PAYNEL, Thomas

Regimen sanitatis Salerni. . . .

      London: Thos. Berthelet, 1535 - FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH 4to. [vi], 119, [1] leaves (some mispagination). Title within woodcut border, woodcut printer's device on last leaf. Full calf with centre panels in blind; some interior soiling and a few edges reinforced. Generally, a very nice copy filled with wonderful contemporary annotations and another dated 1744 by James Elisha, a bookbinder. First edition in English, very rare, of the celebrated Regimen sanitatis of Salerno, which "presents a wonderful range of medicinals with unique observations on medicine, people and society in general." The health resort of Salerno, a port near Naples, became the site of the first university in Europe. In spite of the presence of a bishop, the university remained a completely secular institution where medicine was first treated as a separate science. Probably originating about 1160, the Regimen sanitatis had greater popular influence than virtually any other medieval medical tract. The work is filled with what is essentially common sense advise - - - don't eat too much, exercise moderately, keep yourself clean, etc. For the modern enthusiast of the Middle Ages, this is an ideal source for information on daily life, beliefs, thoughts, and practices; it is also a source for authentic attitudes and prescriptions concerning every day foodstuffs, such as vegetables, herbs, and meat, along with advice on when to eat, how much to consume, and what foods were safe and which should be avoided to prevent disease. Paynel (fl.1528-1567), the canon of Merton Abbey, here includes the Latin verses attributed to Joannes de Medolano (fl.1100) or John of Milan. Many authorities believe that John wrote the poem when he was head of the medical school at Salerno. The commentary Paynel translated is purported to be that of Arnoldus de Villanova (see Eimas, Heirs of Hippocrates, 77). [Attributes: First Edition]