Medicina Antiqua

One of the most admired medical books of the Middle Ages, Medicina Antiqua is a compendium of popular Late Antique texts brought together in the 6th century. It contains writings on herbs and materia medica by authors heavily reliant on the works of Pliny and Dioscorides. Of the 50 surviving copies of this influential miscellany produced before the end of the Middle Ages, the present manuscript is one of the most enticing. Executed in Southern Italy in the first half of the 13th century, it is beautifully illustrated in vibrant body colour with plants, animals and scenes of medical treatments, faithfully drawn after Late Antique models. The facsimile reproduction of the complete manuscript is followed by an essay by Peter Murray Jones, which sets the manuscript in the context of the history of medicine. Codicological information is also provided and all plants and illustrations are identified.