MIDDLE AGES - 11th and 12th centuries.
During the Middle Ages, herbalism was preserved in monasteries of Britain and mainland Europe. Before the establishment of universities, monasteries served as medical schools. Monks copied and translated many of the works of Hippocrates, Dioscorides, and other Greek scholars.
The manuscript below was written and painted in the 11th century by a monk in Britain. It is a mixture of realistic and naive copies of plants from classical Greek sources.
The manuscript below was written and painted in the 11th century by a monk in Britain. It is a mixture of realistic and naive copies of plants from classical Greek sources.
Circa Instans. Manuscript. ink on vellum. School of Salerno, Italy. 1190
Medical texts in Latin
England, 12th century. Bodleian Library, Oxford
England, 12th century. Bodleian Library, Oxford
Circa Instans is the first book that contains standards for plant names and medicine formulas. It originated at the School of Salerno, Italy, Europe’s leading medical center in the early Middle ages.
Pseudo-Apuleius, Herbarium. 1080/90 AD. Copy made at Bury St Edmonds. Oxford, Bodleian Library.