tacuinum sanitatis tacuinum sanitatis taqwīm aṣ‑ṣiḥḥa (تقويم الصحة maintenance of health) is originally an 11th-century arab medical treatise by ibn butlan of baghdad. in the west, the work is known by the latinized name taken by its translations: tacuinum (sometimes taccuinum) sanitatis. it is a medieval handbook mainly on health, aimed at a cultured lay audience. the text exists in several variant latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically so profusely illustrated that one student called the tacuinum "a picture book", only "nominally a medical text". numerous european versions were made in increasing numbers between the 14th and 15th centuries. tacuinum sanitatis ibn butlan's tacuinum sanitatis, rhineland, 2nd half of 15th c.authoribn butlanoriginal titletaqwīm as‑siḥḥacountrybaghdad under abbasid caliphatelanguagearabicsubjectshealth and wellbeinggenresmedicalpublication date11th centurytexttacuinum sanitatis online history tacuinum sanitatis, lombardy, late 14th century (biblioteca casanatense, rome). the british library possesses in its oriental manuscripts collection a presentation copy of taqwīm as‑siḥḥa from 1213 copied in arabic for al-malik al-ẓāhir, son of saladin. the terse paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into latin in mid-13th century palermo or naples, which continued an italo-norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable intercultural contact between the islamic and european worlds. one translation was made in king manfred of sicily's court between 1254 to 1266. "magister faragius" (ferraguth) in naples took responsibility for one translation into latin, in a manuscript in the bibliothèque nationale, paris, ms lat. 15362 (noted by witthoft 1978:58 note 9). four handsomely illustrated complete late 14th-century manuscripts of the tacuinum, all produced in lombardy, survive, in vienna, paris, liège and rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as 15th-century codices. carmelia opsomer published a commented facsimile of the ms 1041 held in the library of the university of liège. unillustrated manuscripts present a series of tables, with a narrative commentary on the facing pages. the tacuinum was first printed in 1531. the tacuinum was very popular in western europe in the late middle ages; an indication of that popularity is the use of the word taccuino in modern italian to mean "notebook".harvesting garlic, from tacuinum sanitatis, c. 1400 (bibliothèque nationale, paris)in addition to its importance for the study of medieval medicine, the tacuinum is also of interest in the study of agriculture and cooking; for example, one of the earliest identifiable images of the carrot—a modern plant—is found in it. carrots also appears in the greek herbal encyclopedias of dioscorides, illustrated by a byzantine 512 ad. in 2008, the spanish publishing house m. moleiro editor published the first and only facsimile of the tacuinum sanitatis kept at the bibliothèque nationale de france, in an edition limited to 987 copies. this edition was accompanied by a commentary volume by alain touwaide (smithsonian), eberhard könig (freie universität berlin) and carlos miranda garcía-tejedor (doctor in history). structure and content though describing in detail the beneficial and harmful properties of foods and plants, it is far more than a herbal. listing its contents organically rather than alphabetically, it sets forth the six essential elements for well-being: sufficient food and drink in moderation, fresh air, alternations of activity and rest, alternations of sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, and finally the effects of states of mind. tacuinum sanitatis says that illnesses result from imbalance of these elements. depending on the translation, the tacuinum sanitatis consists of a number of horticulture remedies for a variety of conditions and circumstances. one compilation of the tacuinum sanitatis that combines the text from all four of the existing manuscripts includes forty-eight different vegetables, fruits, and clothes. each of the sections isolates a single remedy and considers the ways that the remedy is useful, the possible consequences, methods to mitigate the consequences, and the beneficial qualities. although the exact taxonomic classification of each plant is uncertain due to differences between manuscripts and errors during