Healing and Society in Medieval England: A Middle English Translation of the Pharmaceutical Writings of Gilbertus Anglicus

Preface

Preface The Middle English Gilbertus Anglicus is a fifteenth century translation of the Latin practice of medicine found in Compendium medicinae, written before about 1250 by Gilbertus Anglicus, England's first notable medical writer. The fact that a scholastic medical text was translated from its original Latin into the English vernacular demonstrates an audience for learned medicine outside the walls of the university. Over a dozen witnesses to the text have been located. All are datable within about fifty years of each other and none contain any attribution to the author. Before my identification, no such translation was known to exist. This edition presents the entire text for the first time. I am pleased to acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Eric Freeman, Librarian and Deputy Director of the Wellcome Institute; Mr. Robin Price, Deputy Librarian; Dr. Richard Palmer, Keeper of Western Manuscripts, Wellcome Library; Dr. W. F. Bynum, Head of the Wellcome Unit, London; Mr. Stephen Emberton, Administrator, Wellcome Institute; and the staff of the Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine and of the Institute of Historical Research, London, without whose help this study would not have been possible. I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. A. Rupert Hall, Dr. Marie Boas Hall, Dr. Charles Talbot, and Dr. Vivian Nutton, who advised and assisted me while I worked in London. This book is based on my doctoral dissertation, presented at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, in 1981. Many people contributed to its completion, none more than Prof. George Rigg. I am also happy to thank Prof. Jeffrey Heath, Prof. John Munro, and the staff of both the Centre for Medieval Studies and the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, who have acted variously as supportive friends and valued colleagues. Countless errors and omissions were remedied at various stages of this edition by gifts of time and expertise from the following readers: Prof. Martha Carlin, Prof. Harold J. Cook, Dr. Karis xi xii PREFACE Crawford, Mr. Eric Freeman, Mr. Peter Murray Jones, Dr. Vivian Nutton, Prof. George Rigg, the late Prof. Rossell Hope Robbins, Prof. Linda Voigts, and an anonymous reader. This edition was brought to completion with the help of my husband, Prof. Harold J. Cook, who prepared the photoready copy, and whose expertise with computers and patience with the complexities of book production were freely given in generous amounts. Finally, I would like to thank Professors Ronald L. Numbers, David C. Lindberg, and the late William Coleman, the editors of the series in which this book appears. The following libraries have been of assistance in the preparation of this edition: the British Library, Glasgow University Library, Library of the Society of Antiquaries, Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the Wellcome Institute Library. The research for this book was funded by the Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine in Toronto, Canada, and by the Wellcome Trust in London, England. The final stages of the preparation of the manuscript were supported by a grant from the National Library of Medicine. Material from Wellcome manuscripts as well as extracts from manuscripts in the British Library are published with the permission of the Keeper of Western Manuscripts of the Wellcome Library and the Keeper of Manuscripts of the British Library. Parts of the introduction to this edition appeared in an article entitled "Gilbertus Anglicus Anglicized," Medical History 26 (1982): 43642 , and are reprinted here with the permission of the editors. The text is available on floppy disk from the author. The following sigla and abbreviations have been established for use in this edition. Sig/a for manuscripts containing the Middle English Gilbertus Anglicus: Add 25589: London, British Library, Additional MS 25589. Add 30338: London, British Library, Additional MS 30338. H: San Marino, California, Huntington MS 19079. Har 2375: London, British Library, Harley MS 2375. Har 3407: London, British Library, Harley MS 3407. Hu U.7.1: Glasgow, Hunterian MS U.7.ll. Hu V.8.12: Glasgow, Hunterian MS V.8.12. Sl 5: London, British Library, Sloane MS 5. Sl 442: London, British Library, Sloane MS 442. Sl 2394: London, British Library, Sloane MS 2394. Sl 3486: London, British Library, Sloane MS 3486. Sl 3553: London, British Library, Sloane MS 3553. SoA: London, Society of Antiquaries MS 338. TCC: Cambridge, Trinity College MS O. 9. 37. W: the Middle English Gilbertus translation found in London, Wellcome MS 537. PREFACE xiii...