Pseudo-Apuleius is the name given in modern scholarship to the author of a 4th-century herbal known as Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius or Herbarium Apuleii Platonici. The author of the text apparently wished readers to think that it was by Apuleius of Madaura (124–170 CE), the Roman poet and philosopher, but modern scholars do not believe this attribution. Little or nothing else is known of Pseudo-Apuleius.
The oldest surviving manuscript of the Herbarium is the 6th-century Leiden, MS. Voss. Q.9. Until the 12th century it was the most influential herbal in Europe, with numerous extant copies surviving into the modern era, along with several copies of an Old English translation. Thereafter, it was more or less displaced by the Circa instans, a herbal produced at the school of Salerno. "Pseudo-Apuleius" is also used as a shorthand generic term to refer to the manuscripts and derived works.
The text of Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius is based on late antique sources, especially Pliny's Historia naturalis and Discorides's De materia medica. Scholars agree that it was compiled in the 4th century, according to Sigerist (1930, p. 200) from Latin, according to Singer (1927, p. 37) from Greek sources. Each of the 128 to 131 chapters (the number varying between manuscripts) deals with one medical plant. In these chapters the name of the plant is followed by the enumeration of indications in the form of recipes and by synonyms of the plant's name.
For example: Chapter 89, Herba millefolium (Edition of Howald/Sigerist 1927):
Text (Howald/Sigerist 1927) | Translation |
---|---|
Herba millefolium | The herb millefolium [now interpreted as Achillea millefolium] |
1. Ad dentium dolorem. Herbae millefolium radicem ieiunus conmanducet. | 1. For toothache. The root of the herb millefolium should be chewed before breakfast. |
2. Ad uulnera de ferro facta. Herba millefolium cum axungia pistata et inposita uulnera purgat et sanat. | 2. For wounds inflicted by iron. If you put on the herb millefolium crushed in fat, so it cleans and heals wounds. |
3. Ad tumores. Herbam millefolium contusam cum butiro inpone. | 3. For tumours. Put on the herb millefolium crushed in butter. |
4. Ad urinae difficultatem. Herbae millefolium sucus cum aceto bibitur, mire sanat. | 4. For difficulties of urination. The juice of the herb millefolium drunk mixed with wine vinegar, heals wonderfully. |
Nomina herbae. A Graecis dicitur miriofillon, alii ambrosiam, alii ciliofillon, alii crisitis, Galli mulicandos, alii uigentia, Daci diodela, Itali millefolium, alii militaris, alii Achillion, alii supercilium Veneris, alii cereum siluaticum. Hanc herbam Achilles inuenit, unde ferro percussus sanabat, quae ob id Achillea uocatur, de hac sanasse Telephium dicitur. | Names of the herb. The Greeks call it miriofillon, others ambrosia, others ciliofillon, others crisitis. The Gauls [call it] mulicandos, others vigentia. The Dacians [call it] diodela. The Italians [call it] millefolium, others militaris, others Achillion, others supercilium Veneris, others cereum silvaticum. This herb was discovered by Achilles because it healed wounds, beaten by iron. It was therefore named Achillea. |
[Interpolationes ex Diosc.] Nascitur in palustris locis … | [ Interpolations from the De materia medica of Dioscorides.] It grows in swampy areas … |
In the surviving codices the Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius was combined with other treatises:
Howald and Sigerist (edition 1927, V–XVI) divided the codices into 3 classes (α, β and γ) according to the varying mixture of associated texts in the codices:
Class | Abbreviation (Howald/Sigerist) | Name of the codex | Century |
---|---|---|---|
α | Ca | Monte Cassino, Archivo de la Badia, Cod. 97 [5] | 09th century. |
α | M | Munich, Bayrische Staatsbibliothek, Fragmenta Emeranensia, Clm 14672, 14766 und 15028, in all 8 pages. [6] [7] | 07th century. |
α | L | Lucca, Bibliotheka Governativa, MS. 296 [8] | 09th century. |
α | Hal | Halberstadt, Domschatz (Bibliothek des Domgymnasiums), Inv.-Nr. 465–466 fol. Ir–IIv, Palimpsest (upper writing). | 07th century. |
α | Be | Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Fragmentum Berolinense Ms. Lat. fol. 381 no. 1 | 08th century. |
