| Record ID | cp011121 |
| Voet reference number | 1660 |
| Museum Plantin-Moretus | c:lvd:3242462 |
| Author | Ferdinandus MENA |
| Title page transcription | FERDINANDI MENA ‖ DOCTORIS ET MEDICI CVBI- ‖ CVLARII PHILIPPI REGIS HISPANIARVM, ‖ REGVM OMNIVM CLARISSIMI, AC INVICTIS- ‖ SIMI, COMPLVTENSIS’QVE SCHOLÆ PRIMA- ‖ RII PROFESSORIS. ‖ METHODVS FEBRIVM OMNIVM, ET EARVM ‖ Symptômatum curatoria; Hispaniæ Me- ‖ dicis potissimùm ex vsu. ‖ ACCESSIT ‖ Liber de septimestri partu, & de purgantibus Medicinis, ‖ eodem & expositore & enarratore. ‖ Difficilia quæ pulchra. ‖ Δυσκολα, τἁ καλἁ. ‖ ⊕ 20 ‖ ANTVERPIAE, ‖ Ex officina Christophori Plantini. ‖ M.D.LXVIII. |
| Collation | 4⁰ [160]: Aⁱ-, B-⁴, C-X⁴, a-o⁴; pages [1-4], 13-167, [168], 1-110, [111-112] |
| Fingerprint | |
| Number of sheets | |
| Pages | [1]: Title[2]: Blank[34]: Ad Elisabet reginam serenissimam, Philippi Regis Hispaniarum…, coniugem dilectissimam, Ferdinandus Mena (italic type)13-156: Text (words in italic type and greek type, marginals in roman type and greek type)157-167: Theorema practicum (words in greek type and italic type, marginals in roman type and greek type)[168]: Blank[1] -73: Libellus…de septimestri partu…(parts in italic type and greek type, marginals in roman type)74: Ad lectorem (italic type)75-110: Libellus Hipp. de medicamentis purgantibus (parts in italic type and greek type, marginals in roman type)[111]: Privilege (Brussels, 2 December 1567, signed by De Langhe, and Brussels, Council of Brabant, 3 December 1567, s. De Langhe)[112]: Blank |
| Edition information | |
| Variants | A. As described here (Museum Plantin-Moretus, A 52), with dedicatory to Queen Elizabeth, wife of Philip II. — Quires: A1-2, B3-4,…; pages [1-4], 13-167— Dedicatory, pages [34]: ‘Ad Elisabet reginam…’B. Original version (Bibliothèques de l'UMONS), with dedicatory to Prince Carlos, son of Philip II. — Quires: A4, B4,…; pages [1-12], 13-167. — Dedicatory, pages [3-11], [page 12: Blank]: Caroli principi maximo Philippi regis Hisp. omnium regum clarissimi ac potentissimi, filio primogenito, Ferdinandus Mena, S.P. (italic type). |
| Copies | Museum Plantin-Moretus- A 52: variant ABibliothèques de l'UMONS (variant B). Not checked which variant: CambridgeBritish Library LondonBodleian Libraries |
| Bibliographical references | Ruelens-de Backer, page 85 (1568, no. 30)Palau y Dulcet, 9, page 1 (no. 162-673) |
| Online bibliographical references | |
| Note 1 | Contains: a) A medical treatise on fever (pages 13-156), followed by ‘Theorema practicum’ on the same subject (pages 156-167); b) With separate pagination but without title-page: 1⁰) Libellus Hipp.[ocratis]περι επταμηνου, hoc est, de septimestri partu, enarratore Ferdinando Mena (pages 1-73), a treatise of Hippocrates (or attributed to him) on children born at seven months, translated into Latin, each chapter accompanied by a long commentary; 2⁰) Libellus Hipp[ocratis] de medicamentis purgantibus; interprete Ferdinando Mena (pages 75-110), with, as in the preceding ‘libellus’, each short chapter, translated into Latin, accompanied by a long commentary. Between the two ‘libelli’, on page 74, a note ‘Ad lectorem’ in which the author explains why he thought it interesting to publish and comment on those two short treatises of Hippocrates. |
