Matthaeus Platearius was a physician from the medical school at

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

, and is thought to have produced a twelfth-century Latin manuscript on medicinal herbs titled "''Circa Instans''" (also known as "''The Book of Simple Medicines''"), later translated into French as "''Le Livre des simples medecines''". It was an alphabetic listing and textbook of simples that was based on Dioscorides "''Vulgaris''", which described the appearance, preparation, and uses of various drugs. It was widely acclaimed, and was one of the first herbals produced by the newly developed printing process in 1488.

Ernst Meyer Ernst Meyer may refer to: * Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer (1791–1858), German botanist * Ernst Meyer (painter) (1797-1861), Danish painter * Ernst Meyer (Swedish politician) (1847–1925), Swedish politician * Ernst Meyer (German politician) (1 ...

considered it equal to the herbals of Pliny and Dioscorides, while George Sarton thought it an improvement on "''De Materia Medica''". Robinet Testard32

Matthaeus and his brother Johannes were the sons of a female physician from the Salerno school and married to Johannes Platearius I. She is surmised to be

Trota Trota of Salerno (also spelled Trocta) was the world's first gynecologist. She was a medical practitioner and writer in the southern Italian coastal town of Salerno who lived in the early or middle decades of the 12th century. Her fame spread as f ...

, who wrote some important treatises on gynaecology including ''Diseases of Women''. Benton, John F.br>"TROTULA, WOMEN'S PROBLEMS, AND THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF MEDICINE IN THE MIDDLE AGES"
Humanities Working Paper 98, '' California Institute of Technology'', November 1984. Retrieved March 17, 2020.

References

External links

London: British Museum, MS Harley 270, Circa instans, (1175-1249)

London: British Museum, MS Egerton 747, Circa instans, (1280-1310)

: Bayrische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 325. Circa instans, 14th century]
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: Bayrische Staatsbibliothek, Incunable, Circa instans, Venice 1497 12th-century Italian physicians Italian pharmacologists Pre-Linnaean botanists Herbalists 12th-century Italian writers 12th-century Latin writers {{herbalist-stub