Conference Presentations by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
Contemporary and later owners and readers of medieval medical manuscripts used the margins and th... more Contemporary and later owners and readers of medieval medical manuscripts used the margins and the blank spaces of their books to write notes of diverse nature. Written at different historical periods, these annotations frequently contain information the annotators were willing to store and recall: information which, in most cases, is related to the text where it was copied and conveys a reaction to it. By flagging up a few late medieval instances, this paper will show how, like modern diaries, some of these medieval and post-medieval annotations were intended to act as reminders of personal and/or professional facts the annotators, often medical practitioners, considered valuable and worth keeping close at hand.
The Chaucerian poem The Legend of Good Women compiles the stories of ten classical women who were... more The Chaucerian poem The Legend of Good Women compiles the stories of ten classical women who were betrayed or/and abandoned by their lovers. These women were in fact legendary in Ancient times and afterwards, and they seem to have been chosen by Chaucer because they were love martyrs. They sacrificed their lives for Love and, quite contrary to a common depiction of female characters, they were faithful to their beloved, even if that implied breaking an ancient rule. Through their deeds, Thisbe, Medea, Ariadna and Hypermnestra proved to be disloyal to their fathers. However, they did not go unpunished.
MS XVI E.32 is a late medieval leechbook housed in York Minster Library which is wholly dedicated... more MS XVI E.32 is a late medieval leechbook housed in York Minster Library which is wholly dedicated to scientific and medical material. It is basically composed of herbal recipes, but it also includes other texts considered to be scientific in medieval times, such as a chiromancy diagram, a bloodletting/zodiac man or a lunar diagram. In that sense, it seems to be a traditional medical codex, both in terms of layout and content. However, it presents several features that make it an exceptional volume.
Surprisingly, it has never been studied before. For that reason, I intend to introduce it to you by providing a brief description of its main features: its sources, its huge amount of annotations and drawings, its layout, etc. I will focus more specifically on the fact that it is composed of ten independent booklets which were bound together by 1500 and seem to be arranged to fit a purpose.
York, York Minster Library MS XVI E. 32 is a late medieval codex, primarily written in English, w... more York, York Minster Library MS XVI E. 32 is a late medieval codex, primarily written in English, which seems to be a living example of what a vernacular guide for medical practitioners was in fifteenth-century England. The manuscript is basically composed of herbal recipes; however, it also includes other texts considered to be scientific at that time, such as a chiromancy diagram, to interpret character from the lines on the palm of a person’s hand or a bloodletting man, to know the veins that had to be cut to cure certain diseases.
A codicological analysis of the volume shows that a compiler and/or binder arranged its ten independent booklets to fit a purpose. It is my belief that this person’s aim was to assemble a group of utilitarian texts which turned out to be useful even to post-medieval readers, as suggested by the marginalia. I intend to provide a description of its treatises and collections in order to show the kind of medical texts that were thought to be indispensable in late medieval England.
MS. XVI E. 32 is a late medieval manuscript which is housed in York Minster Library and is princi... more MS. XVI E. 32 is a late medieval manuscript which is housed in York Minster Library and is principally composed of medical recipes, although it also contains some other medical material. It is mostly written in English and it consists of ten different booklets which were bound together by the year 1500. According to the Liber Donorum, a book that contains the records of the manuscripts and printed copies given to the library until 1924 as well as later entries in loose paper, the manuscript was bequeathed to the Minster library by a man called Reverend Edward Churton in 1843. This man had a strong connection with York and its surrounding areas. He was Canon of York and rural Dean and Rector of Crayke in 1845, Archdeacon of Cleveland from 1846 to 1874 and Prebendary of Knaresborough from 1841 to 1874. It is my intention to provide a description of the manuscript and to talk about the relationship between Reverend Churton and York Minster Library, as he gave some other manuscripts to the library too.
York, York Minster Library MS XVI E. 32 is a late medieval codex, primarily written in English, w... more York, York Minster Library MS XVI E. 32 is a late medieval codex, primarily written in English, which seems to be a living example of what a vernacular guide for medical practitioners was in fifteenth-century England. The manuscript is basically composed of herbal recipes; however, it also includes other texts considered to be scientific at that time, such as a chiromancy diagram, to interpret character from the lines on the palm of a person’s hand, or a bloodletting man, to know the veins that had to be cut to cure certain diseases.
