Regiment Preservatiu e Curatiu de la Pestilencia

Regiment Preservatiu e Curatiu de la Pestilencia

This 15th century medical text is also a highly popular work that has appeared in six editions, nonetheless, the success of the work was not sufficient to save the author Lluís Alcanyís (d. 1506) and his wife from being burnt at the stake by the Spanish Inquisition. Alcanyís was a converso, a Spaniard descended from converted Jews, and came under suspicion of privately practicing Judaism. Countless copies of his works, now declared anathema, were tracked down and destroyed, but others have survived to the present. This incunabulum, an early printed book originating from before 1501, was published in 1490 by Nicolau Spíndeler (d. 1508), a German printer operating in Valencia. It is a treatise on the prevention and treatment of the plague and similar contagion, which also contains advice on gastronomy with specific notes regarding inter alia wine, meat, fish, vegetables, sauces, and a glossary of terms. Additionally, Alcanyís argues for the importance of sleep, both at night and in the form of an afternoon nap, the so-called siesta. The Gothic script of the text is adorned with splendidly engraved initials. This particular specimen is of special significance because of the handwritten notes appearing in the margins, which originate from the hand of Alcanyís himself. Today, a hospital, a foundation, and several clinics associated with the Universitat de València are named after Alcanyís, perhaps as an act of repentance…