Giordano Ruffo or Jordanus Ruffus (
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
1200-1256) was an Italian nobleman known for one of the oldest works in veterinary medicine dealing with the horse and its diseases ''De Medicina Equorum''.
Ruffo was born in
Calabria
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around 1200 in a noble family serving
Frederick II. An uncle was Pietro Ruffo, Count of Catanszaro. Shortly before the death of Frederick II, Ruffo, his brother Folco, and Pietro were called to sign a testament. Ruffo was made lord of
Val di Crati in 1239 but after the death of Frederick II in 1250 they had to choose allegiance between two possible rulers and they chose
Conrad IV
Conrad (25 April 1228 – 21 May 1254), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was the only son of Emperor Frederick II from his second marriage with Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title of King of Jerusalem (as Conrad II) up ...
and were against
Manfredi
Manfredi is a surname of Italian origin. The name may refer to:
People
* Manfredi family, a noble family, lords of Faenza, Italy
** Francesco I Manfredi (1260–1343), Lord of Faenza
** Astorre I Manfredi (1345–1405), condottiero, founder of th ...
, son of the Emperor and Bianca Lancia. The death of Conrad IV in 1254 led to the arrest of the Ruffo family and he was tortured, blinded, and died in prison around February 1256.
Ruffo's single book was written in Latin and is considered as one of the earliest works on veterinary medicine. The book had six parts covering reproduction; training of foals; maintenance; qualities and defects; diseases; and treatments. There are about 173 manuscript copies known of the work and about 16 print versions translated into Italian, Latin, French, German, Catalan, Galician, Occitan and Hebrew. The best known edition is ''Jordani Ruffi Calabriensis Hippiatria'' (Padua, 1818). Several later derivatives editions exist including ''Mulomedicina'' (or ''Medela equorum'' ) by
Teodorico Borgognoni (late 13th century); ''Marescalcia'' by Dino Dini, ''Traité d'hippiatrie'' by Guillaume de Villiers (15th century); and ''Manuschansia'' by Agostino Columbre (1490).
References
External links
Liber marescalcie equorumIlluminated manuscript page
Italian veterinarians
Italian horse trainers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffo, Giordano