Detail author

APULEIUS - Italy - IV secolo d. c.

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We do not know the biography of this author, famous also under the names of Apuleius Barbarus and Pseudo Apuleius. We know only that, probably in 400 A. D., he had lavished much energy on creating a collection of medical recipes joined with other curative materials of Greek origin.

Main work: Herbarium, reprint della prima edizione del 1481.

Botanical interests: The oldest manuscript of the Herbarium, probably from the 7th century, is in Leiden, and came originally from Southern France or Southern Italy. The plant iconography is very rough and the script almost illegible. Nevertheless, it is a valid starting point for the knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs. Of particular interest is the depiction of the mandrake with human parts, a legend and superstition that has remained until our own times. The most important edition that has come down to us is the Herbarium printed in its first edition 1481 in Rome.

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