translation, the remedies described in the tacuinum sanitatiscan still be loosely identified. the manuscripts describe root vegetables, alliums, leafy vegetables, cucurbits, other vegetables, temperate fruits, subtropical fruits, nuts, flowers, herbs, and even clothing material. the exact identity of the plant species are not always certain, as they are often labeled with arabic words. there are several categories of vegetables present in the various manuscripts. root vegetables of the manuscripts include radishes (rafani), turnips (rappe), parsnips (pastinace), and carrots (also pastinace). the alliums represented are onions (cepe), leeks (pori), and garlic (alea). the leafy vegetables included are kale (caules onati), lettuce (lactuce), and spinach (spinachie). cucumber (cucumeres et citruli), melon (melones indi et palestini), watermelon (melones dulces/insipidi), and bottle gourd (cucurbite) are present for cucurbits. other vegetables include asparagus (sparagus), cowpea (faxioli), and eggplant (melongiana). another main category within the manuscripts is fruits, including temperate fruits--grape (uve), apple (mala acetosa or mala dulcis), pear (pira), peach (persica), and cherry (cerosa acetosa or cerosa dulcia)--and subtropical fruits--lemon (citra) and pomegranate (granata acetosa). other items beyond vegetables and fruits are presented as remedies for conditions, such as nuts, flowers, and herbs. these remedies include chestnut (castanee), hazelnut (avelane), rose (roxe), lily (lilia), violet (viole), sage (salvia), marjoram (maiorana), and dill (aneti). however, the above examples are not a comprehensive list of every remedy included in all of the manuscript editions—some of these items are included in multiple manuscripts, whereas others are missing or additional remedies included. within each entry of a remedy, a few qualities and uses are explained. the optimal state of the plant for medicinal use is described, such as the quality of the plant leaves. the entries include not only the benefits from the item, but also the potential dangers from using the remedy, similar to a list of side effects from modern medicine. however, the dangers described can be mitigated by a neutralizing element that is also included. additionally, there is also typically an image corresponding to the item that is prescribed. the detailed images that accompany each remedy typically offer skewed depictions of the agricultural process, including placing too much emphasis on plant size and production, although these drawings exhibit better quality depictions of agriculture than similar images from that time. many of the images depict people in the process of harvesting the crop instead of administering the remedy from the plant. thus, there is a degree to which horticulture is also presented alongside the medicinal qualities of plants, however, the quality of the depictions can make identifying the species difficult. notes e. wickersheimer, "les tacuini sanitatis et leur traduction allemande par michel herr", bibliothèque d'humanisme et renaissance 12 1950:85-97. forbes, andrew ; henley, daniel; henley, david (2013). 'tacuinum sanitatis' in: health and well being: a medieval guide. chiang mai: cognoscenti books. asin:b00dq5bkfa brucia witthoft, the tacuinum sanitatis: a lombard panorama gesta 17.1 (1978:49-60) p 50. thomas, marcel (1980). the golden age: manuscript painting at the time of jean, duc de berry. london, england: book club associates. p. 42. "taqwīm al-ṣiḥḥah تقويم الصحّة ibn buṭlān ابن بطلان". qatar digital library. 2015-03-11. retrieved 2019-07-24. dioscorides pedanius; of anazarbos. "on plants - historia plantarum". world digital library. retrieved 2014-06-20. witthoft 1978 discusses the tacuina in the national libraries of paris and vienna, and the biblioteca casanatense, rome. l’art de vivre en santé. images et recettes du moyen âge. le « tacuinum sanitatis » (ms 1041) de la bibliothèque universitaire de liège, éd. de c. opsomer, liège, 1991. albino mallo, "moleiro clona códices de los siglos xi y xii con el arte de la perfección", xornal, january 2, 2009. "tacuinum sanitatis". www.godecookery.com. retrieved 2020-11-20. janick, jules; daunay, marie christine; paris, harry (2010-11-01). "horticulture and health in the middle ages: images from the tacuinum sanitatis". hortscience. 