Two Latin works of considerable length which were known to the Anglo-Saxons from fairly early times – the Herbarium of Pseudo-Apuleius and its associated works (the Herbarium complex or Herbarium, for short) and the Petrocellus – were eventually translated into Old English, the latter only in part and at a very late date.

HERBARIUM COMPLEX

The Herbarium complex contains several works: a group of works giving medicines derived from plants, followed by other, shorter, ones giving medicines derived from animals. The Old English translation of this complex must have met a real need; four copies survive, one of them (London, BL, Harley 6258B, of about 1200) having the herbs arranged in alphabetical order according to their Latin names. There is also evidence that the Latin version was known in England from the eighth century and probably earlier. The oldest surviving manuscript (BL, Harley 585, which also contains Lacnunga) was written about 1000, so that the text may be as much as a century later than Bald's Leechbook, but, as the language shows the characteristics of West Saxon, the translation may belong to the same school which produced the Leechbook.