[Sca-cooks] Charlemagne and the doctors

[Terry Decker]

A Latin transcription of Liber medicinalis is available here:

http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/serenus.html

The sources for Liber medicinalis are primarily Pliny and Discorides and I 
would expect that any introduction of Hippocrates's humoral theory came 
through Discorides (although Pliny was familiar with it).  Galen and Serenus 
were contemporaries in Rome with different focii, so I would not expect 
either to much influence the other.

Walafrid was a friend of Einhard and wrote the prologue for the Life of 
Charlemagne after Einhard's death.  He also edited the format to introduce 
titles and chapters.

Bear

----- Original Message ----- 

According to Hans-Dieter Stofföler in his commenterd edition of Walahfrid 
Strabo's Hortulusa, the most widespread medical text of the Carolingian era 
was Quintus Serenus' 'liber medicinalis'. Serenus' main source was Pliny, of 
all people. I've also found Anthimus and a collection of 'Ariostotelian' 
adages that clearly do refer to humoral theory, though they don't really lay 
it out.

I haven't been able to traclk down a copy yet, but according to Stoffler, 
Serenus original text is in Aemilius Baehrens' collection Poetae Latini 
minores (Vol III, pp. 103 ff, Leipzig 1879)

CHeers

Giano