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News from the John Martin Rare Book Room – Activities of Daily Living

Activities of Daily Living–

While fads and fancies in health and medicine come and go, the underlying essentials of wellbeing, including, rest, nutrition, exercise, and moderation have gone unchallenged for millennia.

One of the more popular works outlining keys to basic fitness is the Tacuini sanitatis by the eleventh century Iraq physician, Ibn Butlān (d. ca. 1068). Before the age of printing, Ibn Butlān’s writings were incorporated into stunning illuminated manuscripts.  However, the early printed editions are attractive in their own way.

This 1531 edition, for instance, shows the early use of tabular formatting to codify items such as trees, foods, and flowers. However, its most charming feature is the fanciful set of miniature woodcuts showing everyday activities involved in the maintenance of health.

Ibn Bultān practiced in Mossul, Egypt, Constantinople and Antioch where he entered a monastery and converted to Christianity.

The John Martin Rare Book Room also includes facsimiles of early brilliantly colored codices based on Ibn Butlān’s texts.