Practica

Accession number:

MS M.900

Title:

Practica

Created:

South Germany, ca. 1450.

Binding:

15th-century German red sheepskin over oak boards, blind-tooled in rectangular and diamond-shaped panels, rebacked with lighter- colored sheepskin, lettered on spine Meister Bartholomey Deutsch, metal bosses at centers and corners of covers, missing 1 on back cover; 1 metal and leather clasp.

Credit:

Purchase; Quaritch, with income from the Trust Fund of Lathrop Colgate Harper; July, 1960.

Description:

135 leaves (1 column, 27-29 lines), bound : vellum, ill. ; 210 x 140 mm.

Provenance:

Dr. E. Falk; Sotheby's sale (London, July 11, 1960, lot 129) to Quaritch; purchased from Quaritch with income from the Trust Fund of Lathrop Colgate Harper in July, 1960.

Notes:

Ms. medical manual, written and illustrated in South Germany, ca. 1450.
Texts: 1) Bartholomaeus of Salerno, Practica (in Middle High German translation) supplemented by subsequent popular medical writings (fols. 1-59v; 69v-100); 2) Macer Floridus, De viribus herbarum (in Middle High German translation and with versified prologue: fols. 61-69 - abbreviated form; fols. 100v-118v - longer form, headed Virtutes herbarum); fols. 120-135 comprise an index. (Curt Bühler suggests the dialect is Middle Rhenish, and that the manuscript was written between Koblenz and Bonn, towards mid century)
Decoration: 2 full-page unframed miniatures (fol. 119, personification of Ars medicinalis; fol. 119v, portrait of Hippocrates), 2 historiated initials (fols 1, 120), 4 decorated initials.
M.900 has watermarks: "Lettre P gothique à quatre feuille", Briquet group 8588-8653, closest to 8599, Rhine valley mid-15th century; and "Lettre P gothique simple", closest to Briquet 8571, same place and time.

Script:

cursive

Language:

Middle High German

Resources:

Description/Bibliography

Century:

15th century

Genres:

Illuminated manuscripts

Miniatures (Illuminations)

Historiated initials