A New Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford

Volume I: Medicine

Emilie Savage-Smith, FBA

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The first in a new series of modern catalogues of the Bodleian Arabic holdings

A New Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford

Volume I: Medicine

Emilie Savage-Smith, FBA

Description

The Arabic manuscript collection now in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford includes some the oldest and most important scientific and medical medieval manuscripts preserved today. Emilie Savage-Smith describes 377 medical manuscripts representing 242 different treatises. The illustrated catalogue begins with early translations of medical material into Arabic, including a rare illustrated copy made in Baghdad in 1242 of a Greek treatise on medicinal substances. Thereafter, the organisation is by topic, with the entries arranged chronologically within that heading. These include Arabic medical treatises written as early as the ninth century and as recently as the seventeenth century, and in localities as far apart as Spain and Central Asia. Eight concordances and indexes provide guides to the manuscripts through titles, authors, copyists, dates of copies, owners and donors, and shelfmarks, as well as authorities cited and miscellaneous material. The concordances also provide a short guide to the 215 non-medical items that are part of the volumes comprising the medical portion of the Bodleian collection.

A New Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford

Volume I: Medicine

Emilie Savage-Smith, FBA

The Catalogue
1:Translations of Earlier Sources
2:General Medical Manuals
3:Medical Poetry
4:Medical Monographs
5:Therapeutics
6:Dietetics and Regimen
7:Pharmaceutics
8:Prophetic Medicine
9:Plague Tracts
10:Magical-Astrological Medicine
11:Modern Medical Drawings
Appendix I: Concordance of Manuscripts
Appendix II: Concordance by Author
Appendix III: Concordance of Date Manuscripts

A New Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford

Volume I: Medicine

Emilie Savage-Smith, FBA

Author Information

Emilie Savage-Smith, FBA, Professor of the History of Islamic Science (retired), The Oriental Institute, University of Oxford

A New Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford

Volume I: Medicine

Emilie Savage-Smith, FBA

Reviews and Awards

"Savage-Smithâs superb catalogue of the Arabic medical manuscripts at the Bodleian library will be an indispensable research tool for generations of scholars interested in the history of Medieval Arabic medicine and philosophy." - Kamran I. Karimullah, BiOr no. LXXI 3/4

"Emilie Savage-Smith has produced a ground-breaking catalogue that will revolutionize not only our understanding of the pre-modern medical literature in Arabic, but also the approach to cataloguing manuscripts." - Peter E. Pormann, Library & Information History

"In sum, the present Catalogue is as much of a jewel, as many of the precious items it meticulously describes. It is definitely a must-have for the library of every researcher in the history of Arabo-Islamic medicine, but also the codicologist will find within it a bountiful collection of fresh data to harvest and fully exploit. May the future volumes of this projected series of catalogues of the Bodleian's Arabic manuscripts maintain the high standard set by their predecessor." - Theo Loinaz, Suhayl

"This monumental volume will certainly be a major reference work for a long time to come ... Professor Savage-Smith has done the scholarly world a huge service." - Debby Banham, Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature