On this page, you can learn more about the various medieval medical manuscripts in St John’s College library.
MS 10
MS 10 was produced in England at the end of the thirteenth century and it contains works by Hippocrates (d. c. 370 BCE) and Galen (d. c. 216 CE). Hippocrates, often referred to as the ‘Father of Medicine’, famously gave his name to the Hippocratic oath—an ethical code for physicians.
A full catalogue entry is available here.
MS 68
MS 68 mainly consists of a copy of Aldobrandino of Siena’s Le Regime du corps, a French text on diet written in the thirteenth century. This manuscript also includes an extract from Brunetto Latini’s Li Livres dou Tresor, an early encyclopedia written in the 1260s. MS 68 was produced c. 1475, possibly in Flanders. It was donated to the college by George Bate (d. 1669), who was physician to King Charles II.
A full catalogue entry is available here.
MS 76
This medical manuscript, which principally contains a copy of William of Parma’s Chirurgia, was produced in England in the middle of the fourteenth century. The main text is in Latin but there are added notes in both English and French. Coloured drawings of surgical implements, like the ones depicted here, were also added to the manuscript.
A full catalogue entry is available here.
MS 85
MS 85 comprises two originally separate manuscripts, both of which were produced in England in the thirteenth century. Respectively, these manuscripts include works by the physicians Constantine the African (eleventh century) and Rhazes (ninth / tenth century).
A full catalogue entry is available here.
MS 86
This manuscript contains works by John Arderne (1307–1392), an important English surgeon. MS 86 was produced in England at the turn of the fifteenth century. It contains frequent illustrations.
A full catalogue entry is available here.
MS 108
MS 108 was produced in England c.1425 and it contains a copy of Compenium medicine by Gilbert the Englishman (d. c. 1250). A historiated initial on the opening page (shown here) depicts a physician examining a urine flask. Medieval uroscopy involved looking at urine for diagnostic purposes.
A full catalogue entry is available here.
MS 132
MS 132 contains a copy of Practica chirurgiae by John Arderne (d. 1392), an important English surgeon. This manuscript was produced in England c.1425-1450, and it includes various illustrations of diseases and operations.
A full catalogue entry is available here.