Anthimus (450–534)
Born 450 CE, died 534 CE.
Anthimus (Greek: Ἄνθιμος; fl. 511–534) was a Byzantine Greek physician at the court of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great and that of the Frankish king Theuderic I, noted for his authorship of On the Observance of Foods (De observatione ciborum), a valuable source for Late Latin linguistics as well as Byzantine dietetics. Though not a true recipe book, the text includes detailed instructions for making at least one Byzantine specialty (afrutum), using whipped egg whites, and a beef stew using honey, vinegar and spices. Preparations are described in more cursory terms for a number of other foods. Most of the preparations reflect Roman methods (using ingredients such as oxymel and oenomel), but the Frankish love of raw bacon is also cited. The author also specifically references whether specific foods were then available in Theodoric's region (near Metz in Northeastern France). Among other ingredients, the mention of several spices makes it clear that these were available in France long after the fall of Rome and centuries before the Crusades. As a dietetic, the text also addresses the use of foods for selected ailments such as dysentery, diarrhea, dropsy, and fever.
Text from the Wikipedia article Anthimus_(physician), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.