De bello Peloponnesiaco
Incunabula
Excerpts
Thucydides
Plagues
Thucydides was a fifth-century Greek and eyewitness to the long struggle (431-404 B.C.) for dominance between the warring city-states of Athens and Sparta. <i>De bello Peloponnesiaco</i>, or <i>The History of the Peloponnesian War</i>, 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.
<p>
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.
Thucydides
Johannes Rubeus
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text
Latin
text
DigID0002517
Opera of Aristotle
Aristotle
Excerpts
Volume one of the first printed edition of Aristotle’s works in Greek.
Aristotle
Aldus Manutius
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text
Greek
text
DigID0002713
A leaf from the Canon Medicinae of Avicenna
Avicenna, 980-1037
Manuscripts (document genre)
Excerpts
This manuscript copy of Avicenna's <em>Canon</em>, written by Mordechai bar Elia in a rabbinical hand, was formerly in the library of Prince Dietrichstein of Nikolsburg.
Avicenna, 980-1037
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text
Hebrew
text
Ballard 10
Canon medicinae
Incunabula
Excerpts
Avicenna, 980-1037
<p>The <em>Canon medicinae</em>, a compendium of medical knowledge and a guide to clinical teaching, was derived from Galenic and Hippocratic writings and infused by Avicenna with Arabic medical lore. The <em>Canon</em> includes detailed disquisitions on pathology, physiology, hygiene, therapeutics, and materia medica. The first three books were printed in Latin in 1472 and a complete edition appeared the following year. An encyclopedic and systematic treatise on medicine, it was the fundamental text in medieval and early Renaissance medical education. The text itself was read in the medical schools at Montpellier and Louvain as late as 1650, and Arnold C. Klebs described it as <em>"one of the most significant intellectual phenomena of all times."</em> Avicenna's <em>Canon</em>was translated into Hebrew in 1279.</p>
<p>This edition of Avicenna’s <em>Canon</em> is its first appearance in print as well as the first printing of a medical treatise in Hebrew—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>
Avicenna, 980-1037
Azriel ben Joseph de Gunzenhausen
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text
Hebrew
text
DigID0002514
Cantica de medicina
Avicenna, 980-1037
Excerpts
Initials (layout features)
This lesser-known medical work of Avicenna is bound in a manuscript musical sheet with an unusual skull-and-crossbones illuminated initial.
Avicenna, 980-1037
Andreas de Soziis
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text
Latin
text
DigID0002710-0002711
Lilium Medicinae; De Phlebotomia
Bernard, de Gordon, approximately 1260-approximately 1318
Manuscripts (document genre)
Judaica
Excerpts
Bernard de Gordon taught in the medical faculty at Montpellier, which was a refuge for Jewish students from Spain. The <i>Lilium Medicinae</i>, 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 <i>De Phlebotomia</i> is exceedingly rare, with only 4 manuscript copies known.
<p>
From the Prince Dietrichstein Library.
Bernard, de Gordon, approximately 1260-approximately 1318
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text
Hebrew
DigID0002793
Anulus astronomicus
Bonet, de Lates, -1514 or 1515
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Judaica
Astronomical instruments
Excerpts
Frontispieces (illustrations)
Bonet de Lates was a Provençal physician and astrologer who settled in Rome, where, in addition to acting as physician to Popes Alexander VI and Leo X, he served the Jewish community as a rabbi. He is best known for his invention of the ring-shaped astronomical dial, described in this work, which could measure the altitudes of the sun and stars, as well as the time of day or night. This is said to be the first printed illustration of a scientific instrument. Bonet also wrote a treatise entitled <em>“Prognosticum”</em> (Rome, 1498), in which he predicted the coming of the Messiah in 1505.
Bonet, de Lates, -1514 or 1515
Andreas Freitag
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text
Latin
DigID0002777
DigID0002778
Das Buch der Cirurgia
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Brunschwig, Hieronymus, approximately 1450-approximately 1512
Brunschwig's <i>Book of Surgery</i> was intended to be a manual of general practice for the independent surgeon and is the first printed German text on this subject. The <i>Cirurgia</i> 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.