| Note 2 | The work of the physician of Philip II was published by Plantin at the demand of de Çayas, as the printer let it be understood in his letter to the secretary of Philip II, 24 November 1567 (Corr., I, no. 94: ‘Et sera ceste pour acertener V.R.S. que j’ay receu le livre de Monsigneur le Docteur F. Mena, médecin de Sa Majesté, lequel il vous a pleu m’envoyer, et qu’après avoir obtenu le privilège de le pouvoir imprimer, j’en envoyeray, par le premier qui partira, une espreuve de l’oeuvre commencée’). A letter with a similar content was addressed to the author at an unspecified date, but in the same period (Corr., I, no. 95). The ‘monstre’ or ‘première feille du livre de médicine de monsigneur le Docteur Mena’ was mailed to de Çayas on 15 December 1567 (cf. Plantin’s letters of 15 and 24 December 1567: Ibidem, nos. 96 and 97). Other sheets (A-H) were enclosed in Plantin’s letter to de Çayas of 12 January 1568 (Ibidem, no. 100). Two finished copies — one unbound, and one ‘relié en bon parchemin, en doré sur les feillets, et sur la couverture des fillets, avec ung milieu dorés’ — were finally sent with the post on 15 February 1568 (Ibidem, no. 107; cf. also Plantin’s letter of 15 February 1568: Ibidem, no. 108). |
| Note 3 | A problem, however, arose: the dedicatory had to be reprinted. Mena had originally dedicated his work to Don Carlos, son of Philip II. But the prince angered his father, was arrested on 17 January 1568 (and died in prison on 24 July 1568). A new dedicatory had to replace it in a hurry. As Plantin states in his letter of March 1568 to de Çayas: ‘J’avois devant quelques jours respondu aux lettres de Vostre Signeurie du 7 janvier et envoyé deux exemplaires entiers et les feilles restantes du livre de Monsr. le docteur Mena, quant j’ay receu les secondes de mesme argument, escrittes le 8 février, avec l’advertissement y adjoint de réimprimer le dédicatoire dudict livre que j’ay receue avec et incontinent mise en oeuvre, pour l’envoyer, ainsi que Vostre Révérendissime Signeurie le peut voir…’ (Ibidem, no. 116). In his letter of 18 March 1568 to Mena, Plantin tells the author that he had executed what had been asked as well as he could (Ibidem, no. 119). He had indeed been obliged to rearrange the first two quires. The original dedicatory comprised A2-A4 and B1 -B2 (pages 3-12); the replacement had only two pages (A2: pages 3-4). Plantin took away A1-A4 and B1-B2 and reprinted A1-A2, but he did not change the order of the remaining sheets: from A2 (page 4) the work jumps to B3 (page 13). |
| Note 4 | The shipment of copies to Madrid is referred to in other letters written in 1568 by Plantin to de Çayas (12 June 1568: Ibidem, no. 127; 22 June 1568: Ibidem, no. 133). The work of Philip’s physician is mentioned again in 1570. Mena had died and Plantin was asked to ship some 30 copies to his widow (letters to de Çayas, 7 August 1570 [Corr., II, no. 240], 10 August 1570 [no. 241], 31 August 1570 [no. 242]). The correspondence on the subject ends on 4 November 1570, when Plantin wrote to the secretary of Philip II: ‘A laquelle [= vostre Seigneurie: de Çayas] par le Premier [shipment], j’envoyeray 60 exemplaires du livre du défunct Docteur Mena. Car j’ay remandé tous les exemplaires qui restoyent en nostre boutique à Paris, lesquels j’adjouxteray à trente que j’avois par avant, qui, pour attendre les autres, ont été réservés icy jusques à maintenant que je les feray mectre en dedans les cofres que, par l’ordonnance dudict Sr. B. Arias Montanus, j’avois faict faire pour V. Ille Sie ou bien ainsi que mieux viendra à propos’ (Corr., II, no. 250). |
| Note 5 | A copy, worth 6 stuivers, figures in a list of books purchased by Camerarius (letter of Plantin, 12 April 1568: Suppl. Corr., no. 58). |
| Note 6 | Listed in M 296, folio 6v (Ferdinandus Mena de febribus, in 4⁰, f[euilles] 34, [price:] stuivers 7), and M 164, folio 13v. |
| Further reading |