A codicological analysis of the volume shows that a compiler and/or binder arranged its ten independent booklets to fit a purpose. It is my belief that this person’s aim was to assemble a group of utilitarian texts which turned out to be useful even to post-medieval readers, as suggested by the marginalia. I intend to provide a description of its treatises and collections in order to show the kind of medical texts that were thought to be indispensable in late medieval England.
On numerous occasions, scholars have emphasised how the production of vernacular medical manuscri... more On numerous occasions, scholars have emphasised how the production of vernacular medical manuscripts increased in late medieval England, more particularly after 1375. This is manifested in the considerable number of manuscripts completely dedicated to medical material that has come down to us. These codices, which reflect the trilingual reality of the country and are frequently written in Latin, Middle English and/or Anglo-Norman, seemed to be still valuable to sixteenth, seventeenth and even eighteenth-century readers, who left their marks in the margins of the manuscripts' leaves.
In this paper, I will look at a group of fifteenth-century medical manuscripts in Middle English, which was copied primarily in Middle English, in order to identify signs of later usage. I will illustrate how postmedieval readers of materia medica organised and assimilated medical texts by adding tables of contents, notes, titles and other ordinatio devices. Additionally, I will show how sixteenth-century readers adapted medical texts not only by including additional information, but also by obliterating what they considered to be inadequate content, as evidenced by the many crosses that accompanied charms and prayers, which were scratched out at a later stage.
Book Reviews by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
Papers by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
Translation of Sheila Delany's 'Chaucer's Prioress, the Jews and the Muslims' Published in Indaga... more Translation of Sheila Delany's 'Chaucer's Prioress, the Jews and the Muslims' Published in Indaga: Revista Intenacional de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, 4 (2006), 223-242.
El artículo examina, a través de un método literal e historicista, algunos aspectos del escenario “asiático” de “El Cuento de la Priora” de Chaucer*. Éste refleja que el cuento pretendía mostrar judíos reales que no figurados y que Chaucer tuvo la oportunidad de conocerlos fuera de Inglaterra (la cual había expulsado a los suyos en 1290).También refleja que “Asia” en tiempos de Chaucer se encontraba bajo control islámico y Europa bajo su amenaza; y que, además, a los judíos se les consideraba, con frecuencia, aliados de los musulmanes, o incluso se les intercambiaba por ellos. El artículo contempla algunos estudios recientes sobre el cuento y finaliza aportando alternativas interpretativas desarrolladas a partir de una lectura literal e historicista.
Dissertations by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
The present dissertation aims to provide a competent edition of the fourth booklet of MS. XVI E.3... more The present dissertation aims to provide a competent edition of the fourth booklet of MS. XVI E.32, which is a collection of medical recipes housed at the York Minster Library. In order to achieve this goal, the work has been structured as follows. First of all, an introduction composed of four sections has been provided. The first section presents a brief contextualization of the manuscript. The second section offers a description of the manuscript, more particularly of the edited booklet. The third section provides some hypotheses on William of Killingholme’s background (the man referred to in the colophon of the booklet) and the scribe. Finally, the fourth section explains the editorial principles. The introduction is followed by the edition, and it consists of the transcription of the text, its textual notes, and a glossary, which comprises what is commonly found in the explanatory notes.
Several outstanding aspects can be found in the manuscript in general and the booklet in particular. The manuscript, which is mainly written in English, has never been edited and published. The interest of the booklet relies, roughly speaking, on two elements: the mention of William of Killingholme, and the fact that it dates from the last quarter of the fourteenth century, which means that it is one of the first medical texts produced in English after the Norman conquest.
By analysing the codicology and other features of a group of fifteenth-century medical manuscript... more By analysing the codicology and other features of a group of fifteenth-century medical manuscripts, my thesis aims to shed some light into the unexplored role of the compilers of medical material. These individuals assembled a number of booklets mostly produced in Middle English, and put them together with the intention to create volumes entirely dedicated to medicine. The thesis proposes a typology that will show the existence of a type of medical codices, whose substantial codicological alteration evince the involvement of the medical practitioners and earliest owners of the volumes in their making. I will argue that the manuscripts were gathered, arranged, and sometimes copied by these practitioners, who, in an attempt to create their own medical handbooks, customised their books in a manner they considered to be pertinent and useful for their practice. A comprehensive analysis of York Minster Library, MS XVI E, one of these practitioner-compiled composites (as I have labelled them) will offer new insights into a codex which has never been examined in detail.
