Materia Medica

Compound Medicines

Electuaries, pills, troches, syrups, oxymels, and the great antidotes, theriac and mithridate: the made medicines of the Galenic pharmacopoeia.

48 entries · An introduction to Galenic pharmacy

Apples, syrup of, plate: Apple
CompoundApples, syrup ofSiroppo di pomi A syrup of sweet apples.Canale
Armenian stone, pills of, plate: Azurite, Burra Mine, South Australia
CompoundArmenian stone, pills ofPillole di lapide armeno Lapis armenus, azurite, a blue copper carbonate.CanaleCaution
CompoundAurum potabileDrinkable gold Gold dissolved or suspended in liquid for drinking.
Caraway broth (Carum carvi), plate: Caraway
CompoundCaraway brothBrodo di carvi A broth of caraway seed, Carum carvi.Canale
CompoundCarmelite waterEau de mélisse des Carmes Lemon balm, with lemon peel, nutmeg, coriander, and angelica, distilled in spirit.
Cochia pills, plate: Scammony
CompoundCochia pillsPilulae Cochiae A standard purgative pill of aloes, scammony, and colocynth, given in the old pharmacopoeias under the names of Mesue, Rhazes, and Nicolaus Myrepsus. The 1674 printing reads “le occhie”; the 1660 printing reads “le cochie,” which confirms the identification (note XXXIV).CanaleCaution
Compound fumitory (Fumaria officinalis), plate: Fumitory
CompoundCompound fumitoryFumoterra composta A syrup or compound of fumitory, Fumaria officinalis, with other herbs.Canale
CompoundConfection of alkermesConfectio alkermes A cordial confection colored with kermes, with apple juice, rose water, sugar, ambergris, and gold.
CompoundConfection of hyacinthConfectio de hyacintho A cordial electuary of powdered jacinth, sapphire, emerald, and other stones, with coral, pearls, and gold.
Cordial flowers and fruits, plate: Bugloss
CompoundCordial flowers and fruitsFiori e frutti cordiali A standard apothecary decoction of “heart-strengthening” flowers (usually borage, bugloss, violet, rose) and fruits (in the London College’s decoction of flowers and fruits, figs, prunes, jujubes, and tamarinds).Canale
Cyprus powder, plate: Oak moss (fig
CompoundCyprus powderPolvere di Cipro Poudre de Chypre, a perfumed toilet powder.Canale
Diacatholicon, plate: Albarello for diacatholicon, Italy, 17th century
CompoundDiacatholicon A “universal” purgative electuary of the old apothecary, based on senna, rhubarb, cassia, and tamarind with various seeds.Canale
Diamoschu, sweet, plate: Musk deer
CompoundDiamoschu, sweetDiamoscho dolce A cordial powder of musk with saffron, aloeswood, coral, pearls, and spices.Canale
Diaphenicon, plate: Date palm
CompoundDiaphenicon A purgative electuary of dates, with turpeth, scammony, and spices.Canale
CompoundDiascordiumDiascordium Fracastorii A confection of water germander with opium, cinnamon, bole, and other drugs.Caution
Diatrion piperion, plate: Black pepper
CompoundDiatrion piperionDiatrion pipereon A warming powder of the three peppers, with aniseed and ginger.Canale
CompoundDover’s powderPulvis ipecacuanhae compositus; pulvis Doveri Ipecacuanha and opium, with salts, in a powder.
Foetid pills, plate: Sagapenum resin
CompoundFoetid pillsPillole fetide Pilulae foetidae, named for their stench, made with foul-smelling gum resins such as sagapenum and ammoniacum, together with aloes, colocynth, scammony, and other drastic purgatives.CanaleCaution
CompoundFriar’s balsamCompound tincture of benzoin; balsamum traumaticum Benzoin, storax, balsam of tolu, and aloes, in spirit.
Gallia moschata, plate: Pomander, Germany, 16th century
CompoundGallia moschataGallia muscata A named compound perfume of the apothecary, made into troches of aloeswood, ambergris, and musk. The Antidotarium Nicolai gives a different confectio gallie muscate, of mastic, gum, and camphor with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and musk.Canale
Golden pills, plate: Drug jar and pill tile, Lambeth delftware
CompoundGolden pillsPillole auree Pilulae aureae, a standard compound of aloes, scammony, and colocynth.CanaleCaution
Hamech, confection of, plate: Myrobalan
CompoundHamech, confection ofConfettione Hamech A purgative confection containing myrobalans, senna, polypody, and colocynth, among many other purgatives.Canale
Hiera of Pacchius, plate: Colocynth
CompoundHiera of PacchiusHiera Pacchii A bitter purgative compound, the “holy antidote” of Paccius Antiochus, a pupil of Philonides of Catina; Scribonius Largus recorded it after the recipe reached Tiberius Caesar on Paccius’s death, and says some called it picra, because it is bitter, and others diacolocynthidos. It has no aloes, unlike Hiera picra.CanaleCaution
CompoundHiera picra“The holy bitter” A compound purge of aloes with cinnamon, mastic, saffron, and other aromatics.Caution
Hiera with agaric (Laricifomes officinalis), plate: Pharmacy jar for hiera picra
CompoundHiera with agaricHiera cum agarico Hiera picra, the bitter aloes compound, with added larch agaric (Laricifomes officinalis, syn. Fomitopsis officinalis, a polypore that grows on larch).Canale
CompoundHungary waterAqua Hungarica Bateana, renamed spiritus rorismarini in 1746 Fresh rosemary tops in flower, steeped in spirit of wine and distilled.
