A Medieval Herbal

The magnificent manuscript, Egerton MS 747, reproduced here for the first time, is one of the most precious documents in the collections of The British Library. It is an illustrated herbal which was written in Italy around AD 1300, and is significant as it is probably the original manuscript of the Tractatus de herbis, a type of medieval herbal that was to become one of the most influential texts on medicinal plants. It contains a vast corpus of information about plants and their uses, inherited from Greek, Roman and Arabic sources, and combines this with 406 botanical paintings. The book covers an extraordinary range of vegetables, fruits and minerals, from quince to quicksilver and turnips to tamarind, with instructions on how to prepare each substance. Lively images of snakes, scorpions and wild dogs allude to their dangers, but there are also suggestions of the aphrodisiac, cosmetic and magical properties of herbs. Printed in full colour, on paper specially made to simulate vellum, it is impossible not to be captivated by this impressive facsimile.