Manuscript of Paulus Aegineta Medical Compendium in Seven Books

Manuscript of Paulus Aegineta Medical Compendium in Seven Books

This is a single leaf of a paper manuscript from a 15th-century copy of surgeon Paulus Aegineta’s Medical Compendium in Seven Books, a medical text that compiled what was written about Medicine at the time. Born in 625 AD, Paulus Aegineta was considered the father of early medical writing and the last great Byzantine physician. Here he copies a passage from Synopsis ad Eustathium by a predecessor Oribasius. At one point parchment made of animal skin was often used for manuscripts, but as many animals needed to be killed this was expensive. The transition to cheaper and more accessible allowed for more copies to be made of works like these that preserve these medical texts.

Paulus Aegineta

Eastern Mediterranean

Kislak Center for Special Collections; Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Libraries.

15th Century

Grace Luzcando

Kislak Center for Special Collections; Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Libraries.

330 x 230 mm , paper

Greek

Manuscript leaf

Misc Mss Box 14 Folder 22 Miscellaneous manuscripts