Vienna Dioscurides

The Vienna Dioscurides (Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. med. gr. 1.) is an early 6th century copy of "De Materia Medica" by Dioscurides. It is an important and rare example of a late antique scientific text. The 491 vellum folios contain more than 400 pictures of animals and plants, most done in a naturalistic style. The manuscript was created in about 515 and was made for the Byzantine princess Juliana Anicia, the daughter of Emperor Anicius Olybrius. The codex measures 37 by 30 cm. Although it was originally created as a luxury copy, there is some indication that in later centuries it was used daily as a hospital text book. The manuscript includes some annotations in Arabic. In addition to the text by Dioscurides, the manuscript has appended to it the "Carmen de herbis" attributed to Rufus, a paraphrase of an ornithological treatise by a certain Dionysius, usually identified with Dionysius of Philadelphia, and a paraphrase of Nicander's treatise on the treatment of snake bites.

Illustrations

The manuscript has 383 extant full page illustrations of plants out of the original 435 illustrations. The illustrations fall into two groups. There are those that faithfully follow earlier classical models and present a quite naturalistic illustration of each plant. There are also other illustrations that are more abstract. The majority of the illustrations were painted in a naturalistic style so as to aid a pharmacologist in the recognition of each plant. However, it is believed that these illustrations were made as copies of an earlier herbal and were not drawn from nature.In addition to the illustrations of the text, the manuscript contains several front-pieces in the form of a series of full-page miniatures. Of special note is the dedication miniature portrait of Anicia Julia on folio 6 verso. (See , working as masons and carpenters. This miniature is an altogether original creation and, with the inclusion of the personifications and the putti, shows the endurance of the classical tradition in Constantinople, despite the fact that Anicia herself was a pious Christian.

The series of front-pieces in the manuscript begins with two full page miniatures, each having a group of seven noted pharmacologists. In the second picture (folio 3 verso, see . Each of the figures is a self contained portrait and was probably modeled on authors' portraits from the various authors' treatises. The seven figures are contained within an elaborate decorated frame. The background is solid gold, which places the figures in an abstract space. This is the earliest known manuscript to use a solid gold background.Following the two miniatures of seven pharmacologists, there are two author portraits. In the second portrait (see (the power of thought). There is architectural background consisting of a colonnade with a central niche.

The paraphrase of the treatise on birds by Dionysius is in three books. The first two books have illustrations of the birds inserted into the text columns without frame or background (for example, see . This manuscript, however, is the oldest surviving illustrated treatise on birds.

Gallery

References

*Walther, Ingo F. and Norbert Wolf. "Codices Illustres: The world's most famous illuminated manuscripts, 400 to 1600". Köln, TASCHEN, 2005.
*Weitzmann, Kurt. "Late Antique and Early Christian Book Illumination". New York: George Braziller, 1977.