Vienna Tacuinum Sanitatis Facsimile Edition

The Vienna Tacuinum Sanitatis was produced in the workshop of the illuminator Giovannino de' Grassi, possibly for the Cerruti family of Verona, around 1390-1400. It is a medical handbook based on the Arabic Tables of Health by Ibn Buṭlān with adaptations to suit an Italian audience. One such modification was the addition of illustrations of each plant, remedy, or meal discussed. A concise description of the subject's properties accompanies each of the 206 three-quarter-page miniatures. Twenty-nine of the entries are unique to this manuscript of the text.

This sumptuously illustrated medical compendium was designed primarily for a non-specialist audience, particularly for noblewomen or affluent patrician ladies who possessed both the financial means to commission such an expensive reference work and the literacy to utilize its guidance on domestic management, wellness, and therapeutic practices.

A Medieval Intersection of Art and Medicine

This manuscript tradition originates from an Arabic source authored by the distinguished physician Ibn Buṭlān entitled Taqwim Es-Sihha. Arabic medical knowledge and methodology significantly shaped Western healing traditions and commanded considerable prestige during the medieval period. The Latin translation of this work, which rendered the text accessible to educated circles in medieval Europe, achieved widespread dissemination, as evidenced by numerous extant manuscripts.

While the original work consisted solely of systematic tables without visual elements, subsequent iterations incorporated lavish illustrations beginning in the 14th century, with the text condensed into captions accompanying each image. The Tacuinum manuscript represents one of the earliest and unquestionably the most magnificent exemplar of its genre.

The term Tacuinum derives from Arabic and was incorporated into Latin with an appropriate grammatical ending. Following its translation from Arabic to Latin and subsequent circulation throughout Italy, the word tacuinum was assimilated into Italian vocabulary, where taccuino continues to signify notebook in contemporary usage.

An Exemplary Achievement in Medieval Illumination

This codex holds significance not only for historians of medicine and pharmacy but also, with its collection of over 200 miniatures, serves as an object of scholarly interest for bibliophiles and researchers across disciplines. Moreover, these illustrations provide a vivid portrayal of medieval Italian culture and quotidian practices, constituting an invaluable resource for cultural historians.

Codicological and heraldic evidence, specifically the Cerruti family coat of arms on folio 3v, suggests the Tacuinum was commissioned and produced in Verona toward the late 14th century. The manuscript represents the collaborative effort of two artists working in a remarkably naturalistic style, employing vibrant pigments that impart extraordinary freshness and vitality to the miniatures.

A Pioneering Medical Visual Encyclopedia

The 206 three-quarter-page miniatures depict numerous botanical specimens, animal species, pharmaceutical substances, foodstuffs, as well as meteorological conditions, seasonal variations, and other environmental factors. Each entry explicates the subject's physiological impact according to classical humoral theory. Accompanying text beneath each illustration elucidates both beneficial and detrimental properties of the depicted element.

The Tacuinum thus constitutes a medical visual encyclopedia evolved from the traditional herbal manuscript tradition. This integration of imagery with substantive explanatory text represents a novel manuscript typology that incorporates content derived from Arabic medical sources while adhering to Western formal conventions.

What distinguishes these illustrations is their consistently anthropocentric approach. Rather than depicting objects in isolation, the miniatures show human figures interacting with various plants, animals, and other elements.