Lorsch Pharmacopoeia

Lorsch Pharmacopoeia – Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft – Msc.Med.1 – Staatsbibliothek Bamberg (Bamberg, Germany)

Lorsch (Germany) — End of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century

A milestone in medical history from the time of Charlemagne: The oldest medical book of the occidental Middle Ages and the only known early medieval index of an imperial library

  1. The Lorsch Pharmacopoeia is the oldest medical book of the occidental Middle Ages

  2. Besides various medical treatises, it contains a total of 482 pharmaceutical recipes

  3. It also includes the only known early medieval (partial) index of an imperial library

Lorsch Pharmacopoeia

Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €
(under 1,000€)
  1. Description
  2. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Lorsch Pharmacopoeia

The Lorsch Pharmacopoeia was probably written at the end of the 8th century during the reign of Charlemagne in the Benedictine Abbey of Lorsch and is thus the oldest medical book of the occidental Middle Ages. This outstanding document of early medieval monastic medicine gathers various medical treatises in Latin and contains a total of 482 pharmaceutical recipes. The introduction vehemently defends medicine, which at that time was still considered an intervention in God's plans, as an act of Christian charity. Numerous additional recipes and marginal notes also testify to the intensive use of the manuscript in the 9th and 10th centuries. The codex, carefully written in Carolingian minuscule, also contains the only known early medieval (partial) index of an imperial library. Indeed, it was in the possession of both Emperor Otto III and Emperor Henry II, who donated the pharmacopoeia to the cathedral library of the bishopric of Bamberg, which he had founded. Thus, the Lorsch Pharmacopoeia is not only a milestone in the history of medicine, but also a unique historical document of inestimable value.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Lorscher Arzneibuch
Collectanea medica
Libri V curationum
Epistola Anthimi ad Theodoricum regem
Size / Format
150 pages / 32.0 × 23.0 cm
Origin
Germany
Date
End of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century
Script
Carolingian minuscule
Illustrations
Rubrics and display script in red, numerous paragraph initials
Content
Compendium of several brief texts on the theory and history of medicine and a major part containing a total of 482 medicinal formulas in the Greco-Roman tradition
Previous Owners
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (980–1002)
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (973/978–1024)

Available facsimile editions:
Lorsch Pharmacopoeia – Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft – Msc.Med.1 – Staatsbibliothek Bamberg (Bamberg, Germany)
Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft – Stuttgart, 1989
Facsimile Editions

#1 Das Lorscher Arzneibuch

Publisher: Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft – Stuttgart, 1989
Binding: Red cloth binding with gold tooling. Facsimile and commentary volume come in a matching cloth slipcase.
Commentary: 1 volume (152 pp.) by Gundolf Keil, Ullrich Stoll, and Albert Ohlmeyer
Language: German

The commentary volume contains an introduction by Gundolf Keil and a complete translation of the Latin text.
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €
(under 1,000€)
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