The “Physique rimé” in the mediaeval manuscript Bibliothèque nationale de France, nouv. acq. lat. 693, and its prologue

Abstract

The manuscript NAL 693 in the Bibliotheque nationale de France contains a previously unconsidered copy of the so-called “Physique rime” - a versified Anglo-Norman collection of recipes known so far from two other English manuscripts. The comparison shows that its text was not copied from either of these MSS and must be taken into account as an independent evidence of the textual history of the “Physique rime”. Special attention is paid to its prologue that sketches out the principles of humoral theory.