A collection of carefully chosen, tried and tested remedies for all diseases that afflict horses, cows and sheep, with a dictionary of plants and their properties

Anthology of tried and tested remedies for all illnesses suffered by horses, cows and sheep, with a dictionary of plants and their virtues

During Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the treatment of animals, with a focus on livestock and especially horses due to their military and civilian importance, was based on empirical knowledge circulated in the form of rituals, magic formulas, the theory of the humours, and bloodletting processes. In the 17th century, the magnitude of the spreading epizootics alerted the authorities to the need to arrange for animal protection. That organization gradually took shape during the Enlightenment, when major advances in animal medicine enabled the creation of a veterinary school in Lyon in 1762. The science of animal health was taught there, contributing to the birth of the profession of veterinarian.

This anthology presents the remedies to prescribe against the illnesses suffered by horses, cows and sheep, as well as a dictionary of plants that references their virtues. It was written by Pierre Druon Helle in 1747 as a contribution to the movement of thought and progress in knowledge of animal medicine. Pierre Druon Helle, a horse doctor in Bavay in the North of France who was born around 1700, was also interested in human medicine. The care he took in writing the manuscript and producing the 421 drawings that illustrate it make it a unique piece in the Mucem’s archives.