250 ASTER History; PLATEARIO 
Platearius. Many of the teachers were married and their wives 
and daughters appear among the professors.’’—Renzi believed her 
to be identical with the rival of Rodolf, No. 2. 
THIRD GENERATION 
6. Matreo Piareario II, the Matthaeus Platearius or Plataire 
of botanical citation, lecturer and writer on materia medica, author 
of the works known as Glossae and of the Circa instans, focus and 
center of mediaeval botany ; the latter so called from its first words, 
and also known as Liber de simplici medicina, or De virtutibus her- 
barum or De virtutibus simplicium. He may also have been him- 
selfthe one who expanded his Circa instans into the Compendium 
Salernitanum (or Breslau codex or Liber simplicium medicinarum), 
if that differ from the Compendium written by Salernus (see p. 224). 
He flourished 1130-1160, Renzi, who nevertheless regarded 
him as son of one of the generation which flourished 1070-1090; 
which seems unduly remote. Meyer (3 : 507) was probably right 
in claiming that his activity extended “not far into the middle of 
the century.” If born c. 1070, writing his Czrca imstans c. 1139, 
and then his Glossae, and if he was lecturing on in venerable and 
still inspiring and powerful age at about 1140 or possibly even to 
1150, the few discovered facts of his life may be understood ; in- 
cluding Matteo’s known juniority to Nicolaus Praepositus (writing 
¢. 1110) and to Constantinus Africanus (who died c. 1100, and 
whem Matteo calls “of recent memory”); and the fact that 
Aegidius of Corbeil, who lived till 1200, says he had instruc- 
tion at Salerno from Matteo (perhaps about 1140), which put its 
stamp upon him for his whole life, and to the impressiveness of 
which he doubtless referred in his line: 
Mysticus erumpit verborum vortice sensus. 
This Matteo II was doubtless the Platearius * who was cured 
of dysuria by use of the plant Strucium (Jmperatoria ? ; see Pp. 264) 
uta ruculus 
Domian Platearius says of this cure, 
e Secres, the 
; ; 
(se, avunculus) txducet, or, ‘as my mother’s brother remarks,”’ a 
French translation from the last, written in 1458, but only recently made known es 
world, says, “en ceste maniere fut gary le maistre qui fist cel iure.”’ 
