Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in The Royal Irish Academy
464
23 O 6
Medical Treatises
Undated. Vellum. Pp. 40 (numbered 3-42). Bound in green linen bds., leather bk., gilt-lettered: "Tract. Med. MS. Hib. Memb." Old Acad. no. 6/4. On cover slip from secondhand cat: "A Vellum Book, 38 pages, Large Octavo, MS. It treats entirely of medicine and things connected with Medicine. It is only part of a larger book, but is in good preservation, written about the year 1400."
Names of scribe and former owners are unknown. The volume consists of 4 mss. bound up together, all varying in size: (1) pp. 3-18, 9 × 6⅖ (2) pp. 19-30, 9 × 5⅘ (3) pp. 31-36, 8⅕ × 6⅕; (4) pp. 37-42, 8⅕ × 6.
These four sections are written either in two columns or in one. The ms. opens on p. 3 (recte, p. 1).
p.
3 . Beg. with Latin heading, almost illegible, [T] ria Sunt In Urina, followed by Irish translation: .i. Atait tri neithe is eigin don liaigh dfechuin, account of urine: colours, substance, contents. Egidius often quoted. Each small item opens with rubricated heading, Latin or Irish. Copies of this tract, which continues to p. 7, are found in T.C.D. 1334, pp. 54, seq.; Arundel 313, cf. Brit. Mus. Cat. i. 258.
4 . Methrad, linn omh, gaineam, ruaidneach.
5 . Lenda, Adaim, Sperma; Triplex est disdiugsio (sic) cólorum .i. atait 3 deifrecha ar dathuib in fuail.
6 . Theophilus quoted. Quatuor sunt diferensia urine .i. Atait 4 defrecha substantecha, etc.
7 . List of colours of urine, beg. Albus mar uisge glan, etc. Cf. no 447, p. 162. The article ends on this page. Six lines from below, Sex modis mel cognoscitur .i. adeir Nicholaus, etc. Page tom and neatly mended with red thread. On the medicinal value of honey and the method of production. Ends on p. 9, col. 1, l. 30.
9 , l. 31. Atait dha slighidh a noibrighind in leighis a naighed na neime, do reir Iohannis de Sancto Paulo. Seven herbs recommended by Platearius against poison; ragum, litronta, etc. For bite of mad dog, other reptiles (!) and insects. Ingredients of artificial poison and antidote. ⁊ athair talman a naiged neime an aer.
col. 2. 5 ingredients of poison, 7 of antidote. Ends l. 14: 7 ni fuil galar nach foirenn acht in teg nama ⁊rl. Bid a fis agat do reir Bernaird curob hi in fliuchedecht mesurda doni in gaethmuirecht, etc, on natural causes that affect voice and musical instruments, etc. Short art. followed by 6 lines on disease of cuckoo, beg. Epilipsia do beith ar in cuach . . . Ends, is mo tic epilepsia cuici ⁊rl. Cf. Rosa Anglica, ed. Wulff, xli. L. 38, short art. on cause of chipping of nails, etc. {bruis ingnidhi). Ends p. 10, col. 1, l. 2, 7 mídath in croicinn i naimser na cumad. Six drawings of fish in brown ink in marg.
10 , 1, l. 3. On relative flatulent properties of barley and beans, from Galen, beg. Foillsigter ann da mberbtur in ponaire, etc. L. 10, Cum uolatiuo, why do birds though they have livers, etc, not produce urine? L. 33, Bi a fis acat co ndentur an spasmus o folmugud o 13 modaib. On spasmus, etc.
col. 2, l. 18. Bruna ieiunandi, post prandium pigra, poma cubandi. .i. na hairnedha ar ceadlongadh, na pireda a ndiaigh na codach, na hubla ar ndul do colladh. L. 21, Atait da cumachtan no da dislechta ag in anim, etc. On influence of soul over body. L. 39, on humours (tainted), Foillsighter ann so co fuil cuis a gceinn ⁊ cuis a ngaire. Opinionsi of various doctors, Avicenna, Arnaldus, etc.
12 , col. 2, l. 25. Short paragraph on smallpox, beg. Et tuicc leat co fuiled da bolgaid ann.
ibid., l . 35. Atait .4. hernaile ar na fethib . . . L. 40, Fodail Aristotul a brighaib ann so .i. cedbrigha ⁊ brigha tainiste, etc.
13 , l. 15. List of doctors, Maximianus, etc. Ends: Da bliadan 7 tri xx it 7 tri ced dobadar lucht na nanmann so ina collad. A scribhadh ⁊ a cur fo chluais duine ⁊ togarmidi in collad ⁊ aincidh duine ar cach urcoid da ticc a collad gan amarus. Sella.
L. 21, Short tract on medical and philosophical matters, in the form of questions and answers, beg. Cimius tuicter an fuaraigecht? Ends p. 18, adarc o comaentugad ⁊ o comceangal ni da, tes i.
p. 19 , 1 col. (in another hand). Materia Medica beg. [S]ambuccus. Ends p. 30, [Y]dor .i. in tuisgi.
pp. 31 - 36 are in another hand.
p. 31 , 2 cols. Beg. Ut dicunt pilosapidi, etc, amail adeir Gailidhen ⁊ na feallsaimh, etc. A medical tract, leading to a classification of colours of urine and corresponding diseases. Ends p. 34, col. 1, an bas no toidecht fínit amen finit.
p. 34 , l. 5. List of plantnames in Irish beg. Adradh muire, athair talman, etc, in 4 cols. to 35. Ending p. 35, urtica uirechtum.
p. 36 , 2 cols. Uirtuiteis aque vite; ends col. 2, ⁊ ni loisceann a tsustaint. Finit. Amen. Cf. no. 445, p. 94.
p. 37 . Do leighes na neasbudh so, on cure of boils and other medical topics; on p. 40 begins a discussion of the regimen suitable to the different seasons; p. 42 is illegible.