Apotheke Damianus

09/08/2025

01/08/2025

Times and Distances Series 11:

Map of the World, Spain 1220

from Beatus a Liébana, "Commentarius in Apocalypsim", MS NAL 2290, ff. 13v-14r, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.

Written in 776 by the Spanish theologian Beatus of Liébana (c. 730–after 785), the text is famous for its spectacular illuminations depicting the "Book of Revelation", such as this one representing the orbis terrarum, namely the known world. This particular representation is also known as the "Beatus Map".

The map itself serves no explicit theological purpose, except perhaps that of illustrating the variety of peoples and cities in the world, which, in the eschatological view of the Book of Revelation, will be subject to God's judgment, damnation, or salvation. The map functions not only as a visual representation of the inhabited world, but also as a kind of genesis of it, featuring its history—most notably with Adam and Eve prominently depicted at the top.

This version of Beatus of Liébana's Apocalypsis, also known as the "San Andrés de Arroyo Codex", was created around 1220 for King Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252) at the Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña, in Burgos, Spain.

11/07/2025

07/07/2025

History of Pharmacy Series 21:

A Physician and his Apprentice Testing Drugs - Germany, 1446

from "Medical Miscellany", MS Add. 17987, f. 101r, The British Library, London.

This illustration could be interpreted in various ways. Given the red colour of the bowls, one possible reading is that the physician is discussing the variety of blood colours and their significance for diagnosis. Since, however, the physician appears to be offering the bowl to his apprentice (or is it a woman?), and the colour palette is very limited (just red, green, and yellow), the more likely interpretation is that the different bowls contain distinct medical preparations, ready to be tested.

Pharmacological testing has a long history. Refined by the Persian physician and polymath Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037), it can be traced back to Galen’s treatise "On Simple Medicines" ("De simplicium medicamentorum temperamentis ac facultatibus").

Galen advises always to test a drug in its purest form, to avoid side effects, to observe it over a long period, to assess the consistency of its effects and individual variations, to test on humans (as in his theory it is the body that reacts to the medicine, not the other way round), and to begin with a minimal dosage, increasing it until the effects become manifest.

Over time, these protocols became standardised and provided the rationale for pharmacology up to the Industrial Revolution (1760–1840).

04/07/2025

03/07/2025

02/07/2025

Medical Humanism Series 12:

Saints Cosmas and Damian as Humanist Physicians, 1530

Illumination by Simon Bening from "Livre d'Heures dit de Hennessy (usage de Rome)", MS II.158, f. 175v, Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, Bruxelles.

Humanism—the rediscovery of Latin and Greek classics in harmony with Christian doctrines—had a pervasive influence on all aspects of the arts and sciences.

In this rare depiction from the "Livre d’Heures dit de Hennessy", Saints Cosmas and Damian are portrayed as humanist physicians, consulting with each other.

Although mostly venerated as early Christians and martyrs, Cosmas and Damian were in fact Arab physicians who practised in the town of Cyrhus, near the seaport of Aegeae, then part of the Roman province of Syria. They originally rose to prominence for refusing payment for their services, which led to them being called *anargyroi* (meaning "the silverless" or "unmercenaries"), thereby attracting many to the Christian faith. Their cult became widespread in Christian churches, and the twin brothers are still invoked today as protectors of physicians and patients.

The illumination belongs to the so-called "Hennessy Book of Hours", a lavishly illuminated Latin manuscript dating to around 1530 and attributed to Simon Bening and his Bruges workshop. Acquired in 1874 for 12,000 francs from the heirs of the Hennessy family, the manuscript comprises 190 parchment folios measuring approximately 22 × 18 cm. Its richly illustrated calendar draws clear inspiration from the iconography of the "Très Riches Heures" of the Duke of Berry, revealing the influence of Flemish models.

A superb example of the Ghent-Bruges school of illumination, it combines realistic miniatures with fine vellum and square Gothic script, offering an exceptional witness to the late medieval art of the book.

23/06/2025

10/06/2025

New in paperback
Axel E. W. Müller, Gunpowder Technology in the Fifteenth Century: A Study, Edition and Translation of the Firework Book (Boydell & Brewer, June 2025)

https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781837652662/gunpowder-technology-in-the-fifteenth-century/

Produced from the early fifteenth century onwards, Firework Books are, broadly speaking, manuals on how to use gunpowder, witnessing a major development in warfare. Surviving in a corpus of some 65, each text has different content and components, but core elements are present throughout. An important example is a manuscript in the collection of the Royal Armouries (RA I.34), written in Early New High German, and (unlike many other manuscripts) still in what appears to be its original format and binding; it also, unusually, contains a number of illustrations.
This volume provides the first full edition and English translation of the material, with a detailed analysis of its content and context. It positions the Firework Books at a crucial stage in the development of gunpowder artillery, offering an unparalleled insight into fifteenth-century gunpowder technology at a critical juncture of military and technological change at the end of the Middle Ages.

03/06/2025

Tijdens Pinksteren logeren er echte middeleeuwse ridders op het Muiderslot. Op 8 en 9 juni zijn er gevechts- en wapendemonstraties, theatervoorstellingen, kunnen kinderen tussen de vier en acht jaar naar een heuse ridderschool, kun je knutselen in het atelier en vermaakt een rondlopende troubadour je met ludieke verhalen en liedjes.

Je kijkt kortom je ogen uit! Samen met de verhalen worden de middeleeuwen voor je ogen weer levend. Wil jij dit beleven? Koop dan nu online je kaarjes en kom naar het Muiderslot! We zijn geopend van 10:00 – 17:00 en tijdens de Pinksterdagen geldt een toeslag op de reguliere entreeprijs van 5 euro.



http://bit.ly/3SyIi7G

29/01/2025

𝗟𝗲𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝕾𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖔𝖓𝖍𝖊𝖎𝖉𝖘𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖆𝖑 𝖎𝖓 𝖉𝖊 𝕷𝖆𝖙𝖊 𝕸𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖊𝖚𝖜𝖊𝖓 💅💄

💬 Spreker: 𝗪𝗶𝗲𝘇𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻
📆 Datum: 𝟒 𝐟𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
🕗 Tijd: 𝟐𝟎.𝟎𝟎-𝟐𝟐.𝟎𝟎 𝐮𝐮𝐫
📍 Waar: 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐡𝐮𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐧
💰 Kosten: 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀, 𝗺𝗮𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗷𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗮𝗻

Al sinds mensenheugenis streven mensen ernaar om er zo mooi mogelijk uit te zien. Om te voldoen aan het heersende schoonheidsideaal zijn er tegenwoordig duizenden middeltjes en methoden beschikbaar die ervoor moeten zorgen dat je er zo goed mogelijk uitziet. In de late Middeleeuwen was het niet veel anders.

Drs. Wieze van Elderen is historicus, gespecialiseerd in de late middeleeuwen en docent geschiedenis. Ze verzorgt historische lezingen en workshops over verschillende, met name middeleeuwse onderwerpen.

🌐𝔥𝔱𝔱𝔭𝔰://𝔴𝔴𝔴.𝔳𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔫-𝔞𝔯𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔬𝔫.𝔫𝔩/𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱/𝔳𝔬𝔬𝔯𝔞𝔞𝔫𝔨𝔬𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔤-𝔠𝔬𝔰𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔞-𝔢𝔫-𝔰𝔠𝔥𝔬𝔬𝔫𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔡𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔞𝔩-𝔪-𝔳-𝔦𝔫-𝔡𝔢-𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔢-𝔪𝔦𝔡𝔡𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔲𝔴𝔢𝔫/