De Lapidibus

De Lapidibus

De Lapidibus was one of the most popular works of scientific and medical lore current in the Middle Ages. Translations into French, Spanish, Irish, Hebrew, and English are known, while over 125 Latin manuscripts have survived. This is one of only three manuscripts of De Lapidibus in the United States.

Bishop Marbode of Rennes was a poet, teacher, and scholar of the late eleventh century. His most well-known work, De Lapidibus ["On Gemstones"], is a treatise describing the medicinal, therapeutic, and magical properties of sixty different jewels. These two leaves describe the properties of chalcedony, emerald [smaragdus], sardonyx, onyx, sard, chrysolite, beryl, and topaz.

Marbode, Bishop of Rennes, 1035?-1123

Early 13th century

2 leafs

E2003.1.30

Purchased for the Solomon M. Hyams Collection of the Boston Medical Library, 1932