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[Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
- [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
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RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
ReneZ > 11-05-2017, 07:47 PM
All this is perhaps bordering on the OT for the Voynich MS, but who knows....
The image on the left matches Leiden Voss.Lat. Q9, as far as I can tell, and the illustration in the Kassel MS I mentioned above is very similar.
The Leiden Vossius collection has been digitised with support from Brill, and is accessible for students of Leiden University, and to others against payment, but I have no information how much.
The Leiden MS from the 6th century is the oldest surviving copy of the Pseudo-Apuleius collection, and here, this herb was already called 'Verbascum'. The version 'Barbascum' seems more likely to be a much later 'confusion'.
As Marco already pointed out, the text in the Cambridge MS closely matches the text in other copies of Pseudo-Apuleuis, and in fact this goes back to the earliest known copies, so there is no doubt that this herb is meant.
However, the 'brown cactus' version is the most common one, also seen in Florence Plut. 73.16 (fol. 97r):
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RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
MarcoP > 11-05-2017, 09:13 PM
(11-05-2017, 07:47 PM)ReneZ Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.All this is perhaps bordering on the OT for the Voynich MS, but who knows....
The image on the left matches Leiden Voss.Lat. Q9, as far as I can tell, and the illustration in the Kassel MS I mentioned above is very similar.
The Leiden Vossius collection has been digitised with support from Brill, and is accessible for students of Leiden University, and to others against payment, but I have no information how much.
The Leiden MS from the 6th century is the oldest surviving copy of the Pseudo-Apuleius collection, and here, this herb was already called 'Verbascum'. The version 'Barbascum' seems more likely to be a much later 'confusion'.
As Marco already pointed out, the text in the Cambridge MS closely matches the text in other copies of Pseudo-Apuleuis, and in fact this goes back to the earliest known copies, so there is no doubt that this herb is meant.
However, the 'brown cactus' version is the most common one, also seen in Florence Plut. 73.16 (fol. 97r):
Thank you, Rene! I had previously missed the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. It's clear that the Trinity Verbascum is quite different from all the others.... one more interesting detail of this great manuscript. -
RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
Koen G > 12-05-2017, 04:34 PM
I've just had a look at some of the first plants that come after the De Herbis section. It might be a coincidence, but I've noticed concentration of some aromatic herbs which are still known today, usually associated with he Mediterranean region.
For example, 72v (B) appears to be some type of lavender.
The next one on 73r also. (A synonym is "barba iovis" which is now a (different?) Mediterranean plant).
On 75v there's melissa and thyme.
Also fol.76 contains a series of similar Mediterranean aromatic herbs.
Might this give a hint about which tradition this part is based on? Some connection to Theophrastus? -
RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
ReneZ > 12-05-2017, 05:48 PM
Theophrastus is very unllikely for a 14th C Latin manuscript.
Note also, that the Pseudo-Apuleius herbs include:
- Rosmarinum
- Salvia
- Coriandrum
- Menta
- Origanus
- Feniculum
- Petroselinum
All quite aromatic and/or tasty.
However, it is worth searching further. -
RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
-JKP- > 12-05-2017, 07:10 PM
I've also been puzzling over why Verbascum in Plut. 73.16 is so different from the others.
Some possibilities that come to mind...
Maybe Plut 73.16 depicts a southern woolly mullein (Verbascum phlomoides). It's fuzzier than the other species of Verbascum and the yellow flowers that are typical of most of the tall mulleins have orange stamens, giving it a slightly different overall look.
There are also some that branch into multiple flower spikes, like Verbascum auriculatum and Verbascum nigrum.
Verbascum goes quite brown when dried as a herbarium specimen. It also turns brown when it is dipped in wax and used as a torch.
So... I'm not sure if any of these account for the drawing in Plut. 73.16, but it is interesting that they chose a different representation. -
RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
MarcoP > 12-05-2017, 08:44 PM
(12-05-2017, 04:34 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I've just had a look at some of the first plants that come after the De Herbis section. It might be a coincidence, but I've noticed concentration of some aromatic herbs which are still known today, usually associated with he Mediterranean region.
For example, 72v (B) appears to be some type of lavender.
The next one on 73r also. (A synonym is "barba iovis" which is now a (different?) Mediterranean plant).
On 75v there's melissa and thyme.
Also fol.76 contains a series of similar Mediterranean aromatic herbs.
Might this give a hint about which tradition this part is based on? Some connection to Theophrastus?
For Melissa, it seems that the text of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (Manfredus de Monte Imperiali) is somehow related, but it clearly isn't the same text. Maybe I should check Dioscorides also.
O.2.48: Nomen herbe mellisse alii citrariam dicunt quia habet odorem citroni (the plant is called Melissa, others call it Citraria because it smells like lemon)
L6823: Melissa …. alio nomine citraria... habens odorem citri viridis (Melissa …. also called Citraria … smells like green lemon)
O.2.48: ad dolorem matricis (for uterine pain)
L6823: provocat menstrua et matricem mundificat confortat et adiuvat conceptum (provokes menses, cleans and comforts the uterus and helps conception [see last recipe in the Trinity ms])
O.2.48: ad venenum (against venom)
L6823: vis scorpionis et splangionis optime curat (it cures very well the power of scorpions and spiders)
O.2.48: ad renum dolorem (for renal pain)
L6823: Durities splenis et epatis relaxat (it relaxes hardness in the spleen and liver)
O.2.48: ad conceptionem mulieris (for women's conception)
Also note that these plants are very close in both manuscripts (but the order is inverted):
Melissa BNF f.100v - Trinity 75v
Matrisilva BNF (Honeysuckle) You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. - Trinity You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
In both manuscripts, Honeysuckle is said to be similar to ivy and to help in childbirth (but also in this case there are several differences as well). -
RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
MarcoP > 13-05-2017, 10:28 AM
In You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., Koen mentioned the plant at You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. Sticados Citrinum / Barba Jovis.
The same names appear in Simon of Genoa's lexicon at the end of Manfredus You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. 219v.
PS: the plant is at You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. -
RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
Koen G > 14-05-2017, 09:38 PM
Another animal anecdote on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.: herba nepitella is called "gatara" because it plays some part in cats' love life... I think... Marco?
It is still called nepitella today in Italy and is used for cooking.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. -
RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
-JKP- > 15-05-2017, 08:41 AM
(14-05-2017, 09:38 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Another animal anecdote on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.: herba nepitella is called "gatara" because it plays some part in cats' love life... I think... Marco?
It is still called nepitella today in Italy and is used for cooking.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Nepeta cataria is catmint. Another old name for it was Calamentum nepitella.
We call it catnip because it makes cats go bonkers. It's included in most of the herbals. -
RE: [Trinity] Plant identification in Trinity College MS O.2.48 Apuleii Herbarium
MarcoP > 15-05-2017, 01:04 PM
(14-05-2017, 09:38 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Another animal anecdote on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.: herba nepitella is called "gatara" because it plays some part in cats' love life... I think... Marco?
It is still called nepitella today in Italy and is used for cooking.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Thank you, Koen. This is also very interesting.
The name of the plant is Nepitella, others call it Neputella | Others herba Attraras[?] Others call it Gatara | It is called "herba Gatara" because iS[?] says that if a female cat is | in love [i.e. in heat] and eats of this plant, without | coitus with a male cat, it is said she will be pregnant. ...
I guess the abbreviation highlighted in blue is the name of the author who discussed this legend. I have been unable to identify him or find another discussion of this legend. If it really reads "is" it could be Isidore of Seville, but I really can't tell.