[Notes on a medieval apothecary : Ernulf, a spice merchant from Rennes during the XIIIth Century]

The recent publication of the cartulary of Saint-Melaine abbey in Rennes allowed to deepen our knowledge of the city of Rennes and of the entire region of Upper Brittany. Amidst the hundreds of people’s names that were conserved, appears that of Ernulf, piperarius, that we can translate by “pepper” and that we can connect by extension to the world of pharmacists. By chance, the preservation of Middle Ages sources enables us to find his trace in documents from Brittany but also from Anjou. Although it remains impossible to write his biography, the mention of Ernulf in several medieval texts enables us to assess our knowledge on health in Brittany during the Middle Ages. Most of all, these medieval acts quote the oldest “ pharmacist” known in the Breton peninsula.