Illustrations as abstracts: the illustrative programme in a Montpellier manuscript of Roger Frugardi's chirurgia

Abstract

Illustrated manuscripts of Roger Frugardi's Chirurgia (c. 1180) form but a small proportion of extant manuscripts in Latin or in any of the medieval vernaculars. We study the single de luxe illustrated Latin manuscript of the work which is notable for its extensive programme of over 100 medical illustrations. We suggest that both the lenght of the absence of rubrics and that the cycle was conceived to act as a form of visual rubric. We show that this function had a determinig influence on the iconography and examine the methods used to represent the text visually.