The Materia Mediçinal de la Nueua España by Fray Francisco Ximénez: reappropriation and resignification of novohispanic medical knowledge

The manuscript Materia Mediçinal de la Nueua España, kept in the Library of the Complutense University of Madrid, is an essential source for knowledge on the configuration of novohispanic medicine within the development of Iberian science. This work is identified as the first translation of De Materia Medica Nouæ Hispaniæ (1582), carried out by Fr. Francisco Ximénez in around 1614 and the basis for his subsequent publication in 1615 of Qvatro libros de la Natvraleza y virtvdes de las plantas y animals (Four Books on Nature and the virtues of plants and animals) (1615). Comparative analysis of this manuscript reveals the importance of the back translation of the works of Dr. Francisco Hernández as a reappropriation and reintegration of the original medical practices in New Spain, aimed at endowing them with local prestige and significance. It reaffirms the autochthonous character of these practices and the autonomy of the region as a scientific center in Hispanic Atlantic world.