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All the text of a Tacuinum Sanitatis (notebook of health) can be traced back to an 11th-century century Arabic tract, translated for King Manfred of the Hohenstaufen dynasty in the 13th century. Beginning in the mid-14th century in northern Italy, the text was used in picture books intended for use as medical manuals indicating the relative importance of every aspect of man's environment on the humours. Five richly illustrated examples of such guides to health dating from the turn of the 15th century have been preserved. They all originate in Lombardy and the Veneto.
The present medical book contains description of food, the effects of the four seasons, activities, humours, clothing, housing etc. on human health. The miniature on folio 49v depicts beans (Faba). The text below the picture indicates its use: effective against sleeplessness and hot headaches.
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