Bartholomew the Englishman

On the Brain

Introduction by Juris Lidaka

Bartholomew says: "The brain, as Constantius says in the Pantegni book 2, chapter 11, is a white body, and it is without blood, which has much spirit and much marrow. It is divided into three chambers. It is the beginning of all of the nerves of the body. It is secured below two protective layers, named the tender and the hard mother. It is placed in the top of the head, as this is the most distinguished part of the body. Moreover, the brain is naturally white,  so that it is a ready place for receiving the likeness of any body. It has much spirit, with the result that there is much motion in it. And it also has much marrow, so that the high heat generated from its motion may be tempered. But it has only a little blood, so that it is not stained by its color, for this would make all apprehensions seem red. Therefore it is also moist without blood, so that it can swiftly be altered in its nature for the purpose of perception. So says Constantius.  There is however a distinction between the three chambers of the brain, because the brain has three cavities, which are called ventricles by scientists. In the front chamber or ventricle the imagination is shaped, in the middle, reason, and in the back, memory and recollection."

Original Latin