Middle English Literature

De proprietatibus rerum in 1398, a translation which survives in eight manu-
scripts alongside several Latin versions (see “Friars,” p. 7, for a general
introduction to Trevisa, as well as “The English and England,” p. 50, and
“The English Language,” p. 258). These eight manuscripts are large and
professionally produced. About 1495 Wynkyn de Worde published one of
Trevisa’s translations, possibly a later printing of one completed by Caxton
in Cologne in 1471–4.
Primary documents and further reading
Gottfried, R. S. (1986) Doctors and Medicine in Medieval England, 1340–1530.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Green, M. H. (ed. and trans.) (2001) The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium of
Women’s Medicine. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Jones, I. B. (1937) “Popular Medical Knowledge in Fourteenth-century English
Literature.” Bulletin of the Institute of the History of Medicine 5, 2 parts: 405–51,
538–88.
Ogden, M. S. (ed.) (1971) Guy de Chauliac, The Cyrurgie. EETS, o.s. 265. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Robbins, R. H. (1970) “Medical Manuscripts in Middle English.” Speculum 45:
393–415.
Ussery, H. (1971) “Chaucer’s Physician: Medicine and Literature in Fourteenth-
century England.” Tulane Studies in English 19: 1–158.
Voigts, L. E. (1984) “Medical Prose.” In A. S. G. Edwards (ed.) Middle English
Prose: A Critical Guide to Major Authors and Genres. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers
University Press, 315–35.
—— (1995) “Multitudes of Middle English Medical Manuscripts, or the Englishing
of Science and Medicine.” In M. R. Schleissner (ed.) Manuscript Sources of Medi-
eval Medicine: A Book of Essays. New York: Garland, 183–95.
von Fleishhacker, R. (ed.) (1894) Lanfrank’s “Science of Cirurgie,” Part I. EETS,
o.s. 102. Berlin: Asher.

---

Bartholomeus Anglicus. British Library MS Additional 27944, fols. 28v–36v. On the Properties
of Things, trans. John Trevisa, 3 vols., ed. M. C. Seymour. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975–88.
I: 129–62 (selections).
Language: English (Southwestern)
Manuscript date: ca. 1410
To trete of the propretees of mannes body and of the parties therof, we
schul first biginne to trete of the qualitees of the elementis and of the
humoures of whiche the body is maad . . .
Elementis beth foure, and so beth foure qualitees of elementis of the
whiche everiche body that hath a soule is componed
1
and imade as of matir,
and nameliche mannes body that is nobilest among alle the elementis and
most nobilliche is i-ordeined among alle thinges that beth componed and
imade of divers thinges. Mannes body is i-ordeyned to be the propre instru-
ment of the resonabil soule in his workes of kinde and of wille.
Mannes body is made of foure elementis — of erthe, watir, fire, and aier
— and everiche therof hath propre qualitees. Foure ther beth iclepid the
firste and principal qualites, that is to wite, hete, coold, drye, and wetenesse,
and ben iclepid the firste qualites for they sliden first of the elementis into
the thinges that ben imaade of elementis. They ben also iclepid the principal
qualitees for of hem cometh al the secundarye effectis. Tweyne of these
qualites ben iclepid active “able to worche,” hete and cooldnes. The othir
tweyne, drynesse and wetnesse, ben iclepid passive “able to soffre.” And so
as these qualites have maistrie, the elementis ben iclepid active othir passive
“able to do or soffre.” The firste tweyne ben principallich iclepid active,
noght for they worchin alone, for the passive qualites worchith also, [for]
non qualite is in the body an ydel; but therfore they beth iclepid active for,
be the worchinge of hem, the othir beth ibrought inne and ikept and
isaved . . .
For libro I capitulo 16 Constantinus
2
seith if the body is hote, thanne is
moche fleisch and litil fatnesse, rede colour, moche here (blak othir rede),
hote touche and gropinge, good witt, a man of gret facounde
3
and of gret
mevynge,
4
hardy and wratheful, lovy
5
and lecherous, and desiringe moche,
and hastilich defienge
6
for good digestioun, of scharp voys, an schamefast,
of strong and swift puls . . .
1
mixed.
2
Constantine the African (d. 1087), Royal Book.
3
eloquence.
4
moving.
5
given to amorous activities.
6
digesting.
Humors
15

