Odo de Meung's De Viribus Herbarum was one of the most widely known pieces of Fachliteratur in
the latter part of Middle English corroborated on account of the number of translations
hitherto preserved in the different European vernacular languages such as French German and
Danish. In Middle English there are up to nine complete versions of Macer Floridus' rendering
together with a number of fragmentary pieces. Still Glasgow University Library MS Hunter 497
(ff. 1r-92r) is the only English version of the text which remains so far unedited. The present
edition offers the diplomatic transcription of MS Hunter 497 also accompanied by a glossary
notes and introduction. The latter has been conceived as a state of the art of the Hunterian
witness containing the textual transmission of the text a codicological palaeographic
description together with a comprehensive analysis of its linguistic provenance and scribal
practices. Therefore the edition conforms itself as a primary source for research not only in
Historical Linguistics but also in other related fields such as History of Medicine or
Ecdotics.