45 (11): 1592–1596. doi:10.21273/hortsci.45.11.1592. issn 0018-5345. bibliography janick, jules; daunay, marie christine; paris, harry (november 2010). "horticulture and health in the middle ages: images from the tacuinum sanitatis". hortscience. 45 (11): 1592–1596. doi:10.21273/hortsci.45.11.1592. s2cid 86510163. henley, david. 'tacuinum sanitatis' in: health and well being: a primitive medieval guide. chiang mai: cognoscenti books, 2013. hoeniger, kathleen. "the illuminated tacuinum sanitatis manuscripts from northern italy ca. 1380-1400: sources, patrons, and the creation of a new pictorial genre." in visualizing medieval medicine and natural history, 1200-1550, eds. jean ann givens, karen reeds, alain touwaide, 51–81. aldershot, uk: ashgate, 2006. opsomer, c., ed. l’art de vivre en santé. images et recettes du moyen âge. le « tacuinum sanitatis » (ms 1041) de la bibliothèque universitaire de liège. liège, 1991. wickersheimer, e. "les tacuini sanitatis et leur traduction allemande par michel herr", bibliothèque d'humanisme et renaissance 12 1950:85-97. witthoft, brucia. "the tacuinum sanitatis: a lombard panorama." gesta 17, no. 1 (1978) :49-60. medicine in the medieval islamic worldphysicians7th century abu hafsa yazid al-harith ibn kalada bukhtishu ibn abi ramtha al-tamimi ibn uthal masarjawaih nafi ibn al-harith rufaida al-aslamia zaynab al-awadiya 8th century bukhtishu ja'ar al-sadiq 9th century al-kindi al-ruhawi albubather ali al-ridha ali ibn sahl rabban al-tabari bukhtishu hunayn ibn ishaq ishaq ibn hunayn jabir ibn hayyan jabril ibn bukhtishu masawaiyh salmawaih ibn bunan shapur ibn sahl yahya ibn sarafyun yuhanna ibn bukhtishu yusuf al-khuri 10th century 'ali ibn al-'abbas al-majusi aayon ibn aayon abu bakr rabee ibn ahmad al-akhawyni bokhari abu bakr al-razi abu sahl 'isa ibn yahya al-masihi abu zayd al-balkhi abu al-hasan al-tabari abu al-qasim muqane'i abu al-qasim al-zahrawi abu ul-ala shirazi al-kaŝkarī al-natili al-tamimi, the physician eutychius of alexandria ibn abi al-ashʿath ibn juljul ibn al-jazzar ibrahim ibn baks isaac israeli ben solomon mohammed ibn abdun al-jabali muvaffak qumri qusta ibn luqa 11th century abdollah ibn bukhtishu abu 'ubayd al-juzjani abu al-hakam al-kirmani al-biruni ali ibn isa al-kahhal ali ibn ridwan ali ibn yusuf al-ilaqi ammar ibn ali al-mawsili avicenna badi' al-asturlabi ephraim ibn al-za'aran ibn abi sadiq ibn al-thahabi ibn butlan ibn hindu ibn jazla ibn al-haytham ibn al-kattani ibn al-wafid jonah ibn janah masawaih 12th century abu jafar ibn harun al-turjali abu al-bayan ibn al-mudawwar abu al-majd ibn abi al-hakam abu'l-barakāt al-baghdādī ahmad ibn farrokh al-samawal al-maghribi avempace averroes ibn habal ibn jumay‘ ibn tufayl ibn zuhr ibn al-tilmīdh moshe ben maimon muhammad ibn aslam al-ghafiqi serapion the younger ya'qub ibn ishaq al-israili zayn al-din gorgani 13th century abd al-latif al-baghdadi abraham ben moses ben maimon al-dakhwar al-shahrazuri amin al-din rashid al-din vatvat as-suwaydi da'ud abu al-fadl hussam al-din al-jarrahi ibn abi usaibia ibn tumlus ibn al-baitar ibn al-nafis ibn al-quff ibn al‐raqqam joseph ben judah of ceuta najib ad-din samarqandi qutb al-din al-shirazi rashidun al-suri sa'ad al-dawla zakariya al-qazwini 14th century al-nagawri aqsara'i ibn shuayb ibn al-akfani ibn al-khatib jaghmini mansur ibn ilyas mas‘ud ibn muhammad sijzi muhammad ibn mahmud amuli najm al-din mahmud ibn ilyas al-shirazi nakhshabi rashid-al-din hamadani sadid al-din al-kazaruni yusuf ibn ismail al-kutubi zayn-e-attar 15th century abu sa'id al-afif burhan-ud-din kermani husayni isfahani muhammad ali astarabadi muhammad ibn yusuf al-harawi nurbakhshi shaykh muhammad ibn thaleb şerafeddin kadir 16th century abul qasim ibn mohammed al-ghassani dawud al-antaki hakim-e-gilani sultan ali khorasani taqi al-din muhammad ibn ma'ruf 17th century abd el razzaq al-jazaïri concepts ophthalmology psychology works al-risalah al-dhahabiah the canon of medicine tacuinum sanitatis anatomy charts of the arabs the book of healing book of the ten treatises of the eye de gradibus al-tasrif zakhireye khwarazmshahi adab al-tabib kamel al-sanaat al-tibbyya al-hawi commentary on anatomy in avicenna's canon lives of the physicians centers al-'adudi hospital bimarestan nur al-din bimaristan influences ancient greek medicine ancient iranian medicine ayurveda influenced ibn sina academy learned medicine medical renaissance medieval medicine