Anonymous, Germany, 15th century. These images are from an illuminated manuscript copy
of the “Tacuinum Sanitatis,” a popular treatises on medicine and health in use
during the later Middle Ages. This was a Latin translation from original Arabic medical
works combining Arabic and western knowledge on of foods, plants, and circumstances, with
particular reference to their useful and harmful properties, and how the latter could be
cured if necessary.
Much of the original Arabic text came from the writings of Albucasis (Al-Zahrawi), an
Arab surgeon (936 -1013 AD) from Cordoba. His encyclopedia of surgery was the result of
almost fifty years of medical education and his own experimentation. It was used as
standard reference work in the subject in all the universities of Europe for over five
hundred years.
Today, illustrated versions of the “Tacuinum Sanitatis,” yield much
information on medieval daily life. Albucasis’s works are still considered important
references for medicine and medical sciences as a whole.
No pig, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, would conclude that it would also make better soup.