Brunschwig, Hieronymus, approximately 1450-approximately 1512
Johann Gruninger
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image
still image
DigID0002502
Apothecary shop
Incunabula
Engravings (prints)
Brunschwig, Hieronymus, approximately 1450-approximately 1512
Brunschwig, Hieronymus, approximately 1450-approximately 1512
Johann Gruninger
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image
still image
DigID0002506
Oratio in Die Circumcisionis Anno 1484 Habita
Carvajal, Bernardino de, 1456-1523
Incunabula
Judaica
Excerpts
Circumcision
This sermon on Christ’s circumcision, given before Pope Sixtus IV in 1484, explores the symbolic aspects of the ritual and compares it to Christ’s eventual suffering on the cross. Carvajal claims that the process of circumcision and its attendant blood loss and pain help demonstrate the humanity of Christ. The early Christian writers, in particular St. Augustine, interpreted Christ’s circumcision as the redemption of original sin -- thus likening it to baptism -- rather than as a sign of the covenant between Abraham and God. Because Christ was circumcised, it was not required of his followers; baptism would suffice.
Carvajal, Bernardino de, 1456-1523
Stephan Plannck
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text
Latin
DigID0002776
De medicina
Incunabula
Celsus, Aulus Cornelius
Excerpts
One of the first medical books ever printed, the <i>De medicina</i> 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 <i>Cicero medicorum</i>, the Cicero of physicians. His <i>De medicina</i> 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.
<p>
The first edition of <i>De medicina</i> 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 <i>insania</i> [insanity] and <i>cardiacus</i> [heart disease]; plastic repair for mutilations of noses, lips, and eyelids; treatments for jaw fracture; and tooth extraction, fillings, and oral surgery. The <i>De medicina</i> also contains the first history of medicine, and it was Celsus who originally translated Greek medical terms into Latin.
Celsus, Aulus Cornelius
Nicolaus Laurentii
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text
Latin
text
DigID0002515
Viaticum
Constantine, the African, approximately 1020-1087
Manuscripts (document genre)
Judaica
Excerpts
Translations (documents)
Handbooks
The <em>Viaticum</em>is 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.
<p>From the Prince Dietrichstein Library.</p>
Constantine, the African, approximately 1020-1087
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text
Latin
DigID0002789
A Tutti Voi Mercanti
Ferdinando I, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 1549-1609
Manuscripts (document genre)
Judaica
Excerpts
Legal documents
This document bestows legal, religious, and commercial privileges on foreign merchants and the Jewish community in the cities of Pisa and Livorno. Section 18, on the right hand page, grants Jews the right to practice medicine, and section 20 grants the right to build a synagogue in Pisa.
Ferdinando I, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 1549-1609
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text
Italian
DigID0002792
Ein hubscher Tractat von dem Ursprung des Bösen Franzos
Incunabula
Grünpeck, Joseph, approximately 1473-approximately 1532
Woodcuts (prints)
This small pamphlet on syphilis [<em>A Fine Treatise on the Origin of the French Evil</em>] 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.
Grünpeck, Joseph, approximately 1473-approximately 1532
Caspar Hochfeder
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image
still image
DigID0002527
Almanach ad annum 1494
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Honiger, Jacobus
Almanacs
Almanacs were used to record the most propitious days and times for purging, bloodletting, and pharmaceutical manufacture according to astrological and astronomical events. This specimen for the city of Erfurt in 1494 includes woodcuts depicting solar and lunar eclipses. The Boston Medical Library holds an exceptional collection of broadside Latin and German almanacs and calendars, with twenty-four examples printed during the fifteenth century.
Honiger, Jacobus
Caspar Hochfeder
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image
Latin
still image
DigID0002522
Almanach ad Annum 1494
Honiger, Jakob, active 1493
[Nuremberg : Kaspar Hochfeder, 1493]
E2003.1.29
Liber Aggregatus in Medicinis Simplicibus
Ibn Serapion, active 9th century
Incunabula
Judaica
Abraham, of Tortosa, active 13th century (translator)
Translations (documents)
Initials (layout features)
This is the first medical book – an Arabic work on medicine, pharmacology, and therapeutics – translated by a Jew (Abraham of Tortosa, fl. 13th century). “Simples” are the foundations (plant, animal, or mineral) upon which compounded preparations are formulated.
Ibn Serapion, active 9th century
Antonio Zarotto
Abraham, of Tortosa, active 13th century (translator)
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text
Latin
DigID0002794
Malleus maleficarum
Incunabula
Excerpts
Institoris, Heinrich, 1430-1505
Sprenger, Jakob, 1436 or 1438-1495
This is a first edition of the <i>Malleus maleficarum</i> [<i>The Witches' Hammer</i>], 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 <i>Malleus maleficarum</i> were produced before 1600, and it was still consulted in the eighteenth century.
