- Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum
"Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum",
Latin : "The Salernitan Rule of Health" (commonly known as "Flos medicinae" or "Lilium medicinae" - "The Flower of Medicine", "The Lily of Medicine") is amedieval didactic poem in hexameter verse. It is allegedly a work of theSchola Medica Salernitana (from which its other name "Flos medicinae scholae salerni" is derived).Origin
The "Regimen" is believed to have been written sometime during the 12th or 13th century, although some sources estimate this to have been as early as 1050. [de icon [http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Regimen/reg_intr.html bibliotheca Augustana ] ] Even though the book bears the name of the famous medieval medical school, it is not certain if it originated there. According to tradition, the poem was written for the benefit of
Robert Curthose . The true author is unknown, but it is commonly attributed toJohn of Milan .Content
This poem concerns domestic medical practice such as daily
hygienic procedures and diet (e.g. it illustrates the therapeutic uses of wine). [ [http://www.winedoctor.info/chrono.htm] Dead link|date=March 2008] The early "Regimen" was organized by the six non-naturals. According to Galen, they are: air, food and drink, sleeping and waking, motion and rest, excretions and retentions, and dreams and the passions of the soul. The original content addressed the Humors, the Complexions (Temperaments), and some diseases. It also contained a phlebotomy, which provided information on bloodletting.Melitta Weiss Adamson: Food in Medieval Times, pp. 217-220. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. ISBN 0-313-32147-7 ]The original Latin version was annotated and edited by
Arnold of Villanova . The "Regimen" was contemporary withSecretum Secretorum , a health manual written by pseudo-Aristotle. However, the "Regimen" was more popular because the rhyming verses were easier to remember. The "Regimen" was translated into vernacular languages, including Irish, Bohemian, Occitan, Hebrew, German, Anglo-Norman, and Italian.Melitta Weiss Adamson: Food in Medieval Times, pp. 217-220. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004.]Following its first appearance in print, the "Regimen" was translated into almost every European language, and the book achieved tremendous popularity and nearly forty different editions were produced before 1501. The work itself came to be highly revered as a scholarly medical text and was seriously discussed until the 19th century. Various editions and versions of the Regimen circulated throughout Europe, many with commentaries that added or removed material from the original poem. During this interval, the Regimen was expanded from the original 364 lines to 3,526 hexameter verses.Melitta Weiss Adamson: Food in Medieval Times, pp. 217-220. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. ] The first English translation was made by Sir John Harington in 1608.
Quotes
*Why should a man die who has sage in his garden? (Latin: "Cur moriatur homo, cui salvia crescit in horto"?). Cf. "
Contra vim mortis non crescit herba in hortis ".:::"Si tibi deficiant medici, medici tibi fiant":::"Haec tria: mens laeta, requies, moderata diaeta" (Latin text).
:::Use three physicions still; first Doctor "Quiet",:::Next Doctor "Merry-man" and Doctor "Dyet" (Harington's translation, 1608).
:::If doctors fail you, let these three be doctors for you::::A joyful mind, rest, and a moderate diet. (Modern translation)
References and footnotes
ee also
*"
Breviarium de signis, causis et curis morborum "External links
* [http://www.godecookery.com/regimen/regimen.htm English text]
* [http://www.accademiajr.it/bibvirt/regimen.html Latin text]
* [http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/incunabula/CF/browse-results-title.cfm?title=Regimen%20sanitatis%20Salernitanum Editions reviews]
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