Autori vari - Medicina de Cavalli - 1548

THE HORSE-HEALING SCIENCE BETWEEN BISANZIO AND VENICE: ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE AND RENAISSANCE PRACTICES
A rare and significant Venetian edition of 1548 of the Opera della medicina de cavalli, printed by Michele Tramezzino, which represents one of the high moments in the transmission of ancient iippiatric knowledge within the Italian Renaissance context. The work, derived from the great Byzantine collection attributed to Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, reaches here in an accessible and operational form thanks to its vernacular translation, transforming from an erudite repertory into a practical manual aimed at a broad and professional audience. It interweaves classical medical tradition, empirical observation, and the daily needs of a society in which the horse constitutes a central element, both militarily and economically and symbolically. The Tramezzino edition thus stands as a crucial node between philology, technique, and material culture, embodying Venice’s role as a laboratory for the diffusion and reworking of ancient knowledge.
MARKET VALUE
The sixteenth‑century vernacular editions of iippiatric treatises, especially Venetian ones, generally fall within a range of 1,500 to 2,000 euros; complete, well-preserved copies with contemporary bindings can reach and exceed 2,500–3,000 euros, particularly if they show good paper freshness and a well-impressed typographic mark, elements highly valued in the specialized collecting market.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary flexible parchment binding, with signs of wear and slight abrasions, slightly loose but genuine and structurally intact, an authentic testimony to the practical use of the volume. Frontispiece adorned by a large backward- and forward-facing woodcut typographic device, repeated at the end of the work, a distinctive feature of Tramezzino’s production. Papers overall well preserved, with some foxing and marginal, non-invasive stains. Collation: (2); 362; 14 nn.; (2). In ancient books with a multiselection history, a few imperfections may be present not always noted in the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Opera della medicina de cavalli composta da diversi antichi scrittori, et a’ commune utilità, di greco in buona lingua volgare ridotta.
Venetia, Michele Tramezino, 1548.
AA.VV. (traduzione dalla raccolta ippiactrica greca attribuita a Costantino Porfirogenito).

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The work sits within the tradition of Byzantine equine medical collections, an encyclopedic corpus that systematizes veterinary knowledge of Greco-Roman origin. The collection attributed to Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus represents one of the most important attempts to preserve and organize ancient technical know-how, including texts by authors such as Pelagon, Hippocrates, Eumelos, Agathocles, and other physicians and practitioners of equine care.
The version presented here derives from the Latin mediation by Jean Ruel, a central figure in the humanistic transmission of medical texts, and finds in the vernacular translation a decisive step: knowledge, from an elite academic patrimony, becomes an operational tool for knights, breeders, farriers, and practical physicians.
In the Renaissance context, the horse is not only a means of transport but a strategic element in war, diplomacy, and the representation of power. Its care thus assumes an almost “political” dimension, where animal health translates into military and economic efficiency.
The 1548 Tramezzino edition also testifies to Venice’s role as a center of cultural irradiation, capable of integrating humanistic philology, practical needs, and refined typographic production. In this perspective, the text functions as a true machine for transmitting knowledge, where ancient tradition is refunctionalized in a modern key.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHORS
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (905–959), Byzantine emperor, promoted vast encyclopedic projects aimed at preserving and systematizing ancient knowledge, including medical and technical collections of great influence on later tradition.
Pelagon (4th century AD) is among the main Latin authors of veterinary medicine, known for his treatise on horse diseases, characterized by a practical and observational approach.
Hippocrates (c. 460–370 BCE), father of Western medicine, indirectly influenced veterinary science through diagnostic principles based on observation and the balance of humors.
Jean Ruel (1474–1537), French physician and humanist, was among the leading translators and disseminators of Greek medicine in the Renaissance, contributing to the circulation of iippiatric texts through his Latin versions.
The other included authors — Tiberius Medicus, Archelaeus, Eumelos, Agathocles — represent the continuity of the Greco-Roman technical-medical tradition, transmitted through the Byzantine filter and later reworked in the humanistic age.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The tradition of Opera della medicina de cavalli traces its roots to Byzantine compilations of the 10th century, later translated into Latin during the Renaissance and diffused in humanistic circles. The Italian vernacular version marks another stage of knowledge democratization, significantly widening its audience.
The Venetian edition of 1548, printed by Michele Tramezzino, follows an initial issue and fits into the specialized output of the publisher, known for disseminating technical, geographical, and scientific texts. The circulation of such works was especially broad in areas tied to chivalry and breeding, contributing to the standardization of veterinary practices in the Italian world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16, CNCE 63972 (editions registered for Tramezzino, Venice 1548).
ICCU/OPAC SBN, bibliographic entry for Opera della medicina de cavalli, Venice, 1548.
Haym, Nicola Francesco, Biblioteca italiana, Venice, 1726, I, p. 604.
Adams, H. M., Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe 1501–1600, Cambridge, 1967, entries relating to iippiatric treatises.
Thorndike, Lynn, A History of Magic and Experimental Science, New York, 1923–1958, vols. I–III, sections on veterinary medicine and the ancient technical tradition.
Voigts, Linda Ehrsam, Medieval Veterinary Medicine: A Guide to the Sources, London, 1982, pp. 45–78.
De Renzi, Salvatore, Storia della medicina in Italia, Naples, 1845–1848, sections on ancient and Renaissance veterinary medicine.
Durling, Richard J., Catalogue of Sixteenth Century Printed Books in the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, 1967, references to the iippiatric tradition.