Manuscripted medical knowledge in the age of print

I will collect a body of English and French manuscripts from the 15th to 18th century in which the writers have drawn on previously printed medical books. Some of the writers copied the original manuscripts and others adapted and individualised the contents to reflect their own views on medicine and disease. 

I will identify, examine, catalogue and transcribe the contents of manuscripts held at Wellcome that contain previously printed medical texts and treatises and match these texts with early printed books, analysing the changes. I will also undertake a codicological analysis of the manuscripts. I will begin with Western MS 674, a largely unnoticed manuscript that contains numerous revised treatises. I have identified eight further candidates and will examine each in detail as well as others that I identify during my studies at Wellcome.

This body of work will support a larger research project that explores the creation and use of knowledge from medical manuscripts in the age of print.