Iatromathematical housebook from the Southern German/Swiss region
Description
This manuscript, illustrated with numerous colored pen drawings,
originated in a secular environment in Southern Germany or in
Switzerland around the middle of the 15th century. It describes the
signs of the zodiac, the planets, the four temperaments, and the
four seasons regarding their influence on human health. This is
followed by dietary guidelines primarily regarding bloodletting,
but also regarding eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, resting and
moving, as well as, in concrete terms, regarding bathing
(illustration p. 101) or defecating (illustration p. 120). Most
likely an amateur doctor with an interest in astronomy, from the
Southern region of Germany, wrote the original text around 1400 and
assembled it into a compendium. Later the text was repeatedly
supplemented and modified. The last part (from p. 128 on) contains
a prose and a poem version of the so-called letter from
Pseudo-Aristotle to Alexander the Great, in which the Greek
universal scholar advises the king on maintaining good health.
