Overview

Fresh perspectives on how medical texts, broadly construed, were recorded, perceived and utilised. The past few decades have witnessed significant shifts in the scholarly investigation of early medieval medicine and its texts, moving far beyond outdated stereotypes of stagnation and superstition, not least via close study of the manuscript evidence, which has enabled a better appreciation of the processes involved in the recording and transfer of medical knowledge and healing practices. This book builds on these recent developments. With a particular focus on transmission, translation and transformation, the essays collected here offer detailed explorations of sources, contexts, producers and uses, examining material ranging from Bald's Leechbook and continental Latin recipe collections to Old Norse sagas and a Byzantine Greek treatise on venomous animals (Book V of Paul of Aegina's Pragmateia). Several contributors explore Old English's multifarious connections with the Latin tradition, discussing charms, obstetric and gynaecological texts, as well as the Peri didaxeon. The volume concludes with an afterword by Peregrine Horden on future directions of study, inviting further research into this vibrant and growing field. Chapter 3 is available as Open Access under the Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND. The article received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 101018645).

Full Product Details

Author:   Dr Debby Banham ,  Claire Burridge ,  Lea Olsan ,  Christina Lee
Publisher:   York Medieval Press
Imprint:   York Medieval Press
ISBN:  

9781914049316

ISBN 10:   1914049314
Pages:   322
Publication Date:   18 November 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents List of Tables Contributors Preface and Acknowledgements Abbreviations Note on Translation Introduction: Currents in the Study of Early Medieval Medicine Debby Banham, Claire Burridge and Lea Olsan Part I: Transmission: Greek, Old English, and Latin 1. Paul of Aegina on Venomous Animals: An Introduction and Translation Christine Salazar† 2. The Beginnings of English Medicine: Confluences and Crosscurrents in Bald's Leechbook and Leechbook III Debby Banham and Christine Voth 3. Early Medieval Recipe Collections: Continuity, Change, and the Carolingian Context Claire Burridge Part II: Translation: Words into Practices 4. Charms in Late Antique and Early Medieval Medicine: Transmission and Transformation Lea Olsan 5. Pharmaceutical Tools in the Early Middle Ages: Knowledge and Practice in Medical Recipes Jeffrey Doolittle Part III: Transformation: Texts and Later Adaptations 6. Gynaecology in the Priory? Contextualising the Gynaecological Fragments in London, British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius A III Conan T. Doyle 7. Use and Elaboration of Latin Sources in Later Anglo-Saxon England: The Peri didaxeon Danielle Maion 8. Signs and Portents: Epidemic Disease and the Supernatural in Icelandic Sagas Christina Lee Afterword: Recent Developments and Future Agenda Peregrine Horden Audrey Meaney: An Appreciation Audrey Meaney and the Study of Early Medieval Medicine Debby Banham and Lea Olsan Memories of Audrey Meaney Catherine Hills A Bibliography of Audrey Meaney's Work Bibliography Index of Manuscripts General Index

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Author Information

DEBBY BANHAM is a tutor and special supervisor at Newnham College, Cambridge and an affiliated lecturer in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. CLAIRE BURRIDGE is a Senior Researcher in Medieval History at the University of Oslo. LEA OLSAN is Professor Emerita at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, LA, USA. CLAIRE BURRIDGE is a Senior Researcher in Medieval History at the University of Oslo. CONAN DOYLE obtained his PhD in 2018 and since 2022 has worked as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague. DEBBY BANHAM is a tutor and special supervisor at Newnham College, Cambridge and an affiliated lecturer in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. LEA OLSAN is Professor Emerita at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, LA, USA.

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