Indian and Arabian pills, plate: Aloe
CompoundIndian and Arabian pillsPillole inde et arabiche Two named compound pills of the Arabic-Latin tradition: the Indian pills (from Mesue, after Haly), with black hellebore, myrobalans, and colocynth; the Arabian pills (from Nicolaus), with aloes, bryony, and scammony.Canale
Indian electuary, greater and lesser, plate: Turpeth, Operculina turpethum
CompoundIndian electuary, greater and lesserElettuario indo Two purgative electuaries of Mesue, the greater and the lesser.Canale
CompoundJames’s powderDr. James’s fever powder A patent powder of antimony and calcined bone, secret in its making.Caution
Lapis lazuli, pills of, plate: Lapis lazuli, National Museum of Natural History, Washington
CompoundLapis lazuli, pills ofPillole di lapide lazuli The blue stone lapis lazuli, finely powdered, compounded in pills with scammony, black hellebore, and agaric.CanaleCaution
CompoundLaudanumSydenham’s laudanum A tincture of opium in wine, with saffron, cinnamon, and cloves.Deadly
Lenitive electuary, plate: Senna
CompoundLenitive electuaryElettuario lenitivo A mild compound laxative paste of the Galenic pharmacopoeia, typically of senna, polypody, tamarind, cassia pulp, prunes, raisins, and violets, made up with sugar.Canale
Marking-nut electuary (Semecarpus anacardium), plate: Marking nut
CompoundMarking-nut electuaryMel anacardinum An electuary of the marking nut, Semecarpus anacardium (note XLIV).CanaleCaution
Mithridate, plate: Drug jar for mithridate, Annibale Fontana, Milan, 1580–90.
CompoundMithridateMitridato The antidote attributed by legend to Mithridates VI of Pontus, the forerunner of theriac.Canale
CompoundNepentheGreek nēpenthes, “no-sorrow” Unidentified; opium is the favorite guess.
Oil of bricks, plate: Alembic with beak
CompoundOil of bricksOglio de lateribus Oleum latericium philosophorum, “philosophers’ oil,” made by quenching red-hot brick in oil, powdering it, and distilling it.Canale
Olive oil and holy water, plate: Olive
CompoundOlive oil and holy waterOglio d’oliva; acqua santa Fine olive oil; water blessed by the Church.Canale
Oxymel, and oxymel of squill, plate: Squill
CompoundOxymel, and oxymel of squillOssimele; ossimele scillitico Honey boiled with vinegar; the squill version adds the bulb of sea squill.Canale
CompoundParegoricElixir paregoricum; camphorated tincture of opium Opium, camphor, benzoic acid, and anise oil in spirit.
Passarino’s white powder, plate: The alchemist’s laboratory
CompoundPassarino’s white powder A very white powder prepared in Brescia “with great mastery” by Signor Giovanni Antonio Passarino, a man skilled in the spagyric (chemical) art (note XXXIX). Canale does not give its composition; it makes one vomit and purge, and he names it just after advising that well-prepared antimony is safer than hellebore, but what it was is not recorded.Canale
Polypody of mercurialis, syrup of (Polypodium vulgare), plate: Polypody
CompoundPolypody of mercurialis, syrup ofPolipodio del Mercuriale A syrup of polypody fern root (Polypodium vulgare), named in Canale the syrup of polypody “del Mercuriale,” perhaps with annual mercury (Mercurialis annua).CanaleCaution
CompoundPomanderPomme d’ambre, “apple of amber” A ball of fragrant paste, of ambergris, musk, civet, and spices, carried in a pierced case.
Rosemary rice water, plate: Rosmarinus officinalis (Gebräuchlicher Rosmarin)
CompoundRosemary rice waterFermented rice water with rosemary; a rice-wash rinse; Oryza sativa and Rosmarinus officinalis in water A rinse for the hair and the skin made in the kitchen: the cloudy water from rinsing rice, with sprigs of rosemary in it, left to stand a day or two until it turns faintly sour, then strained.
Sorrel, syrup of, plate: Sorrel
CompoundSorrel, syrup ofSiroppo acetoso Probably the syrupus acetosus of the pharmacopoeias, syrup of vinegar, which the London Dispensatory gives to prepare the stomach for a vomit; the name could also mean a syrup of sorrel, Rumex acetosa, which the College made like the other sour syrups.Canale
Species Pleris Archonticon, plate: Albarello, Italy, 1520–80
CompoundSpecies Pleris Archonticon A named compound powder of the apothecary, of aromatics such as cinnamon, cloves, aloeswood, and spikenard, with red coral and musk (note XL).Canale
Theriac, plate: Drug jar for theriac, Italy, 18th century
Compound TheriacTeriaca The great compound antidote of antiquity, with about sixty ingredients in Galen’s formulation, including viper flesh and opium; Venice was a celebrated center of its manufacture.Canale
CompoundVinegar of the four thievesFour Thieves’ Vinegar Vinegar steeped with herbs and garlic: in Gattefossé’s recipe, as Garcia gives it, angelica, camphor, cloves, garlic, marjoram, meadowsweet, wormwood, and sage. Grieve calls garlic its principal ingredient.
CompoundWeapon-salveUnguentum armarium; the powder of sympathy An ointment, with moss from a dead man’s skull, human fat, blood, and other ingredients, applied to the weapon that caused a wound.

Historical description, not medical advice.