Institoris, Heinrich, 1430-1505
Sprenger, Jakob, 1436 or 1438-1495
Peter Drach
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text
Latin
text
DigID0002516
De Febribus
Israeli, Isaac, approximately 832-approximately 932
Manuscripts (document genre)
Figure initials
Isaac Israeli was born in Egypt and studied widely in natural history, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. He settled in Kairwan, Tunisia, where he served as court physician to the caliph and wrote several esteemed medical and philosphical works in Arabic. Many of the medical treatises, including On Fevers, were translated into Latin by the Benedictine monk Constantine the African in the 11th century. Thereafter, the authorship of Israeli’s medical works was attributed to Constantine; their true origin was not discovered until the middle of the 16th century.This illuminated initial probably depicts Israeli teaching or lecturing.
<p>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.</p>
Israeli, Isaac, approximately 832-approximately 932
1250, circa
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image
E2003.1.49
Kitab al-Maliki
Israeli, Isaac, approximately 832-approximately 932
Manuscripts (document genre)
Judaica
Excerpts
This work is also attributed to Haly Abbas. Also included in this volume are Constantine the African’s <em>De Stomacho (On Diseases of the Stomach)</em> and Marbode’s <em>De Lapidibus (On Stones)</em>. This volume is bound in a vellum leaf of manuscript, probably a 16th-century hand.
Israeli, Isaac, approximately 832-approximately 932
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text
Latin
DigID0002797
De Urinis
Israeli, Isaac, approximately 832-approximately 932
Manuscripts (document genre)
Judaica
Excerpts
Urine
This manuscript version of Isaac Israeli’s treatise on urine is part of a larger compilation of texts which was probably used by a German medical student (the binding is typical of German craftsmanship and materials). The lack of embellishment or illumination, as well as the small hand and margins, suggest that this codex was meant for use by a student.
<p>The text of <em>De Urinis</em> 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 …”</p>
Israeli, Isaac, approximately 832-approximately 932
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text
Latin
DigID0002788
Liber de Gradibus Simplicium
Israeli, Isaac, approximately 832-approximately 932
Manuscripts (document genre)
Judaica
Excerpts
Ibn al-Jazzar, -980
Israeli, Isaac, approximately 832-approximately 932
Ibn al-Jazzar, -980
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text
Latin
DigID0002791
De Antiquitate Judaica; De Bello Judaico
Josephus, Flavius
Incunabula
Judaica
Excerpts
Initials (layout features)
Josephus, born in Jerusalem, had a multifaceted career as priest, soldier, and historian. His retelling of Jewish history and partially first-hand account of the rebellion against the Romans (66-70 CE), originally written in Aramaic (now lost) and Greek, appear here in Latin translation. Josephus served as military commander of the Jewish army in Galilee despite his reluctance to join in the revolt. After the destruction of the Temple in 70, Josephus, whose ties with Roman culture were paradoxically strong, took up residence in Rome and began his literary career.
<p>
This copy has a particularly beautiful illuminated initial and is extensively rubricated.
Josephus, Flavius
Petrus Maufer
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text
Latin
DigID0002781
Opera
Josephus, Flavius
Incunabula
Judaica
Excerpts
Initials (layout features)
Judaism
This edition of Josephus' entire <em>oeuvre</em> includes the <em>Contra Apionem</em>, 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 <em>De Antiquitate Judaica</em>.
Josephus, Flavius
Giovanni Rosso
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text
Latin
DigID0002780
Petrus De Montagnana (Medieval medical library)
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Ketham, Joannes de, active 15th century
Ketham, Joannes de, active 15th century
Giovanni and Gregorio de' Gregori
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image
Italian
still image
DigID0002505
Fasciculus medicinae
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Ketham, Joannes de, active 15th century
Zodiac symbols
Anatomy
Although notable as one of the first incunables acquired by the Boston Medical Library, this first edition of the <i>Fasciculus medicinae</i> 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 <i>Fasciculus</i>: 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.
Ketham, Joannes de, active 15th century
Johannes et Gregorius de Gregoriis
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image
Latin
still image
DigID0002508
Perush 'al ha-Torah
Levi ben Gershom, 1288-1344
Incunabula
Excerpts
Judaica
This volume is a commentary on the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). Only 6 books are known to have been printed by Conat, who introduced Hebrew printing in Mantua in 1474. Conat's wife Estellina was the first woman to become involved in Hebrew printing with the production of Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi's <em>Behinat 'Olam (Investigation of the World)</em>.
Levi ben Gershom, 1288-1344
Abraham ben Solomon Conat and Abraham Jedidiah ha-Esrachi
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text
Hebrew
DigID0002779
Aphorismi Secundum Doctrinam Galeni
Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204
Incunabula
Judaica
Excerpts
Translations (documents)
This volume, the first printed edition of Maimonides’ interpretation of Hippocratic and Galenic doctrine, also includes the <em>Aphorismi</em> of St. John of Damascus, Razi’s <em>De Secretis in Medicina</em>, and Hippocrates’ <em>Prognostica</em>. 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’ <em>Aphorisms</em> 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 <em>De Regimine Sanitatis</em> were the work of Moses ibn Tibbon; the Latin translator is unknown.
Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204
Benedetto Faelli
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text
Latin
DigID0002786
De Regimine Sanitatis ad Soldanum Babyloniae
Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204
Incunabula
Translations (documents)
Excerpts
Hygiene
Annotations
Judaica
This is an early work on hygiene and longevity addressed to the Egyptian Sultan Saladin; Maimonides served as physician to the vizier of Saladin. Maimonides offers advice on such subjects as diet in health and disease, common illnesses, and therapeutics. This copy is extensively annotated in a 16th-century hand.
Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204
Convent of San Jacopo de Ripoli
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text
Latin
DigID0002785
Mishnah (compendium of Jewish Oral Law) with commentary of Maimonides
Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204
Incunabula
Judaica
Commentaries
Excerpts
Floor plans
Maimonides composed his Judeo-Arabic commentary on the <em>Mishnah</em> (known in Arabic as <em>Kitab al-Siraj</em>; in Hebrew, <em>Sefer ha Ma’or</em>) between 1145 and 1168. The <em>Mishnah</em>, compiled in the 2nd century CE by Judah ha-Nasi, is divided into six main sections (<em>Seeds, Festivals, Women, Torts, Sacred Things,</em> and <em>Purity</em>) which are in turn subdivided into many smaller sections. Maimonides’ commentary can be distinguished from the text of the <em>Mishnah</em> by the type face; the text is in a so-called square script, while the commentary is in a Sephardi script.
Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204
Joshua Solomon ben Israel Nathan Soncino
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text
Hebrew
DigID0002796
Iusiurandum
Incunabula
Perotti, Niccolo, 1430-1480
Hippocrates. Hippocratic oath
Oaths
At the end of Nicolaus Perottus' <i>De generibus metrorum</i> appears one of the most famous documents in the history of medicine, ethics, and education: the first printing of the <i>Iusiurandum</i>, the Hippocratic Oath. While certainly not composed by Hippocrates of Cos, the <i>Iusiurandum</i> 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 <i>Articella</i> (Venice, 1483), containing another fifteenth century edition of the <i>Iusiurandum</i>, as well as Francisco Arceo's <i>A Most Excellent and Compendious Method of Curing Wounds in the Head</i> (London, 1588) with the first translation of the Hippocratic Oath into English.
Perotti, Niccolo, 1430-1480
Boninus de Boninis
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text
Latin
text
DigID0002513
De revelatione facta ab angelo Beato Methodio in carcere dete[n]to
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Antichrist
Cesarean section
Pseudo-Methodius
This book of prophecies attributed to the fourth-century martyr, Methodius, was probably composed by a fifteenth century monk, Wolfgang Aytinger, to arouse animosity between Christians and Muslims. Although not specifically medical, the <em>De revelatione</em> 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.
Pseudo-Methodius
Michael Furter
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image
Latin
still image
DigID0002512
Tetrabiblos (Quadripartite)
Ptolemy, active 2nd century
Incunabula
Judaica
Excerpts
Astrology
The <i>Tetrabiblos</i> examines the influence of the stars on human affairs.
Ptolemy, active 2nd century
Boneto Locatelli
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text
Latin
DigID0002795
De sermonum proprietate, sive, Opus de universo
Incunabula
Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz, 784?-856
Excerpts
This encyclopedia of a ninth-century archbishop is the oldest incunable in the Boston Medical Library collection. The <i>De sermonum proprietate</i> 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, <i>De medicina et morbis</i>, [<i>On medicine and disease</i>].
Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz, 784?-856
Adolf Rusch
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text
Latin
text
DigID0002519
Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Schedel, Hartmann, 1440-1514
The first German edition of Hartmann Schedel's famous <em>Nuremberg Chronicle</em> 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.
Schedel, Hartmann, 1440-1514
Anton Koberger
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image
still image
DigID0002520
Relatio de Simone Puero Tridentino (Gabriele di Pietro, 1475)
Tiberinus, Johannes Matthias (fl. 1475)
Incunabula
Simon, of Trent, -1475
Judaica
Excerpts
Annotations
The story of Simon of Trent is among the most egregious examples of the “blood libel” against Jews. This accusation usually involves the sacrificial killing of children whose blood is then used in various rituals, among them the making of Passover <em>matzoh</em>. 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.
