiaci
Marcius
Qui natus fuerit sub signo arietis.
-In filiis habundabit innumeris.
Expl. tract. fortuitorum.
Below is a dog with scroll Bewar of my shappe.

8. f.72 Inc. tract. de planetis
Sciendum quod quando aliquis nascitur.

9. f.73 Tract. de diminucione sanguinis in diuersis mensibus
Here he telleth what day is good to blede on for diuerse maledies ύ in eueri monthe.

10. f.75b Sphere of Apuleius, with diagram. Text in French
Ceste la esper de epeleron de diciple platoun de la vie
et de la mort.

11. f.76 Dominium Signorum
With a rude drawing of a man; the spheres of influence of the signs and planets marked on his body.

12. f.76b Passio domini nostri Ihesu Christi secundum Nichodemum
Factum est anno xco. (sic) Imperii tiberii Cesaris.
Ends with the statement of the chronology from Adam to Christ: idem Ihesus qui iam regnat in Celis. Cui sit laus et gloria in sec. sec. Amen.

13. f.85 Inc. tract. de Urinis
Omnis urina est colamentum sanguinis.
Ends f.87b: si patiens bene dormiat.
Expl. tract. de Urinis.

14. f.87b Inc. deuota meditacio ad salutacionem V. Marie
Autor de laudibus b. V. libro secundo.
Ends with a poem:
Aue maria mitis et pia
laus tibi quia sic grauidaris
gratia plena uirgo serena
que sine pena ac labe paris.
And Collect, Interueniat pro nobis.

15. f.88 Ad laudem quinque gaudiorum V. Marie per quinque litteras nomini suo adaptatas
Ending with poem:
Et tunc laudetur maria secundum sua nomina per se.
Salue uirgo gloriosa )
Parens femina formosa ) pro nobis ad filium.
Funde preces pulcra rosa)
Nos. 16-20 were originally the first items in the volume.

16. f.89 a. Oratio super herbas et olera virencia
Deus qui in mundo primordiali.
b. Macer.
De Arthemesia.
f.89 Herbarum quasdam dicturus carmine uires
...
Papulas eius istud cathaplasma resoluit.
Expl. Macer herbarum uersificatus.
f.108 e. Signa naturalia cuiuscunque morientis
His signis moriens certis cognoscitur eger.
9 lines.

17. f.108 Inc. tabula libri Marboti de lapidibus
1. de Adamante.
14. de Crissopassio.
f.108b Inc. Marbotus de virtutibus lapidium
Evax rex arabum legitur scripsisse neroni.
etc.
De Adamante.
Ultima precipuum genus India fert adamantis.
Ends: quicquid eis datur deus omnipotens operatur.
Expl. Marbotus de lapidibus.

18. f.113b Miscellaneous receipts

19. f.114 Inc. Cura capitis
Pullule pro dolore capitis.
Ends. Contra calculum
-sume mane et sero.
Expl tract. de medicina ffr. Willmi Holm de Ordine Minorum (f.119a)
In the margin a drawing of a castle on a green hill

20. f.199b A list of remedies
Aro (l. pro) astrologia . 20 . ruta domestica.
Pro acacia succus lentisci etc.
Ends. Pro osse de corde cerui . rasure cornu eiusdem.
Here no. 1 originally followed.

21. f.121 Inc. exposiciones diccionum
Ametistus ut dicit Ysid. Eth. xvj.
Ends with Zucarium.
Prestante deo uiuo qui omnia creauit et uiuit in sec. sec Amen.
Explicito libro sit laus et gloria Christo.

22. f.137 Platearius abbreuiatus
In double columns, but to be read across the page.
Aloen Calidum et siccum in 2 do gradu.
...
Zucarium: uirtutem habet humectandi infrigidandi nutriendi laxandi.
Expl. Platearius sub Compendio Alphabeti.
ff.141-144 are occupied with miscellaneous receipts and notes beginning with one on
Ydragogium and including
Pillule regis Francie.
Pro webbe in oculo. In English, f.142.
De signis zodiaci versus f.143b.
Table of lucky and unlucky days and signs f.144b, alia manu.

Bibliography

Edge, J., Onomantic divination in late medieval Britain : questioning life, predicting death (Woodbridge, 2004)

Friedman, J. B., '"Dies boni et mali, obitus, et contra hec remedium": remedies for fortune in some late medieval English Manuscripts', Journal of English and Germanic Philology 90 (1991), 311-26

Mooney, L. R., The Index of Middle English Prose Handlist 11: Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge (Cambridge, 1995), pp. 138-9 and 162

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