---

16
Conventions and Institutions
Also, coolde is the modir of whightnesse and of palenes, as hete is the
modir of blaknes and of rednes. And so in hote londes cometh forth blake
men and browne, as among the Moores, in coolde lond white men, as
amoung the Sclaves. So seith Aristoteles in libro de celo et mundo
7
and tellith
the resoun why and seith that in coolde londes the modres of wommen
ben disposid to conseive suche children. Therfore, they beren children with
whyte skynnes that haveth longe, yelewy, neissche,
8
and streite here. The
contrarie is in hote londes there wymmen bereth children that ben blake
and hath litil here and crips,
9
as in blo men londe.
10
Thenne coolde schewith
itself in the body what he is and hath the maistrie withinne, for in the body
ther coolde hath the maistrie the colour is white, here is neissche and
streight, hard wit
11
and forgeteful, litil appetite, miche slepe, hevy goinge
and slowe. So seith Constantinus libro primo capitulo 17. This schal not
alwey be undirstonde in everich colde nedeliche,
12
but in comparisoun to
the complexioun of the heete that hath the maistrye and in proporcioun of
the hote lond to the coolde lond, auctoures seith suche thingis and lefte
hem iwrite in here bookes to hem that camen aftir hem . . .
An humour is a substaunce fletinge
13
in dede, and is ibred and cometh of
gederinge of the element qualitees, and apt to norische and fede the membres
and to counforte the worchingis therof kyndeliche, or hapliche
14
to lette
the worchingis therof. For humour is the firste principal material of bodies
that haveth felinge and chief help in here worchinge, and that bycause of
norischinge and of fedinge. Constantinus seith that the humoures beth
iclepid the children of the elementis, for everiche of the humours cometh of
qualite of elementis. And there beth foure humours: blood, flewme, colera,
and melencolia. And beth iclepid symple in comparisoun to the membres
and lymes, thouh they be componed in comparisoun to the elementis whos
children they beth.
Thise foure humours, if they beth in evene proporcioun in quantite and
qualite, he fedith alle bodyes that hath blood and maketh hem parfite and
kepith in [dewe] beinge and state of helthe; as agenward, if they beth
7
Aristotle (384–322
BCE
), De caelo et mundo.
8
soft.
9
curly.
10
Ethiopia.
11
slow to understand.
12
necessarily.
13
flowing.
14
potentially.

---

uneven in proporcioun and infecte, thanne they bredith eveles. Thise humours
beth nedeful to the makinge of the body and to the reuleynge and kepinge
therof, and also to restore what is ilost in the body . . .
Thise foure humours beth ibred in this manere. Whan mete is ifonge
15
in
the place of seethinge,
16
that is the stomak, first the more sotil partie and
fletinge therof that phisicians clepith pthisinaria is idrawe be certeyn veynes
to the lyvour and ther, by the worchinge of kinde hete, it is ichaungid into
the foure humours. The bredinge of hem bigynneth in the lyver, but it
endith there [not] atte fulle. First, by worchinge, hete turneth what is
coolde and moist in[to] the kynde of flewme, and thanne what is hote and
moist into the kynde of blood, and thanne what is hote and drye into the
kynde of colera, and thanne what is coolde and drye into the kinde of
malancolia. Thanne the proces is suche: first, fleume is bred as an humour
half sode;
17
secounde, blood that is parfitliche isode; the thridde, colera that
is oversode;
18
the laste is malencolia that is more erthi and the drestis
19
of
the othir. And so suche is the ordre, as Avicenne seith: the bredinge of
elementis is streite and agenward into the same, for aier is ibred of fire, and
fire of aiere, and everiche element of othir . . .
20
Thenne of the sentence of the forseid auctours
21
gedre thu schortliche
that kinde blood is pure, hoot and moist, sotile
22
and swete, and also it
kepith the kinde vertu of fedinge.
23
And blood is the sete of the soule and
conteyneth hym, and maketh parfite [youthe], complexioun a chaungith,
and kepith and saveth the herte and the spiritis, and maketh hem glad,
and waketh love, schedith him in the uter partie of the body and maketh
it of good colour and hiewe. And if blood is wel and temperat, he kepith
hele and helthe. And if he is corrupt, it bredith corrupcion, as in lepra
24
that is corrupt blood in the wellis.
25
Medlid [with] othur humoures, it
temprith the malice therof. And blood by his vertu swagith the smertinge of
eighen . . .
15
received.
16
digesting.
17
cooked.
18
over-cooked.
19
dregs.
20
Avicenna (980–1037).
21
Isidore of Seville (570–636), Constantine the African, and Aristotle.
22
thin.
23
it retains the natural power of food.
24
leprosy.
25
source.
Humors
17

---

18
Conventions and Institutions
In wommen, for to grete moisture and defaute of hete, if it is iholde over
dewe tymes, it is cause and occasioun of ful gret greves. For somtime it
stuffith the spiritual membres, and somtyme frenesye
26
and othir eveles that
beth opunliche iknow, as that corrupt blood to longe iholde is ise[n]t to
divers place of the body, as it is more openlich conteined in libro passionarum
Galieni.
27
Therfor, agens suche periles best remedye is to voyde suche
corrupt blood that greveth so the body that he is inne, for also it chaungith
wondirliche and infectith othir bodyes. For libro 10 capitulo 2 Isidre seth by
the touch of the blood menstruales fruyt growith noght but drieth and beth
ibrent, and dyeth herbes, and treen leseth here fruyt, irne
28
is frete
29
with
roust, bras and metal wexith blake. If hounde etith therof, he waxith wood.
30
Also a thing hatte
31