The study will eventually demonstrate that medical practitioners played a significant role in the production of fifteenth-century English medical books, especially in the compilation and arrangement of the codices’ booklets.
Book Chapter by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
The numerous surviving medical writings that have come down to us from late medieval England refl... more The numerous surviving medical writings that have come down to us from late medieval England reflects a growing interest in medical lore at the time. A considerable number of these texts were copied in Middle English, therefore, were presumably addressed to a non-academic and secular audience. Both circumstances are exemplified by the Lincoln Thornton Manuscript (Lincoln, Lincoln Cathedral MS 91). This fifteenth-century miscellany was copied and compiled by a Yorkshire landowner named Robert Thornton and contains religious, romance and medical writings that would have been useful and valuable to a provincial household. The medical text, known as the Liber de Diversis Medicinis, is a collection of herbal recipes aimed at curing various diseases, and its codicological structure suggests that it was originally intended to be a single compilation. Undoubtedly, alongside other practical writings, any household would have benefitted from a herbal receptarium of this kind.
This paper will argue that, by means of medical writings like the Liber de Diversis Medicinis, the gentry gained enough herbal knowledge to recognise the contemporary medical remedies and practices described in romances. As a literary genre frequently addressed to said social class, I will examine a group of romances from two celebrated household miscellanies, the Lincoln Thornton manuscript and Cambridge University Library, MS Ff. 2. 38, with the intention of showing how this emerging group of secular individuals, which did not belong to the royalty or the nobility, had the means to commission and acquire medical texts and familiarise themselves with contemporary medical practices.
Exhibitions by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
Surprisingly, it has never been studied before. For that reason, I intend to introduce it to you by providing a brief description of its main features: its sources, its huge amount of annotations and drawings, its layout, etc. I will focus more specifically on the fact that it is composed of ten independent booklets which were bound together by 1500 and seem to be arranged to fit a purpose.
A codicological analysis of the volume shows that a compiler and/or binder arranged its ten independent booklets to fit a purpose. It is my belief that this person’s aim was to assemble a group of utilitarian texts which turned out to be useful even to post-medieval readers, as suggested by the marginalia. I intend to provide a description of its treatises and collections in order to show the kind of medical texts that were thought to be indispensable in late medieval England.
A codicological analysis of the volume shows that a compiler and/or binder arranged its ten independent booklets to fit a purpose. It is my belief that this person’s aim was to assemble a group of utilitarian texts which turned out to be useful even to post-medieval readers, as suggested by the marginalia. I intend to provide a description of its treatises and collections in order to show the kind of medical texts that were thought to be indispensable in late medieval England.
In this paper, I will look at a group of fifteenth-century medical manuscripts in Middle English, which was copied primarily in Middle English, in order to identify signs of later usage. I will illustrate how postmedieval readers of materia medica organised and assimilated medical texts by adding tables of contents, notes, titles and other ordinatio devices. Additionally, I will show how sixteenth-century readers adapted medical texts not only by including additional information, but also by obliterating what they considered to be inadequate content, as evidenced by the many crosses that accompanied charms and prayers, which were scratched out at a later stage.
Book Reviews by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
Papers by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
El artículo examina, a través de un método literal e historicista, algunos aspectos del escenario “asiático” de “El Cuento de la Priora” de Chaucer*. Éste refleja que el cuento pretendía mostrar judíos reales que no figurados y que Chaucer tuvo la oportunidad de conocerlos fuera de Inglaterra (la cual había expulsado a los suyos en 1290).También refleja que “Asia” en tiempos de Chaucer se encontraba bajo control islámico y Europa bajo su amenaza; y que, además, a los judíos se les consideraba, con frecuencia, aliados de los musulmanes, o incluso se les intercambiaba por ellos. El artículo contempla algunos estudios recientes sobre el cuento y finaliza aportando alternativas interpretativas desarrolladas a partir de una lectura literal e historicista.
