Many of the earliest medieval herbals are from southern Italy in the areas where universities and medical schools were established (Salerno, Naples, Bari) and where multicultural translators were busy translating from Greek and Arabic manuscripts. Two of the most important include
Egerton 747 (c. 1300) Tractatus de Herbis British Library
Manfredus de Monte Imperiali Ms Latin 6823 BNF
The transmission of these early herbals from southern Italy to southern Lombardy (northern Italy) was often through the colonists' Lombardic connections and sometimes through scholarly connections with universities in Padua, Pisa, Paris, and Heidelberg. Monte Cassino was also an important respository and center of learning at the time, and some who traveled by land rather than by sea passed through here.
This promoted a flush of copies in southern Lombardy (e.g., Masson 116).
However...
These are not the oldest examples. The whole process of transferring herbal knowledge to northern areas actually started much earlier, as can be seen from the English herbals. There was already a strong herbal tradition in the Saxon culture (and possibly in the adjacent Angle culture) that spread through the region in several directions and resulted in leechbooks in England and on the continent. Thus, when additional knowledge and illustrated herbals arrived from parts south, they already had a basis for understanding them and copying them.
For example, the parts of Cotton MS Vitellius C III (British Library) related to herbs date from the early 11th century. They are somewhat stylized, but there are some interesting choices in how they are drawn, such as rings around the base of some of the stalks, and bicolored leaves.
Egerton 747 (c. 1300) Tractatus de Herbis British Library
Manfredus de Monte Imperiali Ms Latin 6823 BNF
The transmission of these early herbals from southern Italy to southern Lombardy (northern Italy) was often through the colonists' Lombardic connections and sometimes through scholarly connections with universities in Padua, Pisa, Paris, and Heidelberg. Monte Cassino was also an important respository and center of learning at the time, and some who traveled by land rather than by sea passed through here.
This promoted a flush of copies in southern Lombardy (e.g., Masson 116).
However...
These are not the oldest examples. The whole process of transferring herbal knowledge to northern areas actually started much earlier, as can be seen from the English herbals. There was already a strong herbal tradition in the Saxon culture (and possibly in the adjacent Angle culture) that spread through the region in several directions and resulted in leechbooks in England and on the continent. Thus, when additional knowledge and illustrated herbals arrived from parts south, they already had a basis for understanding them and copying them.
For example, the parts of Cotton MS Vitellius C III (British Library) related to herbs date from the early 11th century. They are somewhat stylized, but there are some interesting choices in how they are drawn, such as rings around the base of some of the stalks, and bicolored leaves.