- 499J
“PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEDICAL BOOK PRINTED BEFORE 1500” (Hunt).
499J. (Attributed authors. {see below, (or you can search Authors on the magnifier image))
Ortus Sanitatis.
De herbis et plantis
De animalibus & reptilibus
De auibus et volatilibus
De piscibus & natatilibus. (tibus
De lapidibus & in terra venis nascẽtibus
De vrinis et earum spiciebus
(Tabula medicinalis cum directorio generali per omnes tractatus.)
[Straßburg : Johann Prüss, not after 21 Oct. 1497]. $46,000
Folio: 30 x 20cm. This copy is bound in 17th century full calf, with early and nearly invisible restoration on the endcaps. Upon close inspection, it is more than conceivable that the Index was removed after this binding was in place(?) It Also has a red and Blue initial at the beginning and red lombard initials throughout and stroked initials.
The three title pages (the first on the back, are filled with contemporary notes, and scattered throroughout the text there are terms in Latin and German.
Signatures: a⁸ b-k⁶ l⁸ m-r⁶ s⁸ t-z⁶ Aa⁶ Bb⁸ Cc-Ee⁶ Ff⁸ Gg-Ii⁶ A⁸ B-C⁶ D⁸ E-H⁶ I⁸ K-Q⁶ R⁸ S-T⁶ U⁸ Aa⁶ Bb⁴ Cc-Ee⁶. [leaf Q₁ signed U1.]
This copy has 338 0f 360 leaves: Thus lacking 22 leaves:
The lacking four text leaves which are:
1) d6 [part i, Chapters 44, 45 & part of 46]
2) B3& B4 [part ii, Chapters 25-29] animals
3). G2 [part ii Chapters 156-160] Unicorns
And all Index leaves:
Cc-Ee6 Index (-18) parts,Tabula medicinalis cum directorio generali per omnes tractatus.
Third Edition. 1St 1491, 2Nd.1496? 3Rd before 21 Oct. 1497 (in a now definitely established order)
About editions:
Following Walsh, I think Krebs is most strait forward and logical discussion of the dating of the two Straßburg editions [Erroneously assigned to: Cologne : Heinrich Quentell by Proctor.] by analysis of the wood cut changes as well as the dated copy at the Arnold Arboretum. This edition (Goff H 487) is the second Straßburg edition preceded by Goff H 488, and the first overall edition of Mainz 1491 placing the edition here as third.
[q.v. Walsh 212,213; Klebs: Klebs, Arnold C. Incunabula scientifica et medica: short title list. Bruges, 1938. (Reprinted from Osiris, vol.IV.) 509.3]
In this copy there are three full page woodcuts (burrowed from Gruninger as well 1056. yes OneThousand Fifty-Six.
About the Woodcuts:
“That (the editions printed by) Johann Pruss were based on the Meydenbach edition is obvious. Of course, he did not just use the Meydenbach woodcuts, but reproduced them in a slightly different size, mostly reduced in size, many facing the opposite direction” (Schramm). Three woodcuts are borrowed from Gruninger, which Gruninger had made for Brunschwig’s surgery. These are the ‘Magister cum discipulis’ (a1v), the representation of a Hominid skeleton (improved copy after Richard Helain, Nurnberg 1493) which, however, is in the ‘Tractatus de animalibus’ on page A1v).
The third full paged wood cut is the depiction of a Medicus who gives a Bader instructions for the preparation of medicines and the correct use of the vials and reagents (aa1v in the ‘Tratcatus de urinis’).
The ‘Doctor medicinae’ points with a long stick to a vessel on a shelf wall, on which there are numerous cans, each with a different coat of arms. and a doctor giving instructions to a pharmacist. There are around 1057 illustrations copied from the 1491 edition, consisting of over 1000 different woodcuts the width of a column, depicting hundreds of plants, mammals, birds, insects, fish, monsters both mythical and real and other fabulous creatures.
The Hortus Sanitatis is among the most important medical as well as the “most important natural historical work of the Middle Ages” (Choulant). First printed in 1491 by Jacob Meydenbach in Mainz (Hain 8940. GW 13549) it summarized the entire knowledge of the late Middle Ages and established itself as the successor to the “Gart der GEsundheit” and the “Herbarius Moguntius”.
First, the herbs and plants are listed in almost alphabetical order ‘De herbis et plantis’. This is followed by the second part with explanations on vertebrates, amphibians and reptiles ‘De Animalibus et reptilibus’, followed by the treatise on birds: ‘De Avibus et volatilibus’. The fourth part deals with the animals swimming in the water ‘De Piscibus et natatilibus’ (literally: the fish and the swimmers) and the fifth part ‘De Lapidibus et in terre venis nascentibus’, i.e. the kingdom of minerals and “in the veins of the earth Born “.
One of the most important differences to the earlier ‘Herbals’ is that the medicinal substances originating from animals, stones and metals are treated here separately in special sections and that for each plant, each animal and each stone the medicinal effects attributed to them are listed in a special section under the heading operationes are summarized. This innovation found imitation almost everywhere in the period that followed. This book covers nearly 100 more medicinal plants than the Gart der gesundheit and also includes extensive sections on animals, birds, fish and minerals. The last part entitled ‘De Urinis et earum speciebus’ deals with urine and its substances, uses, etc. Shortly before the turn of the century, The Hotrus Sanitatis printed by Prüss became the basis for all subsequent Latin editions as well as the Paris edition in French translation.
