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THE MEDIEVAL HEALTH HANDBOOK: Tacuinum Sanitatis by

THE MEDIEVAL HEALTH HANDBOOK: Tacuinum Sanitatis

By

Pub Date: April 30th, 1976
Publisher: Braziller

Illuminations from a late medieval manual listing the medical properties of some common (or uncommon) substances and measures, from spinach to pomegranates to the north wind. There are 48 color plates and 243 small black-and-white illustrations from several of the best MSS, including what seems to be one important codex in its entirety. With matter-of-fact dispatch, the pictured 14th-century sufferers pick roses (""Good for inflamed brains""), gather asparagus (""Bad for the stomach lining"" unless ""boiled and then seasoned with salted water""), are fitted for woollen clothing (preferably ""the thin kind from Flanders""), and make pasta (""harmful to weak intestines and to the stomach"").