A catalogue of Western manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries and selected Oxford colleges

Merton College MS. 222

Former shelfmark: N. 3. 5

HIPPOCRATES, GALEN &c; S. XIII 3/4

Contents

Language(s): Latin

On f. 1rv are medical notes in hands of s. xv; on the verso are tables of contents, s. xvii.

1. (fols. 2–4v)
IOHANNITIUS, Isagoge ad Galeni Artem Paruam
Rubric: Incipit liber Iohannicii.
Incipit: Medicina diuiditur in duas partes id est in theoricam et in practicam
Explicit: boni maliue discretio.

Ed. D. Garcia and J. L. Vidal, Asclepio 26–7 (1974–5), 267–382; eTK 0856F, 1352I.

2. (fols. 5–14)
GALEN, Tegni (tr. GERARD OF CREMONA)
Rubric: Incipit liber tegni Galieni ...
Incipit: Tres sunt omnis doctrine que ordine habuntur
Explicit: de propriis conscripcionibus.
Final rubric: Explicit liber tegni Galieni de propriis conscripcionibus.

Pr. Articella, Venice 1487.

eTK 1585J
3. (fols. 14v-17)
HIPPOCRATES, Prognostica (tr. CONSTANTINE THE AFRICAN)
Incipit: Omnis qui medicine artis studio seu gloriam seu delectacionem amicorum consequi desiderat
Explicit: exposite ordine preceptorum.
Final rubric: Explicit liber pronosticorum.

Pr. as part of the Articella, Padua 1476 &c.; eTK 1002B, ; this copy Hippocrates Latinus 210.

4. (fols. 17–20v)
HIPPOCRATES, De Regimine Acutorum Morborum (tr. GERARD OF CREMONA)
Rubric: Incipit liber regiminis acutorum morborum.
Incipit: Qui de egrotancium accidentibus in singulis egritudinibus
Explicit: et illis aliquando conueniens est.
Final rubric: Explicit regimen acutorum.

Pr. Articella, Padua 1476, &c.; eTK 1205K, 0660A, ; om. Hippocrates Latinus.

5. (fols. 21–90; 90v blank)

GALEN, Tegni, with the commentary of ALI IBN RODHAN (HALY ABBAS), transl. GERARD OF CREMONA

Rubric: Incipit liber G. de Corb’ signis et causis sanis egris et neutris.
Incipit: Intendimus edere sermonem exponentem illud quod clausum est de sermone G. in libro suo qui nominatur ars parua. Dico ergo quod G. nominauit hunc librum artem paruam
Incipit: (text) Doctrina est actio doctoris in discipulum
Explicit: qui uult uti hac arte per uiam rationis.
Incipit: (comm.) In omnibus doctrinis que secundum ordinem currunt
Explicit: quos nominauit fines librorum. G.

Text pr. as part of the Articella, Venice 1487; eTK 0757H, 0460D, ; commentary pr. as part of the Articella, Venice 1483, fols. 157–210 (GW 2679); eTK 0700J.

Followed by the ‘Nominacio librorum’ or account of Gerard of Cremona’s translations (‘Nominacio librorum qui sunt. Ex libris quos dixit in hoc loco ... in anno Domini n. I. C. M. centesimo lxxxvii amen’), ed. K. Sudhoff, 'Die kurze "Vita" und das Verzeichnis der Arbeiten Gerhards von Cremona', Archiv für Geschichte der Medizin 8 (1914), 73–82, at pp. 75–80. Followed by the common distich, ‘Anno milleno centeno septuageno / Anglorum primas corruit ense Thomas’ (WIC 1267).

(fols. 91–3)

An insertion of s. xv.

(fols. 91–2)
Incipit: Vita breuis ars &c. et est prima pars et prohyemialis huius libri
Explicit: etiam de uita et opposita.

Followed by 17 lines of verse, beg. ‘Vita breuis misera uia mortis pessima’.

(fols. 92v)

blank.

(fol. 93rv)
A index to art. 6.
6. (fols. 94–146v)

HIPPOCRATES, Aphorismi, with the commentary of GALEN, transl. CONSTANTINE THE AFRICAN

Rubric: Prefacio domini Constantini Affricani Montis Cassianensis monachi ad Atonem discipulum suum.
Incipit: Licet peticionibus tuis plurimis
Incipit: Vita breuis ars uero longa
Explicit: a debilibus quidem inferius.
Incipit: (comm.) Plurimi interpretes huius libri in hoc maxime sunt concordati
Explicit: et non ypocratica esse confirmare poterit.
Final rubric: Explicit comentum Afforismorum.

Pr. as part of the Articella, Padua 1476 &c.; text eTK 1002B, 0847L, ; this copy Hippocrates Latinus 56.

