Ibn al-Jazzar`s Zad al-Musafir and Constantinus Africanus` latin version Viaticum Peregrinantis : a comparative study

Abstract

This study entails a comparative analysis of an Arabic medical handbook, Zād almusāfir wa-qūt al-ÍāÌir (Provisions for the traveler and sustenance for the sedentary), written by Ibn al-Jazzār of Qayrawān (d. 369/979-80), and its Latin translation, Viaticum peregrinantis, authored by Constantinus Africanus (d. ca. 483/1090). The Latin version was introduced into a different intellectual environment than the Arabic original, and the text is examined for the changes that it underwent in order to suit the needs of its Latin readers. The textual analysis of the Latin translation shows that it remains very close to the Arabic original in terms of structure and contents, yet differs in terms of length and identification of sources. The Viaticum was designed as a concise textbook for the medical school of Salerno and only conveyed the factual contents of the original work. References to contemporary Arabic sources are omitted whilst references from the Greek and Hellenistic traditions are preferred in order to ensure its acceptance in Latin medical circles. The author then explores the place of the Viaticum in Latin medieval medicine as taught at medical faculties during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The popularity the Viaticum enjoyed remained limited to French medical circles, as documented in a number of commentaries written upon it up to the fourteenth century. The majority of Constantinus Africanus’ translations including the Viaticum have remained unpublished. Critical editions of his works are necessary to provide a firm ground for an adequate appraisal of his role as a transmitter of Islamic-Arabic medicine to the West.