He also was an Arab writer and as such was a
devoted commentator on Aristotle whose writings
he tried to harmonize with those of Galen. He
utilized a "dignified, straightforward treatment of
evidence, thus aiding in the development of the
scientific method then in its infacy." He likewise
encouraged the development of a critical, inquiring
way of looking at nature which was so much needed
during the Middle Ages.
EARLY HERBALS
APULEIUS BARBARUS, APULEIUS
PLACTONICUS OR PSEUDO-APULEIUS
The most influential early Latin herbal was that of
Apuleius Barbarus, Apuleius Platonicus
or Pseudo-Apuleius. The herbal is an important
compilation of medical recipes, compiled from Greek
sources of the year 400 A.D. The earliest known copy
dates from the 7th Century and was probably written in
Southern France. This herbal contains figures that are
inferior to Roman ones from which they have been
developed. However, these illustrations provided
material for European illustrators for many
generations. Along with Dioscorides' De Materia
Medica this herbal served as the chief basis of
botanical knowledge and the main sources of
illustrations of plants during the so-called Dark
Ages. The herbal was probably translated into
Anglo-Saxon about 1000 A.D. The finely illustrated
codex in the Bristish Museum entitled Cotton
Vitellius C. III is dated about the middle of the
11th Century. Another fine manuscript was written and
illustrated at Bury St. Edmunds in England in 1120
A.D.