α | Ha | London, British Library, Harley MS 4986 [9] | 12th century. |
α | V | Vienna, Codex Vindobonensis 187 (nach Grape-Albers 1977, p. 3: Eton College MS. 204) [10] | 12th century. |
α | A | London, British Library, MS Cotton Vitellius C III | 11th century. |
β | Hil | Hildesheim, Beverinsche Bibliothek, MS. 658 [11] | 08th century. |
β | Vr | Bratislava, Codex Vratislaviensis Bibl. univ. III F 19 | 09th century. |
β | Bodley 130 | Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 130 [12] [13] | 11th century. |
β | He | Herten, Codicis medici Hertensis, destroyed by fire [14] | 09th century. |
β | B | Bamberg, Codex Bambergensis med 8 (L III.15) | 13th century. |
β | Laur. 7341 | Florence, Bibliotheca Laurenziana, MS. 73,41 | 09th century. |
β | Va | Vatican, Codex Vaticanus Barberinus 160 | 11th century. |
β | Vat. Lat. 6337 | Vatican, Codex Vaticanus lat. 6337 | 15th century. |
β | Laur. 7316 | Florence, Bibliotheca Laurenziana, MS. 73,16 | 13th century. |
β | Vi | Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Herbarium Apuleii Platonici|Codex Vindobonensis 93 [15] | 13th century. |
β | Arsenal 1031 | Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Codex 1031 | 15th century. |
β | Paris 6862 | Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS. lat. 6862 | 10th century. |
β | Ber | Berlin, Codex Berolinensis Hamil. 307 | 15th century. |
γ | E | Fragmentum Epporigiense | 07th century. |
γ | Vo | Leiden, Universitätsbibliothek, MS. Voss. Lat. Q. 9 | 06th century. |
γ | C | Kassel, Landesbibliothek, 2° MS. phys. et hist. nat. 10 [16] | 10th century. |
Singer (1927), Grape-Albers (1977, pp. 2–5) and Collins (2000) cited more manuscripts:
Several more manuscripts can be added (see Mylène Pradel-Baquerre 2013 and Claudine Chavannes-Mazel 2016):
A version of the Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius was translated into Old English, surviving now in four manuscripts:
Like many of the Latin manuscripts, it includes the Herbarium of Pseudo-Apuleius, De herba vetonica, De taxone, medicina de quadrupedibus, and the Liber medicinae ex herbis feminis. [26] It was first edited and translated by Oswald Cockayne, [27] re-edited in 1984 by Jan de Vriend, [28] re-translated in 2002 by Anne Van Arsdall, [26] and again re-edited and re-translated in 2023 by John D. Niles and Maria A. D'Aronco. [29] A variety of dates and places have been suggested for the production of this translation, ranging from eighth-century Northumbria to late-tenth-century Winchester, with recent scholarship tending towards tenth-century Wessex. [30]
Based on a 9th-century manuscript of Monte Cassino the first incunable of Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius was printed in Rome in 1481. [31] [32] [33]
The first printing in northern Europe was done in 1537 in Zürich. [34]
Pseudo-Apuleius is the name given in modern scholarship to the author of a 4th-century herbal known as Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius or Herbarium Apuleii Platonici. The author of the text apparently wished readers to think that it was by Apuleius of Madaura (124–170 CE), the Roman poet and philosopher, but modern scholars do not believe this attribution. Little or nothing else is known of Pseudo-Apuleius.
The oldest surviving manuscript of the Herbarium is the 6th-century Leiden, MS. Voss. Q.9. Until the 12th century it was the most influential herbal in Europe, with numerous extant copies surviving into the modern era, along with several copies of an Old English translation. Thereafter, it was more or less displaced by the Circa instans, a herbal produced at the school of Salerno. "Pseudo-Apuleius" is also used as a shorthand generic term to refer to the manuscripts and derived works.
The text of Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius is based on late antique sources, especially Pliny's Historia naturalis and Discorides's De materia medica. Scholars agree that it was compiled in the 4th century, according to Sigerist (1930, p. 200) from Latin, according to Singer (1927, p. 37) from Greek sources. Each of the 128 to 131 chapters (the number varying between manuscripts) deals with one medical plant. In these chapters the name of the plant is followed by the enumeration of indications in the form of recipes and by synonyms of the plant's name.
