Comments on: Medieval book is important resource for how plants were once collected, treated and used

By: Donald Hoehner

Donald Hoehner — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:34:20 +0000

Been doing some research here on this exact subject. It never ceases to amaze me when I see how far we have come in botany and plant “shaping” as I’ll call it.

By: Jonathan Budd

Jonathan Budd — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:39:47 +0000

I still find it amazing that we can literally get a glimpse into what life was like back then, particularly here in relation to plant life and agriculture.

You really get to see how science has slowly evolved over the centuries and millenia.

By: The basil of Salerno and Lisabetta’s tears « Do Bianchi

The basil of Salerno and Lisabetta’s tears « Do Bianchi — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:52:33 +0000

[…] presence of a woman and man) on the verso (left) is taken from the Tacuinum Sanitatis, in this case Codex Latinus 9333 from the Bibliothèque de France in Paris (click here to view a larger version). It was also a […]

By: Alain Touwaide

Alain Touwaide — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:15:43 +0000

I am not on Facebook, sorry. But you can check the website medicaltraditions.org if you are interested in ancient, medieval, Renaissance botany and medicine, or in Mediterranean studies, more generally.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:31:43 +0000

You can follow the Smithsonian Institution on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianInstitution

By: key west scuba

key west scuba — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:40:03 +0000

I’m on facebook a lot and I’d love to find you on there, not sure if you are.

By: Deirdre Larkin

Deirdre Larkin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:05:52 +0000

Dear Alain,

I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing this facsimile of the Paris Tacuinum, but will have the opportunity, as it has been acquired by the Watson Library downtown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, the librarian here at The Cloisters has provided me with an extract from your commentary, which I have read with profit. As always, you open new doors into the fascinating world of ancient and medieval botanical texts. I often refer to the Tacuinum Sanitatis in interpreting medieval medicine and diet to the public here at The Cloisters, either in the gardens or on our blog, The Medieval Garden Enclosed, http://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/ and I now have a better understanding of the history and character of the Tacuinum, for which I thank you.

Deirdre Larkin, Horticulturist
The Cloisters Museum & Gardens

By: Alain Touwaide

Alain Touwaide — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:50:37 +0000

It can be purchased through the publisher, Moleiro Editor, in Barcelona, Spain (a publisher specialized in facsimile editions). The facsimile is accompanied by a volume of commentary, which presents and analyzes the tacuinum, and includes the transcription and the English translation of its text. The commentary is available also in Spanish and French.

By: Roy Upton

Roy Upton — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:17:13 +0000

From where can this facsimile be obtained?

By: Alain Touwaide

Alain Touwaide — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:03:20 +0000

This number is the shelfmark of the volume in the collections of the Bibliotheque nationale de France, in Paris. Actually, the shelfmark is made of two elements: latinus refers to the collection (because the Bibliotheque has several collections, the others being graecus [Greek], arab. [Arabic], etc), and 9333 is the number of the item within this collection. In the same way, the manuscripts of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, for example, are: Oxford, Bodleian Libray, Canonicianus, 1 for example; or at the British Library in London: Harleianus 5629 (again as an example). Often, the collections are named by languages (latinus or graecus here); but in many libraries, they are named after the former owner who donated his/her collection to the library. This is the case of the Harleianus example above, which refers to (citation from the Web site of the British Library): “Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford (1661-1724), and his son Edward, 2nd Earl of Oxford (1689-1741), assembled an extensive collection of manuscripts with the assistance of their librarian, Humfrey Wanley.”

By: Meredith McQuoid

Meredith McQuoid — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:09:09 +0000

I’m curious about the number 9333. Was it the number of entries or pages? Or a catalog number given by an early publisher or librarian?