A gift for Emperor Charlemagne: a Roman cookbook from late antiquity with recipes from various ancient gourmets
Apicius - De re coquinaria
Tours (France) — 843–851

Apicius - De re coquinaria
Tours (France) — 843–851
A priceless 1st century testimonial to Roman cuisine and culture by Caelius Apicius
The work was appended by other gourmets from antiquity like Seneca and Tacitus
This luxurious 9th century specimen is believed to have been a gift for Emperor Charles the Bald (823–877)
Apicius - De re coquinaria
- On the Subject of Cooking
- Über die Kochkunst
- Apicio - De Re Coquinaria
Short Description
The famous Roman cookbook by Apicius in one of only two surviving 9th century manuscripts! The 1st century work by the Roman gourmet Apicius is steeped in history and was probably supplemented and streamlined in the 4th century and is considered today to be a priceless testimonial to Roman cuisine and culture. This splendid manuscript was created around the middle of the 9th century in the famous scriptorium of St. Martin de Tours, which presents the text of Apicius in a luxurious edition. A wonderful historical inside view and still a feast today for modern gourmets!
Apicius - De re coquinaria
The famous Roman cookbook by Apicius in one of only two surviving 9th century manuscripts! The 1st century work by the Roman gourmet Apicius is steeped in history and was probably supplemented and streamlined in the 4th century and is considered today to be a priceless testimonial to Roman cuisine and culture. This splendid manuscript was created around the middle of the 9th century in the famous scriptorium of St. Martin de Tours, which presents the text of Apicius in a luxurious edition. A wonderful historical inside view and still a feast today for modern gourmets!
The Cuisine of Ancient Rome
Stuffed dormice, pig teats, vegetable gratin and asparagus pancakes, fried rays and fish sauce. All of this and more delicacies both typical and unusual are assembled in the cook book by Apicius, De re coquinaria. The text is attributed to a certain Caelius Apicius, a Roman gourmet from the 1st century. Having said this, this name has been handed down and attributed to at least three people in the most varied of sources – Seneca, Tacitus, and in the Historia Augusta – who were considered to be gourmets and who could be associated with the text of the cookbook. The name Apicius was a quasi-synonym for a gourmet in ancient Rome.
A First-Century Cookbook in a Carolingian Manuscript
The oldest surviving cookbook of Roman antiquity is attributed to this Apicius. This collection of 400 recipes is a continuously appended collection of recipes, which was presumably begun in the 1st century and was completed sometime in the 3rd or 4th century. De re coquinaria is a manual for all social classes, containing both everyday recipes as well as fine cuisine. Sauce recipes receive special attention, but numerous complete meals are also depicted. Today, the work only survives in Carolingian manuscripts.
A Coveted Collector’s Item
The famous manuscript of Apicius’ cookbook in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana is a work of Carolingian illumination. It originated in the years 843–851 in the trailblazing scriptorium of St. Martin de Tours. This luxurious edition with its lavish adornment and abundant use of gold was probably a gift for Charles the Bald (823–877). The manuscript finally made its way to Bologna by 1464 and was then acquired by the library of the Dukes of Urbino. Duke Guidobaldo loaned the magnificent cookbook to Angelo Poliziano (who wanted to compare it with his own Apicio, which is found today in St. Petersburg). It came into the Biblioteca Vaticana in 1658 as a part of the library of the Duke of Urbino, it is stored there today under the shelf mark Urb.lat. 1146.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- On the Subject of Cooking
Über die Kochkunst
Apicio - De Re Coquinaria - Size / Format
- 124 pages / 23.5 x 19.0 cm
- Origin
- Tours (France)
- Date
- 843–851
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Content
- Collection of Roman cookery recipes
- Artist / School
- Author: Caelius Apicius
- Previous Owners
- Charles the Bald
Montefeltro family
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Apicius - De re coquinaria“
Apicio - De re coquinaria
- Publisher
- Imago – Castel Guelfo, 2014
- Binding
- Leather
- Commentary
-
1 volume by Giovanni Battista Baseggio
Language: Italian - More Information
- Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
Matching Works
Liber Magistri
An encyclopedia of the Middle Ages: over 900 pages addressing subjects such as history, liturgy, music, theater, occultism, medicine, and agriculture
Experience MoreDer Welsche Gast
The magnificently decorated founding charter of the Hospital General de Valencia
Experience MoreMatching Background Articles
Carolingian
What happens when a mighty emperor like Charlemagne assembles Europe’s greatest scholars and artists at his court? A mini...Experience more9th Century
What was the Carolingian Renaissance and how did the Byzantines learn to contain the threat of marauding Arab armies?...Experience more
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Aboca Museum
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- De Agostini/UTET
- DIAMM
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Egeria, S.L.
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Helikon
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Johnson Reprint Corporation
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- La Meta Editore
- Leo S. Olschki
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lumen Artis
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Manuscriptum
- Millennium Liber
- Nova Charta
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Popyläen Verlag
- Prestel Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Salerno Editrice
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- Styria Verlag
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Yushodo