“It was not until the Early Renaissance that Man discovered Nature in all its richness and plunged into investigating it. This gave rise to new truly empirical and experimental methods of studies, being in sharp contrast with the traditional scholastic approach and a mystic understanding of the world. In his thirst for knowledge Man treated Nature not as a passive object of contemplations but as an unusually rich source which, once understood and investigated, would reveal all of its wealth. Mysteries of Nature and their discovery got to the forefront of scientific research, which was also engaged in rearranging and revising the earlier evidence based on classical and mediaeval sources. This period is particularly fascinating as the time of settling accounts with the earlier experience and discovering new territories and tools of scientific development such as invention of printing …
“Folk medical knowledge was a general source of information passed on from generation to generation. Its dissemination was made easier as herbals appeared at that time. Those were the first medical and botanical printed books of encyclopaedic nature. They could hardly be called scientific in the present-day sense of the word since the concepts of the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance were rather aimed at rearranging and popularizing what had already been known. Nevertheless, such books were signs of the times and an important step on the way to science … (Raphael, p. 249).
Goff, H-487; GW, 13550; HC, 8941*; Kristeller, 38; Schrammn, XX, p. 14; CIBN, H-295; Schreiber, 4248.; Arber, Herbals, Their Origin and Evolution. A Chapter in the History of Botany 1470-1670, 1912. Kuznicka, ‘The earliest printed herbals and the evolution of pharmacy,’ Organon 16 (1980), pp. 255-266. Raphael, ‘Herbal,’ in: The Oxford Companion to Gardens, 1986.
“The treatise on Plants is considerably modified from the German Herbarius, and the virtues of the herbs described are dealt with at greater length. The Herbarium of Apuleius Platonicus is more than once quoted, though not by name. A number of new illustrations are added, some of which are highly imaginative. The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge are dealt with amongst other botanical objects, a woman-headed serpent being introduced in the first case, and Adam and Eve in the second. There is a beautiful description of the virtues of the Tree of Life, in which we read that he who should eat of the fruit ‘should be clothed with blessed immortality, and should not be fatigued with infirmity, or anxiety, or lassitude, or weariness of trouble.’ The engraving which is named Narcissus has diminutive figures emerging from the flowers, like a transformation scene at a pantomime! It is probably, however, intended to represent the conversion of the beautiful youth, Narcissus, into a flower. Apart from these mythological subjects, there are a number of very curious engravings. A tree called ‘Bausor,’ for instance, which was believed to exhale a narcotic poison, like the fabulous Upas tree, has two men lying beneath its shade, apparently in the sleep of death.
“Among the herbs, substances such as starch, vinegar, cheese, soap, etc., are included, and as these do not lend themselves to direct representation, they become the excuse for a delightful set of genre pictures. ‘Wine’ is illustrated by a man gazing at a glass; ‘Bread,’ by a housewife with loaves on the table before her; ‘Water,’ by a fountain; ‘Honey,’ by a boy who seems to be extracting it from the comb; and ‘Milk,’ by a woman milking a cow. The picture which appears under the heading of Amber shows great ingenuity. The writer points out that this substance, according to some authors, is the fruit or gum of a tree growing by the sea, while according to others it is produced by a fish or by sea foam. In order to represent all these possibilities, the figure shows the sea, indicated in a conventional fashion, with a tree growing out of it, and a fish swimming in it. The writer of the Ortus Sanitatis, on the other hand, holds the opinion that Amber is generated under the sea, after the manner of the Fungi which arise on land.
“The treatises on animals and fishes are full of pictures of mythical creatures, such as a unicorn being caressed by a lady as though it were a little dog, recalling the ‘Lady and Unicorn’ tapestry in the Musee Cluny – a fight between a man and hydras – the phoenix in the flames – and a harpy with its claws in a man’s body. Other monsters which are figured include a dragon, the Basilisk, Pegasus, and a bird with a long neck which is tied in an ornamental knot.
“Later Latin editions of the Ortus Sanitatis were printed in Germany and Italy, and translations were also popular. The part of the book dealing with animals and stones was produced in German under the name of Gart der Gesuntheit; zu Latin Ortus Sanitatis, so as to form a supplement to the German Herbarius, which dealt, as we have seen, almost exclusively with herbs. No really complete translation of the Hortus was ever published, except that printed by Antoine Verard in Paris about the year 1500, under the title, Ortus sanitatis translate de latin en François … The complete Ortus Sanitatis made its appearance for the last time as Le Jardin de Sante, printed by Philippe le Noir about 1539, and sold in Paris” (Arber, pp. 25-33).
“The treatises on animals and fishes are full of pictures of mythical creatures, such as a unicorn being caressed by a lady as though it were a little dog, recalling the ‘Lady and Unicorn’ tapestry in the Musee Cluny – a fight between a man and hydras – the phoenix in the flames – and a harpy with its claws in a man’s body. Other monsters which are figured include a dragon, the Basilisk, Pegasus, and a bird with a long neck which is tied in an ornamental knot.
“Later Latin editions of the Ortus Sanitatis were printed in Germany and Italy, and translations were also popular. The part of the book dealing with animals and stones was produced in German under the name of Gart der Gesuntheit; zu Latin Ortus Sanitatis, so as to form a supplement to the German Herbarius, which dealt, as we have seen, almost exclusively with herbs. No really complete translation of the Hortus was ever published, except that printed by Antoine Verard in Paris about the year 1500, under the title, Ortus sanitatis translate de latin en François … The complete Ortus Sanitatis made its appearance for the last time as Le Jardin de Sante, printed by Philippe le Noir about 1539, and sold in Paris” (Arber, pp. 25-33).
Leave a Reply