Arnold of Villanova, Regimen Sanitatis, the handbook of health, in Latin, manuscript on paper

Estimate

2,000 - 3,000 GBP

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Description

32 leaves, plus medieval flyleaf, 210mm. by 145mm., complete, collation: i-iv^{8, with horizontal catchwords in red cartouches and medieval foliation in roman numerals, about 25 lines (number varies), written-space c.150mm. by 103mm., written in dark brown ink in a quite large cursive bookhand, heading in red,} paragraph-marks and initials throughout in red, early additions on flyleaf and on last leaf (originally blank), some stains, inner margins of many pages defective (probably caused by damp) and repaired with old paper, with loss of some words of text on at least the first 8 leaves, other wear, modern limp vellum

Catalogue Note

This is probably the most famous and influential medieval text on practical health. Arnold of Villanova (c.1235-c.1311) was celebrated as a physician and alchemist, probably Spanish by birth (of various towns latinised as ‘Villanova’ a possibility is Villanueva in Catalonia). He studied in Barcelona and taught widely in Spain, Italy and France, and served as physician to the popes in Avignon and to the kings of Aragon, to whom the present text was dedicated. Arnold’s peripatetic life was at least in part to escape charges of alchemy and magic. He knew both Hebrew and Arabic and his reputed discoveries include carbon monoxide and pure alcohol. The Regimen Sanitatis was first printed in Turin or Piedmont, c.1474 (GKW 2532); 17 manuscripts are listed in P. Glorieux, Répertoire des maîtres en théologie de Paris au XIIIe siècle, I, 1933, p.426, no.211 bl. The last manuscript on the market appears to have been Reiss und Sohn, 20 April 1994, lot 1133.

The manuscript opens on fol.1r, “Incipit liber de regimine sanitatis, Prima pars vel consideratio sanitatis …” and ends on fol.31r, “… suaviter quantum poterit intromitantur, Deo Gracias, Amen” (the variant ‘intromitantur’ for ‘immitantur’ also occurs in Milan, Bibl. Ambrosiana, cod. T.81.sup.). The list of 17 chapter headings on the flyleaf gives an idea of the subject matter – on exercise, baths and washing, recreation, sleep, accidents, digestion, diet, bread, vegetables, fruit, fish, etc.,

On the final pages are added notes, mostly extracted from a herbal, including a list of plants suitable for infusion in baths, herbal medicines, and drawings of four plants.