CURIO, Johannes [with] HESSUS, Helius Eobanus

Attractive, unsophisticated copy of these charmingly illustrated medical works on the ‘regimen sanitatis’ or how to live a healthy life. The first is an illustrated edition of the famous C13 ‘Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum’, edited by the German physician Johannes Curio (d.1561). Curio published several editions (first 1538), which are considered the most complete and interesting as, for the first time, he included other texts. In the present edition, the Latin text is provided with a German translation by Curio and complemented by the important commentary by the Spanish physician and reformer Arnaldo de Villa Nova (1240-1311). The ‘Regimen’ was a collection of instructions on how to preserve good health, including ‘rules of hygiene and diet, simple therapeutics, and other instruction intended more for the laity than for the medical profession. It was committed to memory by thousands of physicians and, after the invention of printing, was published in nearly three hundred editions, in Latin as well as in several vernacular languages’ (Heirs of Hippocrates). Several sections are illustrated with charming, popular woodcuts showing, for instance, a man taking a nap on a chair, followed by descriptive verse in Latin, in this case, explaining how afternoon naps should be short or non-existent, as they can cause catarrh, laziness, fever and headache. It also discusses general eating and drinking habits (including wine and water drinking), various types of food and herbs (charmingly illustrated), and physical exercise. The second work is a poetic re-writing of the ‘regimen sanitatis’ by the German humanist and physician Helius Eobanus Hessus (1498-1540), with a commentary by the physician Johannes Placotomus (d.1576), based on his own lecture notes. The poem is presented in short sections, followed by scholia and Placotomus’ annotations, at times accompanied by a charming woodcut. It discusses the key topics of the ‘regimen sanitatis’, from the qualities and properties of food, herbs, and drink, to common illnesses, the humours, and sleep. The versification of medical works for didactic purposes had its origins in the medieval period, when this technique was employed for easier memorisation. A genuine copy.