Tiberinus, Johannes Matthias (fl. 1475)
Gabriele di Pietro
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text
Latin
DigID0002784
Relatio de Simone puero Tridentino (Albrecht Kunne, 1476)
Tiberinus, Johannes Matthias (fl. 1475)
Incunabula
Simon, of Trent, -1475
Judaica
Excerpts
The story of Simon of Trent is among the most egregious examples of the “blood libel” against Jews. This accusation usually involves the sacrificial killing of children whose blood is then used in various rituals, among them the making of Passover <em>matzoh</em>. 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.
Tiberinus, Johannes Matthias (fl. 1475)
Albrecht Kunne
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text
Latin
DigID0002783
Relatio de Simone Puero Tridentino (Bartholomaeus Guldinbeck, 1475)
Tiberinus, Johannes Matthias (fl. 1475)
Incunabula
Simon, of Trent, -1475
Judaica
Excerpts
The story of Simon of Trent is among the most egregious examples of the “blood libel” against Jews. This accusation usually involves the sacrificial killing of children whose blood is then used in various rituals, among them the making of Passover <em>matzoh</em>. 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.
Tiberinus, Johannes Matthias (fl. 1475)
Bartholomaeus Guldinbeck
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text
Latin
DigID0002782
Regimen sanitatis
Incunabula
Marginal illustrations
Excerpts
Marginalia (annotations)
Probably the most popular medical work of the fifteenth century, the Latin <i>Regimen sanitatis</i> [<i>Rule of Health</i>] 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 <i>Regimen</i> is a didactic poem of domestic medical practice, containing commonsense rules and advice on diet for the maintenance of good health.
Unknown
Bernardinus Benalius
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text
Latin
text
DigID0002510
Serpent in a tree
Incunabula
Hand coloring
Woodcuts (prints)
Unknown
Jacob Meydenbach
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image
still image
DigID0002503
The virgin and the unicorn
Incunabula
Hand coloring
Woodcuts (prints)
Unknown
Jacob Meydenbach
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image
still image
DigID0002504
Hortus sanitatis
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Hand coloring
The <i>Hortus sanitatis [Garden of Health]</i> 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.
Unknown
Jacob Meydenbach
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image
still image
DigID0002501
Lines of the hand and their associated zodiac symbols
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Zodiac symbols
Chiromancy or palmistry is the study of the lines and shapes of the human hand to determine an individual's characteristics and analyze past, present, and future events. Books on the subject were among the most popular incunables produced. This brief manual on chiromancy identifies the lines of the hand and associates areas of the palm with the sun, moon, and planets as an aid to astrological divination.
Unknown
Bernardinus Benalius
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image
still image
DigID0002511
Pestblatt
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Broadsides
This broadside sheet was printed during an epidemic of plague in the German city of Augsburg in the early 1470s. The woodcut depicts Saints Sebastian and Roch (accompanied by an angel), comforting those struck down by the plague. Prayers to the two saints are printed below. The aid of Saint Sebastian, a third-century martyr, was frequently invoked in cases of plague, and the intercession of Saint Roch (d. 1327) was said to be responsible for the end of an outbreak in the city of Constance in 1414.
Unknown
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image
German
still image
DigID0002509
Herbolarium de virtutibus herbarum
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Excerpts
The <i>Herbolarium</i> 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 <i>Herbolarium</i>; 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.
Unknown
Leonardus Achates, de Basilea, and Guilielmus de Papia
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image
Latin
still image
DigID0002498
Physicians in sickroom
Incunabula
Woodcuts (prints)
Unknown
Jacob Meydenbach
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still image
DigID0002507
Somnia Danielis
Excerpts
Dreams
The <em>Somnia Danielis</em> [“Daniel’s Dreams”] is a work on the interpretation of dreams; it originated in the eighth century.
Unknown
Albrecht Kunne
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text
Latin
text
DigID0002712
Astronomica
Judaica
Manuscripts (document genre)
Astrology
Astronomy
Eclipses
This is a collection of 38 treatises on astronomy, astrology, and mathematics, including one of León Hebreo, <em>(De coniunctione Saturni et Iovis anni Christi 1345 (On the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the year of our Lord 1345)</em>.
Unknown
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text
Latin
DigID0002790
Engraving of Skeleton
Incunabula
Copper engravings (visual works)
Skeleton
Zoan Andrea, active 1475-1505
This unusual copper engraving is one of the earliest printed representations of the human skeleton, predating Andreas Vesalius' <em>De humani corporis fabrica</em>by nearly half a century. Only two other specimens are known.
<p>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 <em>"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."</em> When Librarian James F. Ballard first saw this engraving, its fine condition caused him to question its authenticity.</p>
Zoan Andrea, active 1475-1505
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image
Italian
still image
DigID0002518