1. Medical tract, in five parts

Description:

This beautifully-illuminated work is a medical tract, in five parts, dealing mainly with medicine and pharmacology, but with excurses on astronomy (astrology) and divination. The handwriting is Italian, of the 15th century. Joseph b. Isaac is the first author cited (on f. 2r) and a later note on the fly-leaf attributes the whole work to him. It appears to be a composite work, however, put together from a variety of sources but on the same general subject. A single scribe produced the manuscript, by the name of Solomon (many times throughout the manuscript, when the letters שלמה appear close together at the start of lines, they are marked with rows of dots), although other hands have left annotations in the margin and additions in the text. There are frequent illuminated headings, borders and miniatures (the latter on ff. 2r, 7v, 37v, 104r, 211r, 223r and 234r). Dr Solomon Schiller-Szinessy, in his description of this manuscript, concludes: 'Not forgetting that the MS. has plenty of superstitious reminiscences in it, it is on the whole very valuable & well worth the perusal of a professional man'.Condition: Slightly creased and lightly stained in places; some margins cropped, with loss of headings. Some leaves missing.Layout: 2 columns; 35 lines; ruled.