Vienna Dioscurides - encyclopedia article about Vienna Dioscurides.

A gallery of birds from folio 483v of the Vienna Dioscorides.

The Vienna Dioscurides (Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. med. gr. 1.) is an early 6th century copy of De materia medica by Dioscurides. It is an important and rare example of a late antique scientific text. The 491 vellum folios contain more than 400 pictures of animals and plants, most done in a naturalistic style. The manuscript was created in about 515 and was made for the Byzantine princess Juliana Anicia, the daughter of Emperor Anicius Olybrius. The codex measures 37 by 30 cm. Although it was originally created as a luxury copy, there is some indication that in later centuries it was used daily as a hospital text book. The manuscript includes some annotations in Arabic. In addition to the text by Dioscurides, the manuscript has appended to it the Carmen de herbis attributed to Rufus, a paraphrase of an ornithological treatise by a certain Dionysius, usually identified with Dionysius of Philadelphia, and a paraphrase of Nicander's treatise on the treatment of snake bites.

Illustrations

The manuscript has 383 extant full page illustrations of plants out of the original 435 illustrations. The illustrations fall into two groups. There are those that faithfully follow earlier classical models and present a quite naturalistic illustration of each plant. There are also other illustrations that are more abstract. The majority of the illustrations were painted in a naturalistic style so as to aid a pharmacologist in the recognition of each plant. However, it is believed that these illustrations were made as copies of an earlier herbal and were not drawn from nature.

Rose-hips (?)

In addition to the illustrations of the text, the manuscript contains several front-pieces in the form of a series of full-page miniatures. Of special note is the dedication miniature portrait of Anicia Julia on folio 6 verso. (See here) The manuscript was presented to Anicia out of gratitude for her funding the construction of a church in the suburbs of Constantinople. This portrait is the oldest extant dedication portrait. The portrait has Anicia seated in a ceremonial pose distributing alms. She is flanked by personifications of Magnanimity and Prudence. At her feet another personification, labeled "Gratitude of the Arts", kneels. A putto holds a dedication copy up to Anicia. Anicia and her attendants are enclosed within an eight pointed star within a circle all formed of intertwined rope. Within the outer spandrels of the star are putti, done in grisaille, working as masons and carpenters. This miniature is an altogether original creation and, with the inclusion of the personifications and the putti, shows the endurance of the classical tradition in Constantinople, despite the fact that Anicia herself was a pious Christian.

The series of front-pieces in the manuscript begins with two full page miniatures, each having a group of seven noted pharmacologists. In the second picture (folio 3 verso, see here) the most prominent and only one sitting on a chair is Galen. He is flanked by three pairs of other physicians, seated on stones or the ground. Closest to Galen are Crateuas and Dioscurides. The second pair are Apollonius Mys and Nicander. Farthest from Galen are Andreas and Rufus. Each of the figures is a self contained portrait and was probably modeled on authors' portraits from the various authors' treatises. The seven figures are contained within an elaborate decorated frame. The background is solid gold, which places the figures in an abstract space. This is the earliest known manuscript to use a solid gold background.

Folio 3v, seven physicians.

Following the two miniatures of seven pharmacologists, there are two author portraits. In the second portrait (see here), Dioscurides sits writing in a codex on his lap. He is shown in profile, which corresponds to the portrait in the previous miniature. It is possible that there was a tradition based on Dioscurides' life portrait that the images are based on. In front of Dioscurides is an artist, seated at a lower level, painting an illustration of the mandrake root. He is painting from nature. The mandrake root he is looking at is held by the personification of Epinoia (the power of thought). There is architectural background consisting of a colonnade with a central niche.

The paraphrase of the treatise on birds by Dionysius is in three books. The first two books have illustrations of the birds inserted into the text columns without frame or background (for example, see here). The third book has 24 birds arranged in a grid on a full page miniature (see illustration above). The birds portrayed throughout the treatise are of high artistic merit and are faithful to nature in form and color. Most of the birds are easily identifiable. Interestingly, some of the birds contained in the full page miniature in the third book are not described in the text of the paraphrase. It is probable that these illustrations are based on the illustrations from an older, different treatise, possibly that of Alexander of Myndus. This manuscript, however, is the oldest surviving illustrated treatise on birds. Each of the figures is a self contained portrait and

Gallery

Peacock endpapers	Folio 6v, Donor portrait.	Folio 3v, seven physicians.	Author portrait.
Folio 5v, Author portait	Coral	Folio 148v, violet	Pimpernel
Plant	Birds	Folio 483v, birds.

