Medicina antiqua (Codex Vindobonensis 93)

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Illustration of an invocation of the divine mother earth (fol. 9 recto)

The Viennese Codex Medicina antiqua ("Ancient Medicine") is a collection of late ancient medical texts in copies from the 13th century. The original text of it and numerous other manuscripts go back to a collective manuscript from the 4th or 5th century . The Vienna Codex 93 is kept in the Austrian National Library ( Codex Vindobonensis 93 ).

content

It shows medical images of plants, animals and humans, both of which have been used to extract medicinal products. Examples are elephant blood as a drink against blood spitting (fol. 125 verso) or the laying on of children's hair with vinegar against bites and ulcers (fol. 129). Also on display are: ideal portraits of the authors, city images, mythological scenes, depictions of medical treatments, ornaments and pen drawings added later. These drawings explain and / or supplement the text and the pictures and can only be found in the Viennese manuscript.

Snake as a rolled sail. Miniature on sheet 73

The direct model was probably a copy of an original from the 6th century; The basis for the picture decorations (such as the author of Dioscurides, ornaments) could also have been antique mosaics and votive reliefs . The stated authors include Antonius Musa and Lucius Apuleius . However, these attributions are likely to be essentially incorrect. The original texts of the writings come from the first centuries AD.

The codex has the most splendid pictorial decoration among the surviving copies , but also one of the worst textual traditions: the first word in the manuscript is already spoiled. There were also misunderstandings when copying the ancient images: For example, the snakes of Aesculapia became a rolled sail. In the last section, the text breaks off in the so-called Apollo letter. The plant pictures also remained unfinished. The volume was tied several times, which can be seen from a total of four different leaf numbers. The current compilation dates from 1970.

Adoption of ancient ideas

Text on the back (fol. 9 verso)

The reception of ancient ideas is informative , because many of the formulas and scenes have a pagan character. On the back of sheet no. 9 is the poem pr (a) ecatio terrae (invocation of the divine mother earth). Later there were only superficial corrections of the pagan formulas, so Dea sancta Tellus (Holy Goddess Earth) became Deo sancto (The Holy God). This can be traced back to an intact handwriting in Florence. The miniature on the front of the sheet illustrates the poem: at the bottom a river god can be seen with a bizarre fish, on the bank of the river the evocation of the earth mother takes place, who rests on a snake and holds a cornucopia . The plants shown are the subject of prayer. Another such text can be found on sheet no. 13, ( precatio herbarum ) there the medicinal herbs themselves are invoked.

The basic assumption that health depends not only on earthly, but also supernatural influences, was also agreed by Christian doctors. Names of gods or references to contraceptives were deleted .

Table of contents

Author's picture of Dioscurides on fol. 133 recto
  • Monograph on Vettonica ( Echte Betonie ) pseudonym attributed to Antonius Musa.
  • De herbarum virtutibus ( Pseudo-Apuleius ). A treatise with 131 herbal monographs, the author of which is not identical with Apuleius of Madaura, the Roman poet and philosopher of the 2nd century.
  • Fictional letter from the Egyptian Pharaoh to Emperor Augustus
  • Liber medicinae ex animalibus , 32 animal monographs on the use of animal products, attributed to an otherwise unknown Sextus Placitus Papyriensis. A chapter De puero aut virgine on the use of human excretions is inserted .
  • De herbis feminis , a selection of 71 plants from the Dioscurides plant book, with a strongly shortened Latin text (Pseudo-Dioscurides).
  • Only the Viennese and Florence versions contain: Pr (a) ecatio terrae (invocation of the divine mother earth), with Christian corrections (9v) and a prayer to all plants ( Precatio herbarum , 13r). A fictional letter from Hippocrates to Maecenas , a Theriak recipe, a text on the Mandragora according to Dioscurides and the Apollo letter with various recipes. Overall very poor text condition.

history

The work was created in Sicily around the middle of the 13th century and has been listed in the catalog of the Vienna Court Library , today the Austrian National Library , since the early 18th century . The font is the books minuscule of the Italian Gothic and details of the clothes of the people depicted ( ribbon bonnets ) refer to the Hohenstaufen period.

facsimile

A facsimile edition is from the 1970s, a reduced reprint has been available since 1996.

gallery

  • Allegorical scene with Homer , a doctor and the god Mercurius (from left). The above plant is called "Immolum" ( Moly ) (fol. 61 v)

  • Above: Spells against highwaymen. Below: Plant picture of the black nightshade ( Solanum nigrum ). (fol. 78 v.)

  • Mythical mandrake harvest (fol. 118 r.) Continued from 117 BC, there a dog tears the roots out of the earth

  • Hunting scene (fol. 70 r.) Illustration of the wound-healing effect of the real diptam ( Origanum dictamnus ) The picture of the plant is from 69 BC.

literature

  • Medicina antiqua: Codex Vindobonensis 93 of the Austrian National Library Commentary by Hans Zotter. Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt (1971/72) 2001 2nd edition (Highlights of Book Art: Volume 6) ISBN 3-201-01659-4
  • Hans Zotter (ed. And translator): Ancient medicine. The collective medical manuscript Cod. Vindobonensis 93 in Latin and German. With 48 facsimile pages, (Graz 1980) 2nd, improved edition, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1986 (= Interpretationes ad codices. Volume 2), ISBN 3-201-01308-0 (leather edition : ISBN 3-201-01310- 2 ).
  • Franz Daxecker: Ophthalmic remedies in the Codex Medicina antiqua (Codex Vindobonensis 93) , Klin Mbl Augenheilk 2007; 224: 950-951.
  • Ernst Howald , Henry E. Sigerist (Ed.): Antonii Musae De herba vettonica liber. Pseudoapulei Herbarius. Anonymi De taxone liber. Sexti Placiti Liber medicinae ex animalibus etc. Teubner, Leipzig 1927 (= Corpus medicorum latinorum , 4).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Medicina antiqua. Highlights of book art , Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt 1996 Volume 6 Commentary by Hans Zotter p. 64
  2. ↑ Highlights of Book Art, Commentary, pp. 68f.
  3. ↑ a b Highlights of Book Art, Commentary, pp. 3 to 11
  4. ↑ Analysis: Precatio Terrae and Precatio Omnium Herbarum (Latin and English) (PDF; 2.4 MB)
  5. ^ Hans Biedermann Medicina Magica , Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt 1972, 2nd ed. 1978 p. 79 ISBN 3-201-01077-4
  6. ↑ Medicina Magica , p. 33 ff.
  7. ↑ See also Hans Diller : Zu Sextus Placitus. In: Philologus XCVII. Leipzig 1948, pp. 363–365.
  8. ↑ Austrian National Library, Codex 93
  9. ↑ blog.denkschriften ( memento of the original from April 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed Aug. 10, 2008) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blog.denkschriften.de
  10. ^ Charles Hugh Talbot, Franz Unterkircher (Ed.): Medicina Antiqua. Libri quattuor medicinae (Codex Vindobonensis 93 of the Austrian National Library), text volume and commentary volume (Charles H. Talbot: Medico historical introduction. Franz Unterkircher: Codicological and iconographic introduction. ) Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1972 (= Codices selecti. XXVII).
  11. ^ Medicina antiqua. Highlights of book art , Graz: Academic Printing and Publishing Company 1996 Volume 6 ISBN 3-201-01659-4

Web links

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