Alchemy, medicine, and commercial book production

Viac o knihe

The Voigts-Sloane group of Middle English manuscripts, first described by Professor Emerita Linda Voigts in 1990, has garnered significant scholarly interest. These manuscripts display a uniformity likely stemming from systematic copying of medical and alchemical texts in London during the 1450s and 1460s, shortly before William Caxton's printing press was established. Some manuscripts feature a similar mise-en-page, while others present a standard anthology of medical treatises in a consistent order. This study offers a comprehensive re-examination of these manuscripts using codicological and linguistic methodologies. It explores various production procedures, including speculative copying of separate booklets. Additionally, it investigates the dialect used in the manuscripts and the code-switching between Latin and Middle English. By demonstrating that manuscripts with similar layouts are written in the same dialect, the study contributes valuable insights into the dialects of medical writing, establishing dialect as a defining characteristic of this manuscript group. Furthermore, it addresses late medieval concerns regarding alchemy and medicine, highlighting the paradox of including illegal alchemical texts in commercially copied manuscripts. Overall, this research provides a detailed description of the manuscripts while illuminating the commercial and cultural contexts of late medieval book production in England.