1553 Claudius Galenus (Galen), Methodi Medendi vel de Morbis Curandis Libri XIIII

This copy of Thomas Linacre's Latin translation of Galen's Methodi Medendi, vel de Morbis Curandi (Therapeutic Methods, or On Curing Diseases), with annotations and underlining throughout. On the last leaf, in an old hand, are Latin notes on curative recipes based on Galen, with relating page numbers. It seems likely that someone well-educated and engaged in healing wrote the notes in this work.

Galen (129-216 AD) was a Roman and Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher, considered to be one of the most accomplished medical researchers of antiquity. Galen received a comprehensive education that prepared him for a successful career as a physician and philosopher. Born in the ancient city of Pergamon (present-day Bergama, Turkey), Galen traveled extensively, exposing himself to a wide variety of medical theories and discoveries before settling in Rome, where he served prominent members of Roman society and eventually was given the position of personal physician to several emperors.

Linacre was a noted Renaissance scholar, and his better and more precise translations of Galen (into Latin, from Greek; 1st printed in 1519) helped establish Galen as the 16th century's pre-eminent voice on health and medicine. He is also known for establishing the Royal College of Physicians in London.

Guillaume Bude, another Renaissance scholar known for his ability to rightly translate the ancients, provides the introduction.

Bibliographic Details -

Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC) number 151357, 8 copies recorded in the world's libraries.

Worldcat OCLC catalogue number 14308489

Physical Attributes -

Measures approx. 12 x 8 x 4.5 cm. Vellum binding with Yapp edges. Spine with title in an old hand. Signed in eight.

Pages – viii, 752, [Index – 198], last leaf missing

Collation – a-z8, A-Z8, AA-MM8, NN7 (NN8 missing, likely blank)

Condition -

See pictures. Vellum binding with cockling (waviness), ties expired and front bottom Yapp edge corner chipped and top and bottom edge of back board chipped (both possibly gnawed). Front pastedown lifted, likely by someone looking to see if the parchment had manuscript (it does not). Pastedown and flyleaf with scribbling in an old hand (name practice) and some bookseller graphite notes.

Title page with several ex-libris annotations at the bottom in ink. Text block with moisture mark from top until 120 (into text), some toning throughout, occasional fox spot, dog-eared page, thumb, page-edge chip, etc. Also, occasional moisture marks from all edges. Fairly well underlined and annotated throughout, in an old hand. Crude manuscript face on last verso of Index. Notes on rear pastedown, in an old hand.

Last leaf missing, likely a blank as last extant ends with Finis. Also, both online examples hosted by Universidad Complutense de Madrid show a blank leaf there (although they may be binder's endpapers without being able to see the laid paper weave).