Matthaeus Platearius was a physician from the medical school at

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

, and is thought to have produced a twelfth-century Latin manuscript on medicinal herbs titled "''Circa Instans''" (also known as "''The Book of Simple Medicines''"), later translated into French as "''Le Livre des simples medecines''". It was an alphabetic listing and textbook of simples that was based on

Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides ( grc-gre, Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης, ; 40–90 AD), “the father of pharmacognosy”, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of ''De materia medica'' (, On Medical Material) —a 5-vol ...

"''Vulgaris''", which described the appearance, preparation, and uses of various drugs. It was widely acclaimed, and was one of the first herbals produced by the newly developed printing process in 1488. Ernst Meyer considered it equal to the herbals of Pliny and Dioscorides, while

George Sarton George Alfred Leon Sarton (; 31 August 1884 – 22 March 1956) was a Belgian-born American chemist and historian. He is considered the founder of the discipline of the history of science as an independent field of study. His most influential works ...

thought it an improvement on "''De Materia Medica''". Robinet Testard32

Matthaeus and his brother Johannes were the sons of a female physician from the Salerno school and married to Johannes Platearius I. She is surmised to be Trota, who wrote some important treatises on gynaecology including ''Diseases of Women''. Benton, John F.br>"TROTULA, WOMEN'S PROBLEMS, AND THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF MEDICINE IN THE MIDDLE AGES"
Humanities Working Paper 98, ''

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

'', November 1984. Retrieved March 17, 2020.

References

External links

London: British Museum, MS Harley 270, Circa instans, (1175-1249)

London: British Museum, MS Egerton 747, Circa instans, (1280-1310)

: Bayrische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 325. Circa instans, 14th century]
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: Bayrische Staatsbibliothek, Incunable, Circa instans, Venice 1497 12th-century Italian physicians Italian pharmacologists Pre-Linnaean botanists Herbalists 12th-century Italian writers 12th-century Latin writers {{herbalist-stub