Depictions and information concerning 600 plants: a masterful Dioscorides manuscript in the possession of Pope Alexander VII
Latin Dioscorides
Italy — Around 1400

Latin Dioscorides
Italy — Around 1400
This manuscript was owned by Pope Alexander VII (1599–1667) and is stored today in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
The text can be traced back to Pedanios Dioscorides Anazarbeus (ca. 40–90), a Greek doctor in the Roman Army
Information on and depictions of 600 plants, 90 minerals, and 30 animal products
Latin Dioscorides
- Dioscórides Latino
- Lateinischer Dioskurides
Short Description
The Latin Dioscorides is an outstanding specimen of the famous Dioscorides manuscripts. Based on the ancient text De materia medica by the Greek physician Pedanios Dioscorides Anazerbeus, it presents a comprehensive overview of medicinal plants and other natural remedies, their effects, and their application. The Latin Dioscorides, the possession of Pope Alexander VII and stored today in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, probably originated ca. 1400. It enchants with its gorgeous, colorful full-page depictions of the medicinal plants presented and offers a fascinating glimpse into the medicine and botany of antiquity.
Latin Dioscorides
The Latin Dioscorides is an outstanding specimen of the famous Dioscorides manuscripts. Based on the ancient text De materia medica by the Greek physician Pedanios Dioscorides Anazerbeus, it presents a comprehensive overview of medicinal plants and other natural remedies, their effects, and their application. The Latin Dioscorides, the possession of Pope Alexander VII and stored today in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, probably originated ca. 1400. It enchants with its gorgeous, colorful full-page depictions of the medicinal plants presented and offers a fascinating glimpse into the medicine and botany of antiquity.
One of the Most Influential Works of Medicine and Pharmacy in History
The fundamental text of pharmacopeias is referred to as the Dioscorides, which was of great significance from the 2nd century through the Middle Ages. This medicinal-botanical text was referred to in the Greek-, Latin-, and Arab-speaking worlds by those interested in informing themselves about natural remedies. The text’s name comes from the Greek physician Pedanios Dioscorides Anazarbeus. Having served as a military doctor for the Romans, he became famous due to his magnum opus with the title De materia medica. In this pharmacology, Pedanios Dioscorides Anazarbeus assembles information about 600 plants, 90 minerals, and 30 animal products, which are helpful for the healing and treatment of a wide range of illnesses and ailments.
Systematized Medical Knowledge in Gorgeous Pictures
Each of these medicinal herbs, plants, and various other remedies are presented in an illustration in the Latin Dioscorides. The gorgeous, full-page, terrifically colored, and naturally designed depictions are accompanied by a respective text, in which the therapeutic effect are described. In addition to trees, herbs, vegetables, and other plants, it presents minerals and animals, e.g. reptiles, insects, and birds are listed and presented. The outstanding quality of the drawings, both in their technical execution as well as in their gorgeous coloration, make the Latin Dioscoridesunique among the Dioscorides manuscripts.
A Manuscript from the Papal Library
The manuscript probably originated in Italy ca. 1400. In the 16th century, ten pages with an alphabetical table of contents of the remedies presented were finally appended to it. The manuscript follows the example of the famous Latin Dioscorides, which was gifted in the year 512 to Anicia Juliana, a late-antique Roman noble, and is stored today in Vienna. The magnificent manuscript of the Latin Dioscorides found itself in the possession of Cardinal Fabio Chigi, the later Pope Alexander VII (1655–1667), who was famous for his impressive private library.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Dioscórides Latino
Lateinischer Dioskurides - Size / Format
- 488 pages / 28.3 × 19.8 cm
- Origin
- Italy
- Date
- Around 1400
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Illustrations
- 600 plants, 90 minerals and 30 animal products, with a drawing of each one and a note of its therapeutic properties
- Artist / School
- Author: Pedacius Dioscorides Anazarbeus
- Previous Owners
- Cardinal Fabio Chigi (Pope Alexander VII)
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Latin Dioscorides“
Dioscórides Latino
- Publisher
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial – Madrid, 2003
- Binding
- Hand sewn. Covered in red goatskin stamped in gold with gold hardware faithful to the original design.
- Commentary
-
1 volume by Miguel Ángel González Manjarrés and María Cruz Herrero Ingelmo
Language: Spanish - 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
Dioscorides Neapolitanus
Decorated with over 400 naturalistic illustrations: a magnificent Byzantine copy of the great pharmacological masterpiece of Dioscorides
Experience MoreTacuinum Sanitatis - Codex Paris
Originating from the Rhineland: the work of the famous doctor Ibn Butlan with beautiful miniatures on each page in Latin and German
Experience MoreMatching Background Articles
Botany / Herb Books
Are you interested in botany and herbal pharmacology? These manuscripts represent a bridge between the wisdom of...Experience moreMedicine
Eye of newt, and toe of frog? Hardly. Botanical remedies were the backbone of medieval medicine, and these recipes are...Experience moreGothic
Gothic illumination is some of the most spectacular and iconic imagery of medieval art and first emerged in Northern...Experience moreAlchemy
What is the philosopher’s stone and what other secret knowledge of the alchemists has been passed down in enigmatic and...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
- 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