Synteny of Images in Three Illustrated Dioscoridean Herbals: <i>Juliana Anicia Codex</i>, <i>Codex Neapolitanus</i>, and <i>Morgan 652</i>

Abstract

Plant illustrations were compared in three ancient illustrated recensions of the non-illustrated manuscript of Dioscorides titled Περί ύλης ιατρικής (De Materia Medica in Latin; On Medical Matters in English) written about the year 65: Juliana Anicia Codex (JAC) or Codex Vindobonensis produced in the year 512, Codex Neapolitanus (NAP) produced in the late 6th or early 7th century, and Morgan 652 (M652) produced between 927 and 985. M652 contains many illustrations that are similar to those of JAC, and it has long been evident that large parts of the M652 were based on the JAC or a precursor. NAP also appears to be a source in the creation of M652 since M652 contains several images that appear in NAP but not JAC, and when images are common in all three herbals about 19.3% of the M652 images are closer to NAP than JAC. We conclude that M652 illustrations are based on images from both JAC and NAP. A database of the three herbals is available online www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/herbalimages.

A Database for Three Dioscoridean Illustrated Herbals

“…The first exported file contained the individual image records, which were used to create an image record table. The second exported file contained derived images called synteny groups (Janick et al, 2013), which were used to create a synteny set table. The exported data files were then imported into a MySQL Version: 5.5.13 (current database manufacturer Oracle Corporation).…”

“…We have also reproduced the Venn diagram ( Fig. 1) from Janick et al (2013). Clicking on the labels in the diagram on the Herbal Images web site will retrieve common images from each comparison, e.g., A will bring up images common to JAC, NAP, and M652.…”

“…M652 completed in Constantinople between 927 and 985 is related both to JAC and NAP (Janick et al, 2013). It is now in the collection of the Morgan Museum and Library where it is available online (<http:// www.themorgan.org/home.asp>).…”

“…These three illustrated herbals are clearly related to each other either by copying or from an earlier lost manuscript. An image analysis of the three herbals was made by Janick et al (2013) and in the process, a database was constructed to determine the relationship between images. The database is currently online (<http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ herbalimages>).…”

The Illustrated Dioskourides Codices and the Transmission of Images during Antiquity

“… 34 For this possibility, see Collins 2000: 45–6; Cruse 2007: 154; Anderson 2009: 35; Janick et al 2013: 335, 338–9.…”