Preceptes de L'Ecole de Salerne , ou L'Art de Conserver sa Santé
London: Nardini & Co, 1804.
Hardcover (Full Leather). Very Good Condition. Item #CAT001009
Contemorary speckled calf, marbled endpapers. First edition of this translation billed as closer to the original Latin than previous editions but actually a very idiosyncratic translation into French verse. Light wear at edges, old owner's signature to title. Rare; two copies in OCLC (Edinburgh and the Biblitheque Nationale). 109pp
The Schola Medica Salernitana was Europe's first medical school. It was founded outside Salerno in Southern Italy in the 9th century and became famous across Europe in the late 11th. Though it was based on the Greco-Roman medical tradition of Hippocrates and Galen, it's location did allow some synthesis of Jewish and Arab ideas. Allouel was a prominent French surgeon. This is a curious adaptation of medieval medical ideas - it begins with a discussion of the school, but most of the volume is a series of translations of the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum into French verse (mostly rhymed sestain and octaves, but there are quintillas, quatrains, nonets and couplets.). They are mostly about food (butter, milk, sage, absinth, pepper, soup) but also addressing medical conditions (headaches, eye problems, rheumatism) and the humours. Size: 12mo . Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Medicine & Health; Cooking, Wine & Dining. Inventory No: CAT001009.
Price: $350.00