References

Walther, Ingo F. and Norbert Wolf. Codices Illustres: The world's most famous illuminated manuscripts, 400 to 1600. Köln, TASCHEN, 2005.
Weitzmann, Kurt. Late Antique and Early Christian Book Illumination. New York: George Braziller, 1977.

Vienna (German: Wien [viːn], see also ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city; with a population of about 1.
..... Click the link for more information.

Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek.

The Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (formerly Hofbibliothek), abbreviated "ÖNB" or OeNB, is the Austrian National Library, and, with 7.
..... Click the link for more information.

The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. This century is widely considered to mark the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Dark Ages.
..... Click the link for more information.

Pedanius Dioscorides (Greek: Πεδάνιος Διοσκορίδης; ca. 40-ca. 90) was an ancient Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist from Anazarbus, Cilicia, Asia Minor, who practised in
..... Click the link for more information.

Vellum (from the Old French Vélin, for "calfskin"^[1]) is a sort of processed animal hide as a material for use in producing written works in the scroll, codex or book form in the pre-printing Age using joined pages, characterized by its thin, smooth, durable
..... Click the link for more information.

6th century · 7th century
480s 490s 500s 510s 520s 530s 540s
512 513 514 515 516 517 518
..... Click the link for more information.

Byzantine Empire or Byzantium is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople.
..... Click the link for more information.

Anicia Juliana (ca. 462 - ca. 528) was a Roman imperial princess, the daughter of the Western Roman Emperor Olybrius, of the House of Anicii, by Placidia, Valentinian III's daughter.
..... Click the link for more information.

Olybrius
Emperor of the
Western Roman Empire
Reign March 23 or July 11 - October 23 or November 2, 472
Full name Flavius Anicius Olybrius
Died September 23 472
Predecessor Anthemius
Successor Glycerius

..... Click the link for more information.

codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a book in the format used for modern books, with separate pages normally bound together and given a cover.
..... Click the link for more information.

al-‘Arabiyyah in written Arabic (Kufic script):
Pronunciation: /alˌʕa.raˈbij.ja/
Spoken in: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman,
..... Click the link for more information.

Rufus is a name meaning "red" in Latin that could refer to one of the following:

People

Several Saints Rufus
Rufus (actor), a french actor
Rufus Hannah (aka "Rufus the Stunt Bum"), of Bumfights fame

..... Click the link for more information.

Nicander of Colophon (Νίκανδρος ὁ Κολοφώνιος, 2nd century BC), Greek poet, physician and grammarian, was born at Claros, near Colophon, where his family held the hereditary
..... Click the link for more information.

Constantinople (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις, Konstantinoúpolis, or Πόλις, Polis
..... Click the link for more information.

Magnanimity (derived from the Latin roots magn- great, and anima, soul) is the virtue of being great of mind and heart. It encompasses, usually, a refusal to be petty, a willingness to face danger, and actions for noble purposes. Its antithesis is pusillanimity.
..... Click the link for more information.

Prudence (lat.:prudentia) is classically considered to be a virtue, and indeed, one of the Cardinal Virtues. The word comes from Old French prudence (13th century), from Latin prudentia "foresight, sagacity," contraction of providentia "foresight".
..... Click the link for more information.

The putto (pl. putti) is a figure of a pudgy human baby, almost always male, often naked and having wings, found especially in Italian Renaissance art. The figure derives from Ancient art but was "rediscovered" in the early Quattrocento.
..... Click the link for more information.

Grisaille (grĭ-zī', -zāl'; French: gris, grey) is a term for painting executed entirely in monochrome, usually in shades of grey or brown, particularly used in decoration to represent objects in relief.
..... Click the link for more information.

Galen (Greek: Γαληνός, Galēnos; Latin: Claudius Galenus; AD 129^[1] –ca. 200 or 216) of Pergamum was a prominent ancient Greek physician, whose theories dominated Western medical science for over a
..... Click the link for more information.

Rufus is a name meaning "red" in Latin that could refer to one of the following:

People

Several Saints Rufus
Rufus (actor), a french actor
Rufus Hannah (aka "Rufus the Stunt Bum"), of Bumfights fame

..... Click the link for more information.

Not to be confused with Mandarake.

Mandrake may refer to:

Mandrake (plant), a plant of the genus Mandragora
Mandrake (pesticide), a pesticide for wheat, commercialized by Bayer

..... Click the link for more information.

Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information.

Alexander of Myndus (or Myndos) in Caria, was a Greek writer who some believe lived during the first century AD but this date is uncertain. ^[1] He wrote on diverse topics, including zoology and divination.
..... Click the link for more information.