Visualizing Medieval Medicine and Natural History, 1200–1550

Jean A. Givens is Associate Professor in History of Art at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA. Karen M. Reeds is an independent scholar in Princeton, New Jersey, USA, affiliated with the Princeton Research Forum and the National Coalition of Independent Scholars. Alain Touwaide is Historian of Sciences at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA

• Contents: Introduction, Jean A. Givens, Karen M. Reeds, Alain Touwaide; Image, word and medicine in the Middle Ages, Peter Murray Jones; Latin crusaders, Byzantine herbals, Alain Touwaide; The illuminated Tacuinum sanitatis manuscripts from northern Italy ca. 1380-1400: sources, patrons, and the creation of a new pictorial genre, Cathleen Hoeniger; Erudition on display: the 'scientific' illustrations in Pico della Mirandola’s manuscript of Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, Sarah Blake McHam; Reading and writing the illustrated Tractatus de herbis, 1280-1526, Jean A. Givens; Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomical studies in Milan: a re-examination of sites and sources, Monica Azzolini; (Hu)moral exemplars: type and temperament in cinquecento painting, Piers D. Britton; Leonardo da Vinci and botanical illustration: nature prints, drawings, and woodcuts ca. 1500, Karen M. Reeds; The uses of realism in early modern illustrated botany, Claudia Swan; Index.

’it is rare to come across a collected volume which sustains such consistent quality and coherent discussion within such breadth of theme. ... This is a beautiful, intriguing and thought-provoking collection of essays. Every one has been written elegantly and with clarity, an impressive feat given the complex nature of many of the manuscript transmissions discussed. The book is also generously illustrated ...The book will of course attract scholars of medieval and early modern medicine and natural history. In the broader questions raised by this collection, however, there lies significance for a much wider readership, for those interested in the history of the book as much as those concerned with the history of the image.’ Medical History ’Few volumes with contributions on topics that belong to the fields of different disciplines - here art history, natural history, and medicine - show almost consistent high quality and signs of a real intellectual exchange between the authors. That is the case here, and the credit should go especially to the three editors.’ Nuncius ’ ... a much-needed and thought-provoking collection of essays. ... a stimulating read that should inspire future research. They should interest historians of medicine and science as well as those researching medieval and Renaissance visual culture more generally. This collection reflects a much more critical attitude towards art and imagery that in time will transform understanding of medieval medicine and natural history.’ English Historical Review ’The AVISTA series was created to draw attention to medieval technology, science and art in the broadest meaning of the words, and to examine their interactions. The [volume] under review succeed in fulfilling their organisers’ aims.’ Metascience