Author: VALENTINUS, Petrus Pomarius (editor).
Title: Articella nuperrime impressa cu[m] q[uam] plurimis tractatib[us] pristine impressio[n]i sup[er]additis, ut p[atet] i[n] pagina seque[n]ti. Petri Pomarii Valentini Hispani ad lectore[m] Hexastycho[n] ...[(Colophon:) Lyon, Antoine du Ry impensis Jacques Giunta, 1525]. 8vo. With a full-page woodcut illustration, the title-page printed in red and black with a decorated woodcut border, and numerous woodcut initials in the text. Later parchment with the manuscript title on the spine.
Description: "369" [= 367] ll.Early collection of important ancient and contemporary medicinal works, with a full-page woodcut illustrating bloodletting. This work was meant as a textbook for students of medicine. The texts included in the present work were not only selected because they formed the backbone of the field of medicine in Europe at the time, but also because they could be easily memorised. The contents include extracts from Ibn Sina (Canon, Cantica), Galen (Ars medica), Hippocrates (various selections), Jacques Desparts (Summula super plurimis remediis ex Mesue libris), Theodoros Gazes, Aulus Cornelius Celsus, Arnaldus de Villanova, and Armengaud Blaise. The work is quite rare on the market, as we have only been able to find two other copies of the present edition in sales records of the past hundred years.The articella, or little arts, is a collection of medicinal treatises, which was likely composed in the early 12th century at the School of Salerno, the earliest centre of organised medical instruction in medieval Europe. The core text is the Isagoge by Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-Ibadi or Johannitius (808-873), an Arabic translation of the work of Galen (129-216). Six other treatises were added to this to form the articella, namely Hippocrates' Aphorisms and Prognostic, Theophilus Protopatharius' On urines, Philaretus' On pulses, Galenus' Ars medica and the Hippocratic Regimen in acute diseases. The collection was an indispensable instrument of medical teaching in universities almost from its conception until well into the 1530s. Although the work initially only existed in manuscript form, it was already printed for the first time in 1476, which is a testament to its importance. The articella continued to be updated and other treatises were added to the original seven in the subsequent printed versions. The Hippocratic oath first appeared in the 1483 edition, which proved to be a very important addition and can be found in the present edition as well (fol. XVII).The different editions of the articella were edited by different editors. One of the most notable ones was Petrus Pomarius Valentinus (dates unknown), a medical doctor from Valencia, who worked on the collection in the 1510s. The present edition is based on his work. The most important difference between his articella and earlier ones is the choice of treatises. Pomarius included far more Islamic texts than his predecessors. He also added six Hippocratic works, a text by Jacques Desparts, and two aphoristic collections of Arnaldus de Villanova. Four Latin editions of Pomarius' version were printed, namely the Lyon editions of 1515, 1519, 1525 and 1534. The present copy is unfortunately missing the colophon, which makes it difficult to ascertain which edition it is. However, it is printed in two columns, which means it has to be one of the final two editions. It also has small fleur-de-lys printed in red on the title page, which can only be found on the digitised 1525 version. As such, it is most likely the 1525 edition.The vellum is somewhat stained. The margins of the first 30 leaves, ll. 173-201 and ll. 314-316 have been restored, only slightly affecting the woodcut border on the title-page, the work is slightly browned and waterstained throughout, lacking the final leaf. Otherwise in good condition.l Baudrier VI, p. 115; Durling, Catalogue of sixteenth century printed books in the National Library of Medicine, 331; Palau 230678; USTC 145671 (8 copies); cf. Sallander, Bibliotheca Walleriana 21 (other ed.); Stillwell 280 (other ed.).

Keywords: [94684889A2BD] BOOK HISTORY, EDUCATION, LEARNING & PRINTING|[94684889A2BD] BOOK HISTORY, EDUCATION, LEARNING & PRINTING -> [478298C522AC] Education & Pedagogy|[KCRG291IIT91] EARLY PRINTING & MANUSCRIPTS|[KCRG291IIT91] EARLY PRINTING & MANUSCRIPTS -> [KCRG