[Shabbetay Donnolo's medical work]

Shabbetay ben Abraham, called Donnolo, of Oria in Puglia (913 - post 982), is best known as a doctor. His Sefer-ha-mirqahot (the book of mixtures), often called Sefer-ha-yaqar (The precious book), containing directions for preparing medicinal roots, is based upon Greek medicine and is not only the oldest European Hebrew medical work but also the earliest medical book written in Italy (and probably in any Christian land of the West) in any language after the fall of the Roman Empire, and thus has a singular importance. After describing the preparation of the various herbs for medicinal purposes, Donnolo goes on to give prescriptions for relieving constipation, the hardening of the arteries, and rheumatic pains. Some one hundred and twenty names of medicinal plants and minerals occur in the course of this work.