A manual intended for laypeople: a fantastic insight into medieval medicine and botany
Herbarium of Trento
Venice (Italy) — End of the 14th century

Herbarium of Trento
Venice (Italy) — End of the 14th century
This very special medical guidebook was composed in late-14th century Venice and is stored in Trento today
A fantastic inside view into medieval medicine from one of the period's most modern botanical handbooks
The colloquial depictions and use of the Venetian dialect indicate that it was intended for the laity
Herbarium of Trento
- Herbal of Trento
- Erbario di Trento
- Herbarium von Trento
Short Description
A very special medical guidebook was composed in Venice at the end of the 14th century. The Herbarium of Trento is stored today in the palace library of the Italian city of Trento. The manuscript contains detailed statements concerning plant and animal world of the Middle Ages. Medicinal aspects of efficacious plants stand in the foreground. The depictions were created with graphically performed watercolor illustrations of high artistic quality.
Herbarium of Trento
The palace library of Buonconsiglio in the Italian city of Trento is invested with some of the great book treasures in the entire world. A high-quality specimen of this book collection is represented by the Herbarium of Trento. The work was made in Venice at the end of the 15th century. The original specimen of the manuscript found itself in the possession of various important Italian personalities over the centuries. The medieval botanical textbook presents scientific facts in the highest artistic perfection. It is one of the most modern botanical handbooks from that time and today offers us a fantastic inside view into the medicine of the Middle Ages.
Illumination and Scientific Facts in the Highest Quality
The enchanting herbarium affords us a glimpse into times long-past and equally so into the fantasy of its author Pietro Ispano. A few of the plants described actually existed in the Middle Ages, but have gone extinct today. Other plants and animals simply originated from the author’s idea world. Even more plants are still in use today, e.g. in alternative medicine. The detailed descriptions and explanations were illustrated with high-quality watercolor paintings. The colorful pictures were frequently accompanied by magical formulas, prayers, and biblical text passages.
A Historical Testimony
The first 43 double pages of the manuscript show illustrations of 86 medicinal plants and clarifies where these are to be found. The subsequent 23 double-pages contain formulas and medicinal recipes from another of Pietro Ispano’s manuscripts, namely the Thesaurus Pauperum. The depictions are very colloquial and are largely recorded in the Venetian dialect. A few grammatical errors and strange syntax makes this fact apparent. As a result, the medical handbook maintains its own very individual charm. This work was not solely for use in schools and universities. It was also comprehensible for the laity, therefore one did not need to possess special qualifications in order to use the work. The manuscript is a fantastic contemporary witness to the everyday medicine and treatment of illnesses among the medieval population as a whole.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Herbal of Trento
Erbario di Trento
Herbarium von Trento - Size / Format
- 132 pages / 29.2 x 20.8 cm
- Origin
- Venice (Italy)
- Date
- End of the 14th century
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Illustrations
- The first 43 double pages contain the drawings of 86 different medicinal plants
- Artist / School
- Author: Pietro Ispano
- Previous Owners
- Vincenzo Sabbia, priest of Lodi
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Herbarium of Trento“
Erbario di Trento
- Publisher
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori – Scarmagno, 2012
- Limited Edition
- 550 copies
- Binding
- Leather with gilt toolings
- Commentary
-
1 volume (224 pages) by Michelangelo Lupo
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.
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