Wednesday 28 September 2016

Tacuinum sanitatis (BNF Nouvelle acquis. lat. 1673)

Silk clothing, f. 95r (p. 189).

Colloquial name(s): Tacuinum sanitatis, by Ibn Butlân
Official name(s): Bibliothèque nationale de France, Nouvelle acquisition latine 1673

Date: 1390-1400 (source, Mandragore) or 1380-90 (source)
Origin: Pavia or Milan, Lombardy, N. Italy, by Giovannino de Grassi's workshop (source and source, Mandragore)

Online facsimile available via: Bibliothèque nationale de France Mandragore digital library (enter 'Tacuinum sanitatis' into the 'Titre d'usage' box and select 'Chercher', then select 'Nouvelle acquisition latine 1673' and select 'Images').


This manuscript is one of several illustrated copies of the Tacuinum sanitatis, a medieval healthy living guide which is a Latin translation of an 11th Century Arab medical treatise, Taqwīm as-sihha bi al-Ashab al-Sitta, written by the Christian physician and philosopher Ibn Butlan of Baghdad (d. 1063) (source). The Taqwīm synthesised a variety of Greek-derived medical science and traditions and considered approximately 280 health-related items including food, drink, climate, bodily activities and clothing (source). The translation into Latin was commissioned by the Court of Naples and Sicily and completed by 1266 (source). This Latin version was copied repeatedly and circulated around Europe, with the first illustrated copies being commissioned in the late 14th Century by northern Italian nobility (source).

The known extant illustrated copies of the Tacuinum sanitatis are as follows (source and source):

  • this copy - BNF Nouvelle acquisition latine 1673; 1390-1400 or 1380-90, Pavia or Milan, N. Italy.
  • Bibliothèque de l'Université de Liège, Ms. 1041; 1380-1400, Italy.
  • ÖNB, Cod. Ser. N. 2644 Han; 1390-1400, probably Verona, Italy.
  • Biblioteca Casanatense, Ms. 4182; 1390-1400, Italy.
  • Biblioteca Casanatense, Ms 459; c. 1400, Italy.
  • Biblioteca del hospital Real, Universidad de Granada, Ms C67 [BHN/Caja A-001]; 1440-1445, Italy.
  • BNF, Latin 9333; 1445-1451, Rhineland.
  • Bibliothèque municipale, Rouen, Ms. 3054 [formerly Leber 1088] and other half in a private collection in Liechtenstein; 1450s.
  • BNF, Italien 1108; 1470-1475.
  • ÖNB, Cod. 5264 Han [formerly Med. 2]; 1470-1475.
  • Bibliothèque Internationale de Gastronomie, Lugano, Ms. 15; 1470-1475.
  • ÖNB, Ms. 2396 [formerly Eug. Q. 59]; 1476-1500, Venice, Italy.


Descriptions of the images in this manuscript are provided by Mandragore. Folio numbers are written in pencil in the top left corner of each recto page.

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