Complete record - Heirs of Hippocrates

Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 74

SAINT HILDEGARD (1098-1179) Physica. Apud Joannem Schottum 1533 [8] 247, lxxix [4] pp., 3 plates. 31.7 cm.

Hildegard, often called Hildegard of Bingen, was but eight years old when her family placed her in a nearby Benedictine convent where she subsequently became a nun. She later founded and was Abbess of a convent near Bingen in Germany. She suffered from poor health most of her life and was subject to visions and hallucinations which became more pronounced as she grew older. Some historians believe that her affliction was a functional nervous disorder and included severe migraine attacks. After she began recording her visions and they came to the attention of church authorities, her reputation as an important mystic and individual of great learning became widespread and she was eagerly consulted by statesmen, royalty, theologians, and churchmen. In spite of the miraculous cures and other wonderous works attributed to her, she was never canonized by the church. Hildegard's writings are, for the greatest part, of a mystical and theological nature; however, she also wrote several medical works. Her medical knowledge was acquired by reading, observation, and her duties in the convent which included care and treatment of other nuns as well as travelers, villagers, and those who worked the convent's lands. The present work is the first printing of the Physica manuscript. Also known as Liber simplicis medicinae, it is the earliest book on natural history to be written in Germany and it influenced the later writings of Brunfels (see No. 193), Fuchs (see No. 241 ff.), and Hieronymus Bock (1498-1554). In addition to revealing what was then known about the natural world, Hildegard shows how the clergy of the time practiced medicine. She included time-tested formulations, numerous folk remedies, and her own observations of diseases and cures. In instances where plant names could not be translated into Latin, she simply used the vernacular. She lists the therapeutic merits of over 200 plants, 50 kinds of trees, and 20 precious stones. She also includes the medicinal value of numerous varieties of fish, birds, animals, reptiles, and metals. She was aware that lead and brass were poisonous and that iron and copper were valuable constituents of tonics. The three wood-block illustrations in Hildegard's text have little relationship to her textual material. The printer likely included them in order to show that this was a medical book. The blocks depict a seated patient surrounded by three physicians and an attendant, a traditional wound-man, and Cosmas and Damian--the patron saints of medicine. Of the five books attributed to Oribasius, only the fourth book contains any material from his Euporista. The first three books were excerpted from Apuleius' (see No. 194) De herbis and the so called Dynamidia Hippocratis. The final book is merely a reworking of material from Dioscorides. The Dieta is an anonymous work erroneously attributed to Theodorus Priscianus (fl. 5th century). The Aesculapius text is a compilation of sections from Caelius Aurelianus' (fl. 5th century) Medicinales responsiones. Very little is known of Aurelianus other than that he was of African birth and a member of the Methodist sect.

See Related Record(s): 193 241 194

Cited references: Cushing H326; During 2307

Gift of John Martin, M.D.

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