Tetrabiblos examines the influence of the stars on human affairs.]]> Tetrabiblios (Quadripartite)]]> Liber de Gradibus Simplicium [Treatise on Simple Drugs], also attributed to Ibn al-Jazzar]]> The text of De Urinis begins just under the circle and the words ‘S[an]ta maria’: “In the name of Christ begins the book of urine translated by Constantine the African into the Latin language from the Arabic …”

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De Urinis [On Urine]]]>
De Stomacho (On Diseases of the Stomach) and Marbode’s De Lapidibus (On Stones). This volume is bound in a vellum leaf of manuscript, probably a 16th-century hand.]]> Kitab al-Maliki [Complete Book of the Medical Art; Part 1]]]> A Tutti Voi Mercanti [Statues for the Jewish community at Pisa and Livorno], decreed by Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany]]> Viaticumis a systematic and detailed medical handbook originally written in Arabic and translated at least 3 times into Hebrew. Its popularity in medieval Europe is well-documented. The Latin translation on view here is almost certainly the work of Constantine.

From the Prince Dietrichstein Library.

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Viaticum [Medical Book for Travelers], translated into Latin by Constantine the African]]>
Lilium Medicinae, written in 1303 and first printed in Naples in 1480, must have been well-known and well-used, as there were 7 editions printed before 1501. The text is notable for including one of the first descriptions of a truss for inguinal hernia. The De Phlebotomia is exceedingly rare, with only 4 manuscript copies known.

