J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary 1972. Presented to the XXIII. International Congress of the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 6. (Budapest, 1972)

Z. Kádár: Some Notes on the Common Archetypes of Pharmaco-Zoological Illustrations in the MSS. Cotton Vitellius C., III. and the Greek Theriaca

ioo Medical History in Hungary 1972 (Comm. Hist. Artis Med. Suppl. 6.) more, it is noteworthy that already in the Pseudo-Apuleius codex of Leyđeñ deriving from the 7th century the ichneumon looks very much like a dog, though the inscription clearly identifies it as an ichneumon. The representation of the horned viper (Cerastes cerastes = C. cornutus) in the London codex (fol. 33

v: fig. 8) is a characteristic example of the fact that the copyist greatly deviated from Late classical archetypes (Vienna, Nat. bibl. Cod. med. gr. 1. fol. 402

r: fig. 6) and

—though often conventional

— he attempts at following the more dinamic, and artistic type of Hellenistic origin (Cf. Paris, Bibl. Nat. Cod. suppl. gr. 247. Fol. 10

r: fig. 7). Similarly, the water snake (chersydros) on fol. 14

v in the Paris Theriaca (fig. 9) can be related rather to the representations in the London codex (cf. fol. 47

r: fig. 10, fol. 47

r:fig. 11) than to the pictures of the paraphrases. The same is true for the representations of the scorpions. In the paraphrases the scorpions are of a relatively small size as compared to the script of the text (cf. Vienna, Nat. Bibl. Cod. med. gr. 1. fol. 420

v fig. 12), while the scorpions of the Paris codex are relatively larger, the joints of their "tails" can be clearly distinguished, (cf. fol. 25

r: fig. 13). The scorpions of the London codex adher closely to these latter type although they are clumsier and less realistic (cf. fol. 81

r fig. 14). The above discussed short analysis leads us to the conclusion that there is a conspicuous connection between the illustrations of toxical animals in the Ps. Apuleius codex of London and the miniatures of Nicander's Theriaca. These connections,"however, are not the results of a direct influence, but refer to the presence of a common archetype. It is obvious that from the oldest Hellenistic archetype onwards to the 11th century, the date of origin of the London codex, the original representations gradually degenerated in the hands of the numerous copyists (a characteristic example is the scene representing the fight of the asp and ichneumon discussed above.) For this very reason it seems difficult to recognize the original classical archetypes, which unforFig. 4. Leiden, Univ. Lid. Cod. Voss. lat. Q. 9. Fol. 27

v