An Edition and Study of The Cure of Bytyng in London, Wellcome Library, MS 411 (ff. 56r-61r)

Abstract

London, Wellcome Library, MS 411 is a codex in one volume which houses a collection of practical treatises and tracts in English and Latin, in verse as well as in prose, on different topics including prognostications, nativities, medical astrology, toxicology, bloodletting, etc. It dates from the late fifteenth century. This chapter focuses on the Middle English treatise on venomous bites, held in folios 56r to 61r of MS Wellcome 411, in order to provide an edition of the text and an analysis of its main features. The treatise, written in prose, is anonymous and has received little scholarly attention so far. The objectives are threefold: first, to assess the contents, transmission and sources of the text; second, to explore palaeographical and codicological characteristics of the manuscript; and third, to offer the first edition of the treatise, which remains hitherto unedited.