The Wisdom of Nature: The Healing Powers and Symbolism of Plants and Animals in the Middle Ages

by Werner Telesko

The medieval view of the natural world can best be understood within its religious context. According to medieval thought, nature was a book in which God revealed himself and his message to the world. Plants and animals in particular were frequently given symbolic meanings or valued for their healing properties.
Illustrated with works taken from three world-famous medieval manuscripts, The Wisdom of Nature focuses on thirty-five exquisitely executed sheets which depict a wide range of subjects. These include herbs and plants, animals and birds, nature and the seasons, meat and water, activities to stimulate the body or brain such as riding or conversing, and religious topics such as the Creation. In double-page spreads, this volume explains the origin of each manuscript illustration, looks into its symbolic meanings, listing the healing powers ascribed to it in the medieval world as well as medical properties still valued by modern science. An introductory essay delves into the essential characteristics of medieval thought.
The illustrations are reproduced from the Viennese Tacuinum in the Austrian National Library in Vienna, a manuscript listing the positive and negative effects of foodstuffs on the human body; the Bern Physiologus from the Burgerbibliothek in Bern, which describes animals as sources of medicinal cures; and the Oxford Bestiary from the Bodleian Library in Oxford, a collection of animal stories of a religious or moralizing nature.

Genres: History

95 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Mathilda]

A really helpful introduction to some topics I am writing my dissertation on. Also some really lovely quality illustrations and images, this would be a great coffee table book (and I mean that as a compliment)!

[Erin Penn]

The byline for the book is "The Healing Powers and Symbolism of Plants and Animals in the Middle Ages" - what the book actually is, is an overview of various historical manuscripts including an in-depth look at three of them. To actually cover the by-line a little more comparison between modern knowledge and historical information would be needed. My rating is based on the fact the book doesn't meet the "advertisement".

That said, if you are interesting in historical illuminated manuscripts for Herbology and Beastaries, how they developed over time, what information was lost, how drawing techniques changed, etc, you may enjoy this coffee-table book as much as I did. This is not a education tome to wade through, the writing is accessible and points to several places if you do want to go beyond the initial "wiki" level lookover.

As someone who creates scrolls for a historical reenactment group I really enjoyed being shown at least 8 pages of each of the major manuscripts - this really helps get a feel for the manuscript.

Using it for information to create my herb garden, though, is a non-starter. I can't even get a feel of what herbs were available in what parts of the world.

So - research into a particular type of book available historically (like the Book of Hours, only for doctors) - great; research based on what the initial cover title indicates, not-so-much.