For example: Chapter 89, Herba millefolium (Edition of Howald/Sigerist 1927):
Text (Howald/Sigerist 1927) | Translation |
---|---|
Herba millefolium | The herb millefolium [now interpreted as Achillea millefolium] |
1. Ad dentium dolorem. Herbae millefolium radicem ieiunus conmanducet. | 1. For toothache. The root of the herb millefolium should be chewed before breakfast. |
2. Ad uulnera de ferro facta. Herba millefolium cum axungia pistata et inposita uulnera purgat et sanat. | 2. For wounds inflicted by iron. If you put on the herb millefolium crushed in fat, so it cleans and heals wounds. |
3. Ad tumores. Herbam millefolium contusam cum butiro inpone. | 3. For tumours. Put on the herb millefolium crushed in butter. |
4. Ad urinae difficultatem. Herbae millefolium sucus cum aceto bibitur, mire sanat. | 4. For difficulties of urination. The juice of the herb millefolium drunk mixed with wine vinegar, heals wonderfully. |
Nomina herbae. A Graecis dicitur miriofillon, alii ambrosiam, alii ciliofillon, alii crisitis, Galli mulicandos, alii uigentia, Daci diodela, Itali millefolium, alii militaris, alii Achillion, alii supercilium Veneris, alii cereum siluaticum. Hanc herbam Achilles inuenit, unde ferro percussus sanabat, quae ob id Achillea uocatur, de hac sanasse Telephium dicitur. | Names of the herb. The Greeks call it miriofillon, others ambrosia, others ciliofillon, others crisitis. The Gauls [call it] mulicandos, others vigentia. The Dacians [call it] diodela. The Italians [call it] millefolium, others militaris, others Achillion, others supercilium Veneris, others cereum silvaticum. This herb was discovered by Achilles because it healed wounds, beaten by iron. It was therefore named Achillea. |
[Interpolationes ex Diosc.] Nascitur in palustris locis … | [ Interpolations from the De materia medica of Dioscorides.] It grows in swampy areas … |
In the surviving codices the Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius was combined with other treatises:
Howald and Sigerist (edition 1927, V–XVI) divided the codices into 3 classes (α, β and γ) according to the varying mixture of associated texts in the codices:
Class | Abbreviation (Howald/Sigerist) | Name of the codex | Century |
---|---|---|---|
α | Ca | Monte Cassino, Archivo de la Badia, Cod. 97 [5] | 09th century. |
α | M | Munich, Bayrische Staatsbibliothek, Fragmenta Emeranensia, Clm 14672, 14766 und 15028, in all 8 pages. [6] [7] | 07th century. |
α | L | Lucca, Bibliotheka Governativa, MS. 296 [8] | 09th century. |
α | Hal | Halberstadt, Domschatz (Bibliothek des Domgymnasiums), Inv.-Nr. 465–466 fol. Ir–IIv, Palimpsest (upper writing). | 07th century. |
α | Be | Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Fragmentum Berolinense Ms. Lat. fol. 381 no. 1 | 08th century. |
α | Ha | London, British Library, Harley MS 4986 [9] | 12th century. |
α | V | Vienna, Codex Vindobonensis 187 (nach Grape-Albers 1977, p. 3: Eton College MS. 204) [10] | 12th century. |
α | A | London, British Library, MS Cotton Vitellius C III | 11th century. |
β | Hil | Hildesheim, Beverinsche Bibliothek, MS. 658 [11] | 08th century. |
β | Vr | Bratislava, Codex Vratislaviensis Bibl. univ. III F 19 | 09th century. |
β | Bodley 130 | Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 130 [12] [13] | 11th century. |
β | He | Herten, Codicis medici Hertensis, destroyed by fire [14] | 09th century. |
β | B | Bamberg, Codex Bambergensis med 8 (L III.15) | 13th century. |
β | Laur. 7341 | Florence, Bibliotheca Laurenziana, MS. 73,41 | 09th century. |
β | Va | Vatican, Codex Vaticanus Barberinus 160 | 11th century. |
β | Vat. Lat. 6337 | Vatican, Codex Vaticanus lat. 6337 | 15th century. |
β | Laur. 7316 | Florence, Bibliotheca Laurenziana, MS. 73,16 | 13th century. |
β | Vi | Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Herbarium Apuleii Platonici|Codex Vindobonensis 93 [15] | 13th century. |
β | Arsenal 1031 | Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Codex 1031 | 15th century. |
β | Paris 6862 | Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS. lat. 6862 | 10th century. |
β | Ber | Berlin, Codex Berolinensis Hamil. 307 | 15th century. |
γ | E | Fragmentum Epporigiense | 07th century. |
γ | Vo | Leiden, Universitätsbibliothek, MS. Voss. Lat. Q. 9 | 06th century. |
γ | C | Kassel, Landesbibliothek, 2° MS. phys. et hist. nat. 10 [16] | 10th century. |
Singer (1927), Grape-Albers (1977, pp. 2–5) and Collins (2000) cited more manuscripts:
Several more manuscripts can be added (see Mylène Pradel-Baquerre 2013 and Claudine Chavannes-Mazel 2016):
A version of the Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius was translated into Old English, surviving now in four manuscripts:
Like many of the Latin manuscripts, it includes the Herbarium of Pseudo-Apuleius, De herba vetonica, De taxone, medicina de quadrupedibus, and the Liber medicinae ex herbis feminis. [26] It was first edited and translated by Oswald Cockayne, [27] re-edited in 1984 by Jan de Vriend, [28] re-translated in 2002 by Anne Van Arsdall, [26] and again re-edited and re-translated in 2023 by John D. Niles and Maria A. D'Aronco. [29] A variety of dates and places have been suggested for the production of this translation, ranging from eighth-century Northumbria to late-tenth-century Winchester, with recent scholarship tending towards tenth-century Wessex. [30]
Based on a 9th-century manuscript of Monte Cassino the first incunable of Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius was printed in Rome in 1481. [31] [32] [33]
The first printing in northern Europe was done in 1537 in Zürich. [34]