German as the language of late medieval and early modern medical texts Contents and Index as an aid to orientation in late medieval medical manuscripts

In the late Middle Ages, German became increasingly widespread as a language of medicine. Although most German medical texts of the time were instructional works, aimed mainly at practitioners without an academic background, they also contain lists of contents and index sections - i.e. elements of textual 'signposting'' which have since become an integral part of modern specialist texts. These means of textual optimization differ considerably from those used in modern texts; however, the existence of such features shows that the authors were thinking of their readers and attempting to facilitate their reception of specialist knowledge.