From the Prince Dietrichstein Library.]]> Lilium Medicinae [Lily of Medicine] and De Phlebotomia [On Phlebotomy]]]> (De coniunctione Saturni et Iovis anni Christi 1345 (On the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the year of our Lord 1345).]]> Astronomica, showing the solar and lunar eclipses for the years 1330-1386]]> matzoh. Simon of Trent (or Trento), 28 months old, disappeared on 23 March 1475; his body was found in a river several days later. Earlier in the Lenten season, the Franciscan friar Bernardinus of Feltre had delivered several inflammatory sermons denouncing the Jews of Trent and predicting the murder of a Christian child during Passover. The discovery of Simon’s body engendered widespread condemnation of the Jewish community and eventually led to the torture and execution of several of its members. Simon of Trent was canonized about a century later. After the second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the entire episode was declared a fraud; Simon’s name was removed from the calendar of saints’ days in 1965, the cult dedicated to him was dissolved, and further veneration of him was forbidden.]]> Relatio de Simone Puero Tridentino [The story of Simon, a boy of Trent]]]> matzoh. Simon of Trent (or Trento), 28 months old, disappeared on 23 March 1475; his body was found in a river several days later. Earlier in the Lenten season, the Franciscan friar Bernardinus of Feltre had delivered several inflammatory sermons denouncing the Jews of Trent and predicting the murder of a Christian child during Passover. The discovery of Simon’s body engendered widespread condemnation of the Jewish community and eventually led to the torture and execution of several of its members. Simon of Trent was canonized about a century later. After the second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the entire episode was declared a fraud; Simon’s name was removed from the calendar of saints’ days in 1965, the cult dedicated to him was dissolved, and further veneration of him was forbidden.]]> Relatio de Simone Puero Tridentino [The story of Simon, a boy of Trent]]]> matzoh. Simon of Trent (or Trento), 28 months old, disappeared on 23 March 1475; his body was found in a river several days later. Earlier in the Lenten season, the Franciscan friar Bernardinus of Feltre had delivered several inflammatory sermons denouncing the Jews of Trent and predicting the murder of a Christian child during Passover. The discovery of Simon’s body engendered widespread condemnation of the Jewish community and eventually led to the torture and execution of several of its members. Simon of Trent was canonized about a century later. After the second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the entire episode was declared a fraud; Simon’s name was removed from the calendar of saints’ days in 1965, the cult dedicated to him was dissolved, and further veneration of him was forbidden.]]> Relatio de Simone Puero Tridentino [The story of Simon, a boy of Trent], with annotations in the margins]]> Liber Aggregatus in Medicinis Simplicibus [Compilation on Simple Medicines], showing the illuminated initials]]> Mishnah (known in Arabic as Kitab al-Siraj; in Hebrew, Sefer ha Ma’or) between 1145 and 1168. The Mishnah, compiled in the 2nd century CE by Judah ha-Nasi, is divided into six main sections (Seeds, Festivals, Women, Torts, Sacred Things, and Purity) which are in turn subdivided into many smaller sections. Maimonides’ commentary can be distinguished from the text of the Mishnah by the type face; the text is in a so-called square script, while the commentary is in a Sephardi script.]]> Mishnah, including a hand-drawn diagram]]> De Regimine Sanitatis ad Soldanum Babyloniae [On the Regimen of Health for the Sultan of Babylonia]]]> Aphorismi of St. John of Damascus, Razi’s De Secretis in Medicina, and Hippocrates’ Prognostica. Maimonides, born at Córdoba in 1135, was not only a physician, but also a rabbinical scholar, scientist, and philosopher. This text is based on a 9th-century Arabic translation of Hippocrates’ Aphorisms together with Galen’s commentary. All of Maimonides’ medical works were composed in Arabic, and subsequently translated into Hebrew and Latin. The Hebrew translations of this work and De Regimine Sanitatis were the work of Moses ibn Tibbon; the Latin translator is unknown.]]> Aphorismi Secundum Doctrinam Galeni [Aphorisms According to Galen's Teachings]
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oeuvre includes the Contra Apionem, an apologetic work on behalf of Judaism. This copy, unrubricated save for the occasional crudely drawn initial, stands in stark contrast to the copy of De Antiquitate Judaica.]]> Opera, showing the simple initial]]> This copy has a particularly beautiful illuminated initial and is extensively rubricated.]]> De Antiquitate Judaica; De Bellow Judaico [On Jewish Antiquity; On the Jewish War] showing the illuminated initial]]> Oratio in Die Circumcisionis Anno 1484 Habita [Sermon on the Feast of the Circumcision, 1484]]]> “Prognosticum” (Rome, 1498), in which he predicted the coming of the Messiah in 1505.]]> Anulus astronomicus [Astronomical dial], and the woodcut frontispiece of the same work]]> Behinat 'Olam (Investigation of the World).]]> Perush 'al ha-Torah]]> Opera]]> Somnia Danielis [“Daniel’s Dreams”] is a work on the interpretation of dreams; it originated in the eighth century.]]> Somnia Danielis]]> ]]> Cantica de medicina by Avicenna]]> Das Buch der Cirurgia ( Strassburg, 4 July 1497)]]> Hortus sanitatis (Mainz, 23 June 1491)]]> Herbolarium describes the medicinal uses of common herbs and plants with woodcut illustrations of each. The work was once attributed to the medieval physician Arnaldus de Villanova (d. 1311) because of this imaginative frontispiece depicting a meeting of Arnaldus with the eleventh-century Arabian physician Avicenna. There is, in fact, no single author for the Herbolarium; it is a compilation of classical and medieval botanical lore from many sources. This volume appears to be the first of the 541 incunables purchased, donated, or bequeathed to the Boston Medical Library by Dr. William Norton Bullard. ]]> Herbolarium (Vincenza, 27 October 1491)]]> ]]> Chiromantia (Venice, October 1493)]]> A Fine Treatise on the Origin of the French Evil] was enormously popular, appearing in four different editions in Latin and German in the last years of the fifteenth century. The pamphlet was printed during the course of a syphilis epidemic which originated in France and reached Germany in 1495. Joseph Grünpeck theorized that the outbreak was caused by a disastrous conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn.]]> Ein hubscher Tractat von dem Ursprung des Bosen Franzos (Nuremberg, circa 1497)]]> here.]]> Book of Surgery was intended to be a manual of general practice for the independent surgeon and is the first printed German text on this subject. The Cirurgia contains information on the treatment of wounds, dislocations, fractures, and amputations and includes one of the earliest detailed accounts of the treatment of gunshot wounds. ]]> Das Buch der Cirurgia (Strassburg, 4 July 1497), showing the treatment of a leg injury]]> Nuremberg Chronicle traces the history of the world through six ages, from the Creation to 1493, concluding with the Apocalypse. Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff designed maps, city views, portraits of saints, popes, and kings, and Biblical scenes—over 1,800 woodcuts in all-making the Chronicle the most lavishly illustrated book of the fifteenth century.]]> Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten (Nuremberg, 23 December 1493)]]> Hortus sanitatis [Garden of Health] was a popular compendium of plant and herb lore during the Middle Ages. This is the first Latin edition, and twenty others were printed in Latin before 1547 attesting to its popularity. In addition to botanical information, it contains tracts on fish, birds, and other animals; mining and gemstones; and a work on the analysis of urine. ]]> Hortus sanitatis (Mainz, 23 June 1491) showing the analysis of urine]]> Fasciculus medicinae is also a cornerstone in the history of medicine, as it contains the first detailed anatomical illustrations ever printed. There are six woodcuts in the Fasciculus: a circle of urine glasses; a diagram of the veins for phlebotomy; a pregnant woman; a chart of wounds and one of disesases; and a second phlebotomy diagram which associates the parts of the body with the signs of the Zodiac. ]]> Fasciculus medicinae (Venice, 26 July 1491)]]> De revelatione contains a number of unusual woodcuts, among them this image of the birth of the Antichrist—which is also one of the earliest printed depictions of a Caesarian section birth. There is a long iconographic tradition of linking the Antichrist with a Caesarian birth, hinting at the suspicion and distrust surrounding this "unnatural" procedure.]]> here.]]> De humani corporis fabricaby nearly half a century. Only two other specimens are known.

The engraving appears to be only the fourth printed depiction of the skeleton and the first produced by copper engraving rather than woodcut. The archaic Italian inscription below reads "I cannot deny—I said, probably just before dying—that the agony that comes before dying is extremely painful, but even more painful is the fear of eternal damnation." When Librarian James F. Ballard first saw this engraving, its fine condition caused him to question its authenticity.

