Vademecum

Vade mecum. Missale Itinerantium (printed in Nuremberg 1510). From the title page of a collection of liturgical texts for use when traveling

A Vademecum ( German also Vademecum written plural the Vademecum or Vade Mecum ) is a booklet or handy, small-format book that can be carried as a useful tool to assist in the professions, traveling or other circumstances on the body in a bag. In a broader sense, it is now also understood as a title word for manuals, guides and advice literature of all kinds.

origin

The term was created by the contraction of the Latin prompt vade mecum! ("walk with me!"). It has been used since the end of the Middle Ages, initially both separately and in aggregate, as a generic name and title word for initially mainly theological and liturgical , then since the 16th century mainly for medical compendia and manuals. Since then, it has established itself as a popular title word for manuals, guides and advisory literature of all kinds - and even for dental care products.

An alternative designation, unusual in German, but comparatively more common in Romansh countries even up to modern times, is Venimecum or veni mecum (“come with me!”). In theological literature, it was particularly known through a compendium attributed to the Franciscan Guillaume de Vorillon (Guillelmus Vorilongus; † 1463), which was also titled Vade mecum or Repertorium propositionum que sunt contra Scotum and was intended to identify doctrines that begin with the Scotism are incompatible. In the medical literature, Veni mecum, also known as an enchiridion , was a collection of recipes and consoles of the Turin doctor Pietro Bairo (Petrus Bayrus; † 1518). In Italian , this word also resulted in the forms (mixed Latin-Italian) venimeco and (Italian) vienimeco .

See also

• Bag book

literature

• Gundolf Keil : Vademecum. In: Lexikon des Mittelalters Volume 8. 2003, Col. 1363 (reprint of the 1999 edition).
• Gundolf Keil: Vademecum. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil, Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 1433.
• Friedrich Kluge : Vademecum. In: Elmar Seebold (arrangement): Etymological dictionary of the German language . 23rd expanded edition, De Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1995, p. 852.

Web links

Wiktionary: Vademecum  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gerrit Bauer (Ed.): The 'Hague Aderlaßbüchlein'. (= Studies on the medical vademecum of the late Middle Ages. Volume 1), (Pattensen near Hanover, now :) Würzburg 1978 (= Würzburg medical-historical research. Volume 14), ISBN 3-921456-20-7 .