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[Conradus de Halberstadt, O.P.?], Mensa philosophica (Louvain: Johann von Paderborn, 1481) .

The Mensa philosophica, possibly composed by Conrad of Halberstadt, O.P. (fl. mid-14th c.), is a dietary manual treating the effects of different foods and drinks on the body and the proper diets of people in each condition of life, from emperors to paupers, concluding with the eating habits of good women, bad women, married women, well-behaved widows and virgins. The manual, which summarizes medieval medical lore, offers a "wellness program" modelled after the preachers' moral sermons ad status. In the Scholastic manner, the third book treats disputed questions about health, for example, "Whether air is more necessary to life than food?", invoking such contrary authorities as Avicenna and Constantinus Africanus. Johann von Paderborn printed other texts by Dominican writers (see catalogue n° 28).

References: Goff M-492; GW no 7418; Kaeppeli no 773; Masin 91-92 no 50.

Catalogue No. 25
Call Number: Rare Books RM 215 .M548      Catalog Record

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