7. (fols. 146v-85; 185v blank)
GALEN, Commentary on HIPPOCRATES, Prognostica (tr. Constantinus Africanus)
Incipit: Videtur michi quod ex melioribus rebus est
Incipit: Manifestum est quod Ypocrates non utitur hac dictione
Explicit: in quibusdam earum in die lx.
Final rubric: Conpletus est liber tercius pronosticorum et est ultimus expositionis Galieni in libro Ypocratis. Explicit comentum G. super librum pronosticorum.

Pr. as part of the Articella, Padua 1476 &c.; eTK 0847L, 1694N, ; Hippocrates Latinus, pp. 201–13.

8. (fols. 186–97v)
GALEN, Commentary on HIPPOCRATES, De Regimine Acutorum Morborum
Incipit: (text) Illi qui sentencias illis de assidis relatas scripserunt
Explicit: (ends impf.) non est secundum inconuenienciam
Incipit: (comm.) Non solum scripserunt rememoracionem sentenciarum relatarum
Explicit: (ends impf.) quando non minuitur sanguis retentus in

Text and comm. pr. as part of the Articella, Venice 1487, fols. 75v-119v, &c.; eTK 0660A, , (1205), 922; Hippocrates Latinus 9.

The margins throughout are crammed with additional comment, mostly in one small, neat early anglicana hand (e.g. f. 45v a long paragraph headed ‘Opinio magistralis’); also a distinctive anglicana hand of s. xv, responsible for the additional material on fols. 91–3v, which may be Burbage’s (see below).

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: (f. 3) sine putredine
Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: 202 leaves (ii + 199, incl. 31A)
Dimensions (leaf): 310 × 210 mm.
Dimensions (written): 210 × 120 mm.
The edges savagely retrimmed with major loss of marginalia, and spattered with red. Two sets of early pagination, the first in pencil, often cropped, visible to 571 (mod. 82), the second in ink, 363 (mod. 1) to 385, running two digits ahead of the first.

Collation

16(lacks 1–2), 212, 36(lacks 5–6), 410, 514, 6–812, 912(lacks 12) /106(lacks 4–6) / 11–1712, 188, 1912; one catchword remains, the rest cropped.

Layout

Ruled with pencil in 2 cols of 58 lines of gloss; the text, in larger script, on every second line. Blocks of text and commentary alternate.

Hand(s)

Proficient French early gothic bookhands.

Decoration

Parisian. Initials with foliage and beasts, in colours (mainly blue and pink) and gold, often with birds terminating the extensions: fols. 2, 5, 14v, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21 (2), 22, 23v, 25v, 57v, 94 (3), the first with the Crucifixion with Mary and John, the second with seated Hippocrates holding a bottle and a plant stem, 101, 109v, 115v, 125, 133v, 141, 146v, 160, 174v, 186, 197v; red or blue initials flourished in the other colour; titles and running heads in capitals of the colours; red or blue paraphs; red highlighting and underlining.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii, sewn on six bands; formerly chained from the usual position. Fols. i-ii, 198–9 are paper leaves from this binding, the outermost from the same printed book in MS 11.

History

Origin: S. XIII 3/4 ; France, Paris.

Provenance and Acquisition

Made in Paris, in England early on.

At the head of f. 2 is ‘Liber domus scolarium de Mertonhalle in Oxon’ ex dono Magistri Iohannis Burbacche doctoris in theologia et quondam socii eiusdem domus ut inchatenetur in libraria communi ad perpetuum usum studencium ibidem.’ For John Burbage, fellow 1411–35, see MS 3.

This book was taken out of the library, with the consent of the College, on 27 Oct. 1490, for the use of John Davis, fellow (BRUO 551–2), ‘quia sibi accomodatur pro tempore lecture cuiusdam doctoris in medicinis’ (Registrum, p. 139).

At the head of f. 2 is the James no. ‘79’ (wrongly; this is MS 255), s. xvii in. ‘5’ is inked on the foredge. Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with contents, s. xvii, and ‘P. 2. 5. Art:’, canc. and replaced with ‘No. CCXXII’ and ‘N. 3. 5’ in red; the College bookplate.

Record Sources

R. M. Thomson, A descriptive catalogue of the medieval manuscripts of Merton College, Oxford (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer), 2009.

Availability

For enquiries relating to this manuscript please contact Merton College Library.

Bibliography

    Coxe, p. 87; Powicke, no. 938; Alexander & Temple, no. 690 and pl. XLI.

Funding of Cataloguing

Conversion of the printed catalogue to TEI funded by the Warden and Fellows of Merton College .

Last Substantive Revision

2019-08-30: First online publication

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