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Hortus sanitatis (Mainz, 1491) of a virgin and a unicorn]]> Fasciculus medicinae (Venice, 1495) of the medieval medical library of Petrus de Montagnana]]> From the William Norton Bullard Collection]]> Hortus sanitatis (Mainz, 1491) showing a serpent in an apple tree]]> <p>This edition of Avicenna&rsquo;s <em>Canon</em> is its first appearance in print as well as the first printing of a medical treatise in Hebrew&mdash;and the only one produced during the fifteenth century. Hebrew printing in the 15th century was restricted to Italy and the Iberian peninsula; after the expulsion from Spain in 1492, printers in Italy and Portugal produced a very small number of works. The Gunzenhauser family founded the first Hebrew press in Naples in 1486; this edition of the <em>Canon</em>was one of the last Hebrew books printed in that city.</p>]]> Canon medicinae (Naples, 9 November 1491) written in Hebrew]]> Regimen sanitatis [Rule of Health] was translated into almost every European language following its first appearance in print in 1480. Nearly forty different editions were produced before 1501. Composed in the twelfth or thirteenth century, the Regimen is a didactic poem of domestic medical practice, containing commonsense rules and advice on diet for the maintenance of good health. ]]> Regimen sanitatis (Venice, 1500) with doodles in the margin showing a rabbit and a boar, as well as marginal notes and underlining of the text]]> De medicina is a compilation of knowledge of diet, pharmacy, and surgery from the time of Imperial Rome, circa 30 A.D. In the Renaissance, Celsus' elegant style earned him the title of Cicero medicorum, the Cicero of physicians. His De medicina appeared in more editions than almost any other scientific text. It was printed four times during the fifteenth century, and over fifty editions had been produced by the nineteenth century.

The first edition of De medicina is notable for the appearance of a number of medical innovations and classic descriptions. These include the use of ligatures; surgical operations for crushing bladder stones and hernias; the first appearance of the terms insania [insanity] and cardiacus [heart disease]; plastic repair for mutilations of noses, lips, and eyelids; treatments for jaw fracture; and tooth extraction, fillings, and oral surgery. The De medicina also contains the first history of medicine, and it was Celsus who originally translated Greek medical terms into Latin. ]]> De medicinia (Florence, 1478)]]> De sermonum proprietate contains chapters on subjects as diverse as the earth, animals, precious stones and metals, heretics, paradise, time, and sewers, but it is also the earliest printed book known to contain a section devoted to medicine, De medicina et morbis, [On medicine and disease].]]> de medicina et morbis from Rabanus Maurus' De sermonum propietate (Strassburg, before 20 July 1467)]]> ]]> Malleus maleficarum [The Witches' Hammer], the foremost legal and theological handbook on witchcraft and demonology. It describes the operations of witches, remedies against spells, and the judicial proceedings of ecclesiastical and civil courts against witches and heretics. Twenty-eight editions of the Malleus maleficarum were produced before 1600, and it was still consulted in the eighteenth century. ]]> Malleus Maleficarum (Speyer, before 15 April 1487) including the appologia of the author and the beginning of the text]]> De bello Peloponnesiaco, or The History of the Peloponnesian War, his contemporary account of events, is one of the earliest works of historical writing. The Italian humanist, Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457), was commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to make this translation from Greek. It was the first Latin edition of Thucydides and the only one produced during the fifteenth century.

In 430 B.C., just at the beginning of the war, Athens suffered an outbreak of plague which severely demoralized its citizens and killed the city's leader, Pericles. Thucydides himself was afflicted but survived and left a vivid description of the effects of the plague. ]]> De bello Peloponnesiaco (Treviso, 1483?) by Thucydides, describing the plauge in Athens that killed Pericles]]> Thucydides ]]> De generibus metrorum appears one of the most famous documents in the history of medicine, ethics, and education: the first printing of the Iusiurandum, the Hippocratic Oath. While certainly not composed by Hippocrates of Cos, the Iusiurandum was probably formulated in the fourth century B.C. and expresses many Hippocratic ideals. It became common practice, by the 1850s, for American medical students to take this oath of conduct at the completion of their studies; the tradition continues to this day. The Boston Medical Library also holds a copy of the Articella (Venice, 1483), containing another fifteenth century edition of the Iusiurandum, as well as Francisco Arceo's A Most Excellent and Compendious Method of Curing Wounds in the Head (London, 1588) with the first translation of the Hippocratic Oath into English. ]]> Iusiurandum, the Hippocratic Oath, at the end of a Nicolaus Perottus' De generibus metrorum (Verona, circa 1475-1483)]]> This manuscript tract on the treatment of fever was written in Montpellier, France, in the middle of the thirteenth century. The manuscript is one of the oldest in the Countway Library and also the first item acquired for the Hyams Collection.

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De Febribus]]>
Canon, written by Mordechai bar Elia in a rabbinical hand, was formerly in the library of Prince Dietrichstein of Nikolsburg.]]> Canon]]>