Theatrum Sanitatis

Theatrum Sanitatis

In the 14th and 15th centuries, medicine was based primarily on experimental results and not on religious superstition, as before. The treatise Theatrum Sanitas was composed in order to spread and make known prudent hygienic norms among the princes and powers that be of the Middle Ages. The Latin manuscript is based on the medical insights of the Arabian doctor Iban Butlan from the 11th century. The manuscript is adorned with 208 high-quality, artistically appealing illustrations.

The Medicine of Ibn Butlan

Ibn Butlan was a famous Christian doctor who lived and worked in Baghdad. His findings purported that the health of a person is dependent on six elements. Counted among them are diet, the surrounding outside world, movement and rest, bodily fluids and excretions as well as the various emotional states of a person. Illnesses originated, according to his opinion, from a disturbance of these areas. With the help of outstanding miniatures, Butlan’s insights are clarified in the Latin codex and advice for the maintenance of health and for recovering from illness is presented.

Informative and Esthetic Book Decoration

The luxurious picture cycle of the codex was produced in Lombardy. The high-quality pictures reflect the traditional painting of the great book artist Giovanni de Grassi. They show the most varied aspects of medieval medicine in boundless fantasy. The scenes, which are concerned with health and the healing of illnesses, are mostly imbedded in everyday scenes from life in the Middle Ages. So the fabulous pictures take their beholder along on a journey into the world of times long past.