The Alphabet of Galen: Pharmacy from Antiquity to the Middle Ages

476 Pages·2012·2.74 MB·English

by  Nicholas Everett

The Alphabet of Galen.
Pharmacy from Antiquity to the Middle Ages
The Alphabet of Galen is a critical edition and English translation of a
text describing, in alphabetical order, nearly three hundred natural prod-
ucts – including metals, aromatics, animal materials, and herbs – and their
medicinal uses. A Latin translation of earlier Greek writings on pharmacy
that have not survived, it circulated among collections of ‘authorities’ on
medicine, including Hippocrates, Galen of Pergamun, Soranus, and Ps.
Apuleius.
This work presents interesting linguistic features, including otherwise
unattested Greek and Latin technical terms and unique pharmacologi-
cal descriptions. Nicholas Everett provides a window onto the medieval
translation of ancient science and medieval conceptions of pharmacy. With
a comprehensive scholarly apparatus and a contextual introduction, The
Alphabet of Galen is a major resource for understanding the richness and
diversity of medical history.
nicholas everett is an associate professor in the Department of History
at the University of Toronto.
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The Alphabet of Galen.
Pharmacy from Antiquity to
the Middle Ages
A Critical Edition of the Latin Text
with English Translation and
Commentary by
NicHoLAS EvErETT
UNivErSiTy of ToroNTo PrESS
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 2012
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
Printed in canada
iSBN 978-0-8020-9812-2 (cloth)
iSBN 978-0-8020-9550-3 (paper)
Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper with
vegetable-based inks.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Everett, Nicholas
The Alphabet of Galen : pharmacy from antiquity to the Middle Ages : a critical
edition of the Latin text with English translation and commentary / by Nicholas Everett.
includes bibliographical references and index.
iSBN 978-0-8020-9812-2 (bound). – iSBN 978-0-8020-9550-3 (pbk.)
1. Materia medica – Early works to 1800. 2. Medicine, Greek and roman – Early works
to 1800. 3. Pharmacy – Early works to 1800. 4. Alfabetum Galieni – criticism and
interpretation. 5. Alfabetum Galieni – Translations into Latin. 6. Alfabetum
Galieni – Translations into English. i. Title.
rS79.E94 2012 615.1 c2011-908386-8
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the canadian
federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly
Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and
Humanities research council of canada.
University of Toronto Press gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the centre
for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto in the publication of this book.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program
of the canada council for the Arts and the ontario Arts council.

University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of
canada through the canada Book fund for its publishing activities.
For Anna-Sophia and Elias
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contents

List of Plates xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Signs, Symbols, and Abbreviations xvii
The Identification of Plants xix
Warning xxi
1 Introduction to the Alphabet of Galen 3
A introduction 3
B character of the AG and its Date of composition 5
c The History of the AG 9
D The Prologue and Epilogue 12
E The Liber de dynamidiis 18
f A road through ravenna? 21
G Self-Medicating in Late Antiquity 26
H Evaluating the AG’s Pharmacy 28
i Evaluating the AG’s Botany 31
J conclusion 32
2 Pharmacology 36
A introduction 36
B Natural Products and Pharmacy 36
c Sensory Perception 40
D Drug ‘Properties’ 45
E four Main Properties, implicit Theory, and Greek cosmology 48
f Uis vs uirtus 52
G Humour, Bile, and Phlegm 55
viii contents
H Explicit Theorizing in the AG 57
i The ‘Doctrine of Signatures’ and the Absence of Magic in the AG 59
J Non-Medical Uses 61
K conclusion 62
3 Sources Compared and Lost 64
A introduction 64
B Dioscorides 64
c Pliny 69
D Sextius Niger: The Possibility 70
E other Lost Sources Bc to AD 74
f Two Linguistic Echoes: The Diaeta Theodori and Ps. Apuleius 78
G conclusion 81
H The Comparanda: An apparatus comparationum 82
4 Language, Latinity, and Translation 84
A introduction: Language and Dating the AG 84
B Grammar 85
c vocabulary 88
D Uiscidus and uiscide 92
E The -aster / -astrum Suffix 96
f Greek in the AG 103
G conclusion 106
H Difficulties of Terminology and Translation 107
i Neologisms and rare Words 112
5 Manuscripts 116
A overview and Editorial Principles 116
B variants 119
c Manuscripts 120
D The Editio princeps 134
Alphabetum Galieni (Latin Text) / The Alphabet of Galen
(English translation) 137
Bibliography 383
Index 419
A Plants and Plant Products 419
B Minerals and Mineral Products 427
contents ix
c Animals and Animal Products 430
D Places and Place-Names 431
E Medical 433
f General 438
G interesting or rare Words (see also ch. 4.i) 440
H Materia medica (General) 442