PROBLEMS OF AUTHORSHIP IN THE MEDIEVAL LATIN TRANSLATION OF BOOK VI OF GALEN’S DE SIMPL. MED. FAC.

Abstract

In the Medieval Occident there were not much Latin versions of scientific Greek works until the 12th century, when scientific translation was truly born. At this time, Gerard of Cremona, one of the most important personalities of the Toledo School of Translators, translated the eleven books of Galen’s pharmacological work De simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus i-v/vi from Arabic into Latin. The study of this treatise has always been quite difficult due to the complexity in the transmission of the text and the scarce information about the translations of medical texts made by Gerard. Book vi is the most problematic regarding its authorship, given that it is only preserved in 5 manuscripts (55 for books i-v) and without the signature of the translator.

The aim of this article is to defend Gerard’s authorship of book vi by means of its study and comparison to the other books, already attributed to him. The result will show that, in fact, the translator is the same and that book vi was published afterwards.