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History Medieval

The Alphabet of Galen

Pharmacy from Antiquity to the Middle Ages

by (author) Nicholas Everett

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
May 2012
Category
Medieval, History
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802098122
    Publish Date
    May 2012
    List Price
    $124.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802095503
    Publish Date
    May 2012
    List Price
    $56.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442664906
    Publish Date
    May 2012
    List Price
    $128.00

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Description

The Alphabet of Galen is a critical edition and English translation of a text
describing, in alphabetical order, nearly three hundred natural products - 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 pharmacological
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.

About the author

Nicholas Everett is an associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Toronto.

Nicholas Everett's profile page