Medical texts in the 16th century manuscript from the Sancti Spiritus de Saxia Hospital and Priory in Krakow

Abstract

The manuscript from the 16th century preserved in the Jagiellonian Library comes from the Sancti Spiritus de Saxia priory and hospital in Krakow. The complex existed from the 13th to the 18th century and was run by the religious brothers and sisters of the Order of the Holy Spirit de Saxia. The manuscript, apart from the religious content, prayers and liturgical texts, contains parts of medical nature: prescriptions and medical indications, herbals, medical treatises, descriptions of diseases, as well as medical advice based on astrology. In the face of poorly preserved documents before the second half of the 16th century, the manuscript is a valuable source for research on the history of hospitality and works of mercy conducted by Order of the Holy Spirit de Saxia in Krakow, and on the history of medicine in Poland.