Donkey milk knowledge archive · Historical source

Zedler’s Universal-Lexicon (1732): donkey milk in the article “Asinus”

In the second volume of his Universal-Lexicon, Johann Heinrich Zedler described donkey milk in 1732 as “purer, lighter and easier to digest” than other milk and gave quantities, additions and uses. A comparison shows that the core of the text was taken almost word for word from Lémery’s Materialien-Lexicon of 1721.

Historical account: The information reproduced here reflects the knowledge of its time. It is not scientifically substantiated, is not a recommendation and cannot be applied to today. Donkey milk is a food, not a remedy.
1732Halle and LeipzigEncyclopaedia (dictionary article)
Author
Johann Heinrich Zedler (publisher, 1706–1751); author of the article not named
Work
Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschafften und Künste, vol. 2 (An–Az)
Passage
Article “Asinus”, cols. 1850–1851 (Halle and Leipzig 1732); donkey milk in col. 1851
Time & place
1732 · Halle and Leipzig
Type of source
Encyclopaedia (dictionary article)

In the original words

What the original says

Die Esels-Milch führet nicht so gar viel Käse und Butter, als wie andere Milch; dahero sie auch viel lauterer, leichter und besser zu verdauen ist.

Donkey milk does not carry as much cheese and butter as other milk; it is therefore much purer, lighter and easier to digest.

German (18th century)Zedler, Universal-Lexicon, Bd. 2 (1732), Art. „Asinus“, Sp. 1851

wenn man eine Zeit lang, täglich etwan ein halb Nössel, mit Hinzuthuung eines Löffels voll Zuckers, oder Honigs ꝛc. warm geniesset

if for a time one takes about half a Nössel of it daily, warm, with the addition of a spoonful of sugar or honey etc.

German (18th century)Zedler, Universal-Lexicon, Bd. 2 (1732), Art. „Asinus“, Sp. 1851

Macht, damit gewaschen, eine schöne, zarte Haut

Washed with it, it makes [according to Zedler] a fine, delicate skin.

German (18th century)Zedler, Universal-Lexicon, Bd. 2 (1732), Art. „Asinus“, Sp. 1851

English rendering: our own translation by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team, following the sense of the text.

Background

Who, when, what kind of text

Zedler’s “Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon” appeared in Halle and Leipzig from 1732 and grew by 1754 to 64 volumes plus four supplements. It is regarded as the largest German-language reference work of the 18th century. Its articles were written by mostly anonymous contributors, and many were taken over from older dictionaries. It is numbered by columns, two to a printed page.

The lexicon has no separate headword “Esels-Milch”. The article “Esel” in volume 8 explicitly refers readers, for “properties and uses”, back to “Asinus Tom. II. p. 1850”. There, in the Latin-headed article of the second volume of 1732, is the section on the milk of the she-ass, embedded between notes on the animal’s keeping, meat, blood and hooves.

Content

What the source reports about donkey milk

After describing the ass’s build, fodder and lifespan, the article turns to its uses. Donkey milk, it says, carries “not so much cheese and butter” as other milk and is therefore “purer, lighter and easier to digest”. A long list of contemporary uses follows, from the chest to gout and burning on passing water.

As a way of taking it, Zedler gives about “half a Nössel” daily for a time, warm, with a spoonful of sugar or honey, avoiding anything sour. He cites Galen, who is said to have restored an “almost wasted youth” in this way. Externally, the milk “washed with” makes “a fine, delicate skin”; it is also recommended for rinsing the mouth.

A comparison with Lémery’s Materialien-Lexicon (German edition 1721) shows how the text was made: the description of the animal and the first part on the milk match almost word for word. The quantity, the Galen example, skin care and mouth rinsing are missing there; they were added for Zedler.

At a glance

Figures & facts from the source

1732year of publication of volume 2 (An–Az)
col. 1851section on donkey milk in the article “Asinus”
½ Nösselsuggested daily amount, warm, with sugar or honey
1721Lémery’s Materialien-Lexicon as an almost identical model
64 + 4volumes and supplement volumes of the lexicon in total

Critical assessment

How reliable is this source?

Source value

The original print can be consulted column by column as a scan from the Bavarian State Library; the title page and the year 1732 were checked in the digital copy. The article has no known author and is partly copied from Lémery.

Compilation, not observation

Zedler gathers knowledge but does not test it. The same article contains recipes using ass’s blood and hooves, for example against “frenzy”. The milk passage is therefore evidence of the materia medica of its day, not the result of any investigation.

Today’s assessment

The remedies listed reflect the knowledge of the early 18th century and cannot be applied to today. Noteworthy is the reference to external use for skin care, which already stood alongside internal use at the time.

Our assessment

Zedler’s article shows how knowledge about donkey milk travelled in the 18th century: from Lémery’s French drug dictionary via its German translation into the largest German encyclopaedia. We particularly like the early mention of the milk as a wash for “delicate skin”.

References

Sources to check

More sources and studies in the research archive. Summarised by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team, as of November 2026.