Eine medizinische Wanderung durch vier Jahrhunderte

Grimm-Stadelmann, Isabel (2025) Eine medizinische Wanderung durch vier Jahrhunderte. ACTA ANTIQUA ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE, 65. pp. 205-234. ISSN 0044-5975

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Abstract

A Medical Journey through Four Centuries – The Medical Collection of the Codex Sofiensis gr. 148A. The miscellaneous manuscript Cod. Sofiensis 148A hosted by the Bulgarian National Library “St. Cyril and Method” in Sofia is a remarkable example of post-Byzantine (15th–19th century) medical literature; its special feature is the combination of texts and illustrations. Related to its compilation, all sources were ‘translated’ into simple language (Aploellenike), witnessing the combination of traditional templates with everyday therapeutic approaches. Identification and use of the mostly herbal ingredients of the diverse medicines is explained in a total of 2,656 thematically grouped formularies, integrating the regional flora of northern Greece and Thrace. The written instructions are additionally supplemented by an illustrated herbal (fols. 78–87v), which follows the tradition of the Italian reception of Dioscorides being the core of Cod. Sofiensis 148A. Particularly emphasised are the oversized roots of the medicinal plants depicted, being geometrically, zoomorphically and anthropomorphically shaped. The Cod. Sofiensis 148A is copied by a single anonymous scribe but has been annotated and supplemented by various users in a continuously changing medical environment witnessing its intense use by diverse healers. The post-Byzantine centuries have provided quite a lot therapeutical collections, known as Iatrosophia. However, Cod. Sofiensis 148A makes the journey of practical medical literature through the centuries comprehensible and mirrors the therapeutical needs related to a constantly changing transcultural society: deeply rooted in Byzantine medical tradition, numerous Greek and Ottoman influences are added and carefully complemented by Western-based illustrations, but without losing its practical value.

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