An Aztec herbal : the classic codex of 1552 / translation and commentary by William Gates ; introduction by Bruce Byland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cruz, Martín de la, active 16th century.

Contributor:

Gates, William, 1863-1940.

Standardized Title:

Libellus de medicinalibus Indorum herbis. English

Language:

English

Latin

Subjects (All):

Aztecs--Ethnobotany.

Aztecs.

Materia medica--Early works to 1800.

Materia medica.

Ethnobotany--Mexico.

Ethnobotany.

Materia medica, Vegetable--Mexico.

Materia medica, Vegetable.

Mexico.

Medicinal plants--Mexico.

Medicinal plants.

Physical Description:

xliv, 144 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm

Place of Publication:

Mineola, N.Y. : Dover Publications, 2000.

Summary:

Originally written in the Aztec language in 1552, this classic codex was the first herbal and medical text compiled in the New World, and as such is an extraordinarily rare and valuable document. The author was Martin de la Cruz, an Aztec physician, and his work was subsequently translated into Latin by his collaborator, Juan Badiano, an Aztec nobleman. The book was eventually translated into English in 1939 by William Gates. In these pages are centuries-old Aztec remedies for boils, hair loss, cataracts, sleep loss, sore throats, hiccoughs, gout, lesions, wounds, joint diseases, tumors and many other ailments. The text is illustrated with over 180 black-and-white figures of the plants along with 38 full-color illustrations made specially for the Gates edition. Also included are an introduction to the Mexican botanical system, an analytical index of the plants, and a new Introduction by anthropologist Bruce Byland of the City University of New York.

Notes:

Originally published: The De la Cruz-Badiano Aztec herbal of 1552. Baltimore : Maya Society, 1939, in series: Publication / Maya Society ; no. 23.

Includes bibliographical references (pages x-xiii) and index.

ISBN:

0486411303

OCLC:

43552470