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Chapter 6 - ‘Already Verified’

A Hebrew Herbal between Text and Illustration

from Part I - Transmission of Pharmacological Knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2023

By
Sivan Gottlieb
Edited by
Petros Bouras-Vallianatos  and
Dionysios Stathakopoulos
Petros Bouras-Vallianatos
Affiliation:
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Dionysios Stathakopoulos
Affiliation:
University of Cyprus
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Summary

This chapter examines the not fully researched Hebrew manuscript MS hébr. 1199 from the Bibliothéque Nationale in Paris, which is an illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in northern Italy at the end of the fifteenth century. It describes plants and their uses, and is part of a specific herbal tradition called the ‘Alchemical Herbals’. There are specific illustrations of plants in this tradition in which the roots are emphasised (typically depicted in geometrical, zoomorphic, or anthropomorphic forms). It is apparent from a comparative analysis of both the texts and illustrations that the Jewish scribe(s) and artist deliberately altered the texts and illustrations. As will be demonstrated, Jews were also involved in another Latin manuscript within this tradition. This chapter provides insight into herbal knowledge, the people behind manuscripts production, and the practical function of the manuscripts. Furthermore, it illustrates how pharmacological knowledge was transmitted between cultures.

Keywords

Alchemical Herbalsilluminated manuscriptsmandraketheory of signaturesHebrewmedieval Jewsalready verifiedplantsroots
Type
Chapter
Information
Drugs in the Medieval Mediterranean
Transmission and Circulation of Pharmacological Knowledge
 , pp. 204 - 242
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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