The Dynameron

The Dynameron, which contains over 2,600 medical recipes, is believed to have been written at the end of the thirteenth century by Nicholas Myrepsos, a doctor at the court of Nicaea, during the reign of Emperor John Doukas Vatatzes. Compiled from Nicholas of Salerno’s more succinct Antidotary, the text of the Dynameron was translated into Latin in the fourteenth century by Nicholas of Reggio and for many years was extremely popular and successful.

The text from the Dynameron can be found in very few Greek manuscripts: the Paris. Gr. 2243 in the Bibliothèque nationale de France was copied in August 1339 and is one of the oldest texts. The inscription of the scribe Kosmas Kamelos on folio 664r indicates that the work was commissioned by a doctor, Demetrios Chlomos.

This copy of the Dynameron is lavishly decorated, with coloured, rectangular bands placed at the beginning of each treatise and each chapter. The image that made the manuscript famous is on folio 10v and is divided into two unequal areas: in the upper one is a depiction of Christ enthroned, surrounded by the Virgin, Saint John the Baptist, and the archangels Michael and Gabriel; in the lower part a medical consultation is represented. The doctor, with his conical hat, is sitting on the left and examining a flacon of urine (uroscopy was a Byzantine medical technique). Behind him a red inscription indicates his function: ὁ ἰητρός (the doctor). Before him stands a young man leaning on crutches (ὁ ἀσθενῶν: the patient). The doctor’s assistant, with his conical hat, is carrying a bottle of urine. Behind him, sitting on the floor, is a mother who is pulling her hair as she holds the inert body of a child in her lap. The apothecary (ὁ σπεστιαλος), who is also wearing a conical hat, brings the doctor the necessary boxes. Lastly, a young man, sitting to the right under the shelves with their phials and boxes, is preparing medicines by grinding the ingredients in a pot with two pestles. The plants on the ground indicate that the scene takes place outside.

These superposed scenes—by placing the doctor’s actions under the blessing of Christ—are generally interpreted as emphasizing the connection between caring for the body and the mind. To be cured, the patient needs to be treated by the doctor, but he will have a greater chance of recovery if he asks Mary and St John the Baptist to intercede on his behalf.

The technique used is drawing, which was then painted over in bright colours (red, blue, and yellow), which were applied in flat tints. These characteristics were very rare in the fourteenth century: drawing was primarily used in Italy and the depiction of images on uncoloured grounds is reminiscent of oriental miniatures. Only one other drawn manuscript whose images are not on a coloured ground is comparable to this one (although not in its style, which is clearly different): the Paris. Gr. 135 in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, a book of Job that was made either in Constantinople or in Mistra. The production of the Dynameron is usually attributed to Athens, because the scribe Kosmas Kamelos carried out his functions as priest and exarch of the metropolis of Athens. While this information is not proof in itself, the manuscript was probably produced in this cosmopolitan region with its populations from many backgrounds, which can be found in works like the Dynameron: Athens was, in fact, under Catalan rule for a while, and the Franks occupied the Peloponnese for a long time.