Dissertations by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
Several outstanding aspects can be found in the manuscript in general and the booklet in particular. The manuscript, which is mainly written in English, has never been edited and published. The interest of the booklet relies, roughly speaking, on two elements: the mention of William of Killingholme, and the fact that it dates from the last quarter of the fourteenth century, which means that it is one of the first medical texts produced in English after the Norman conquest.
The study will eventually demonstrate that medical practitioners played a significant role in the production of fifteenth-century English medical books, especially in the compilation and arrangement of the codices’ booklets.
Book Chapter by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
This paper will argue that, by means of medical writings like the Liber de Diversis Medicinis, the gentry gained enough herbal knowledge to recognise the contemporary medical remedies and practices described in romances. As a literary genre frequently addressed to said social class, I will examine a group of romances from two celebrated household miscellanies, the Lincoln Thornton manuscript and Cambridge University Library, MS Ff. 2. 38, with the intention of showing how this emerging group of secular individuals, which did not belong to the royalty or the nobility, had the means to commission and acquire medical texts and familiarise themselves with contemporary medical practices.
Exhibitions by Rebeca Cubas-Peña
Surprisingly, it has never been studied before. For that reason, I intend to introduce it to you by providing a brief description of its main features: its sources, its huge amount of annotations and drawings, its layout, etc. I will focus more specifically on the fact that it is composed of ten independent booklets which were bound together by 1500 and seem to be arranged to fit a purpose.
A codicological analysis of the volume shows that a compiler and/or binder arranged its ten independent booklets to fit a purpose. It is my belief that this person’s aim was to assemble a group of utilitarian texts which turned out to be useful even to post-medieval readers, as suggested by the marginalia. I intend to provide a description of its treatises and collections in order to show the kind of medical texts that were thought to be indispensable in late medieval England.
A codicological analysis of the volume shows that a compiler and/or binder arranged its ten independent booklets to fit a purpose. It is my belief that this person’s aim was to assemble a group of utilitarian texts which turned out to be useful even to post-medieval readers, as suggested by the marginalia. I intend to provide a description of its treatises and collections in order to show the kind of medical texts that were thought to be indispensable in late medieval England.
In this paper, I will look at a group of fifteenth-century medical manuscripts in Middle English, which was copied primarily in Middle English, in order to identify signs of later usage. I will illustrate how postmedieval readers of materia medica organised and assimilated medical texts by adding tables of contents, notes, titles and other ordinatio devices. Additionally, I will show how sixteenth-century readers adapted medical texts not only by including additional information, but also by obliterating what they considered to be inadequate content, as evidenced by the many crosses that accompanied charms and prayers, which were scratched out at a later stage.
El artículo examina, a través de un método literal e historicista, algunos aspectos del escenario “asiático” de “El Cuento de la Priora” de Chaucer*. Éste refleja que el cuento pretendía mostrar judíos reales que no figurados y que Chaucer tuvo la oportunidad de conocerlos fuera de Inglaterra (la cual había expulsado a los suyos en 1290).También refleja que “Asia” en tiempos de Chaucer se encontraba bajo control islámico y Europa bajo su amenaza; y que, además, a los judíos se les consideraba, con frecuencia, aliados de los musulmanes, o incluso se les intercambiaba por ellos. El artículo contempla algunos estudios recientes sobre el cuento y finaliza aportando alternativas interpretativas desarrolladas a partir de una lectura literal e historicista.
Several outstanding aspects can be found in the manuscript in general and the booklet in particular. The manuscript, which is mainly written in English, has never been edited and published. The interest of the booklet relies, roughly speaking, on two elements: the mention of William of Killingholme, and the fact that it dates from the last quarter of the fourteenth century, which means that it is one of the first medical texts produced in English after the Norman conquest.
The study will eventually demonstrate that medical practitioners played a significant role in the production of fifteenth-century English medical books, especially in the compilation and arrangement of the codices’ booklets.
This paper will argue that, by means of medical writings like the Liber de Diversis Medicinis, the gentry gained enough herbal knowledge to recognise the contemporary medical remedies and practices described in romances. As a literary genre frequently addressed to said social class, I will examine a group of romances from two celebrated household miscellanies, the Lincoln Thornton manuscript and Cambridge University Library, MS Ff. 2. 38, with the intention of showing how this emerging group of secular individuals, which did not belong to the royalty or the nobility, had the means to commission and acquire medical texts and familiarise themselves with contemporary medical practices.