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Catalogue: Medical Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias

al-Kāfī fī ṣinā‘at ṭibb (MS A 25): (What is Sufficient for the Medical Art); كتاب الكافى فى صناعه الطب; by Abū Naṣr ‘Adnān ibn Naṣr al-‘Aynzarbī (d. 1153/548 H); ابو نصر عدنان ابن نصر العينزربى

The general medical manual by ‘Adnān al-‘Aynzarbī, court physician to the Fatimid ruler of Egypt, al-Zafir, who ruled from 1149 to 1154 (544-549 H), consists of three chapters. The first chapter (maqalah) is on general drug therapy and regimen. The second chapter, which is displayed in synoptic chart format, concerns the causes, symptoms and treatment of diseases. The final section is on astrological medicine.

For other copies, see Ullmann, Medizin, p. 161 note 6; GAL, vol. 1, p. 487 (641-2) and GAL-S, vol. 1, p. 890; Hamarneh, "British Library", pp. 130-1; and Savage-Smith, "Bodleian", MS Marsh 475.

al-Kāfī fī ṣinā‘at ṭibb (MS A 25)

Illustrations

Folio 58a from Abū Naṣr ‘Adnān ibn Naṣr al-‘Aynzarbī's al-Kāfī fī ṣinā‘at ṭibb (What is Sufficient for the Medical Art). At the top of the page is a synoptic table displaying information for the treatment of the eye disease called jarab (trachoma). There are notes in the the left and bottom margins. The paper is biscuit-colored, thick, and opaque. The script is a large, clear naskh with nearly full vocalization. Brown ink with some re-inking. Headings in red, with some re-inking.

MS A 25, fol. 58a

A synoptic table displaying information for the treatment of the eye disease called jarab (trachoma). From the book titled What is Sufficient for the Medical Art (al-Kāfī fī ṣinā‘at ṭibb) by the Egyptian court physician al-‘Aynzarbī.

Physical Description

Arabic. 194 leaves (fols. 2b-182b and 183b-195b). Dimensions 24.2 x 17; text area 19.5 x 12.2 cm; 17-21 lines per page (variable). The title al-Kāfī fī ṣinā‘at ṭibb is given near the beginning of the text (fol. 2b, line 2). On the title page (fol. 2a) it is given as Kitāb al-Kāfī fī ṣinā‘at ṭibb. The author's name is given in the text (fol. 2b, lines 2-3) as Abū Naṣr, known as Abū al-‘Aynzarbī.

The copy is nearly complete, but both the beginning and end of the copy has been damaged and lost. The text breaks off abruptly on fol. 195b in the sixth subchapter (fasl) of the third chapter (maqalah). Fols. 2-5 are later replacement leaves. The first chapter (maqalah) occupies fols. 2b-20a; the second chapter begins on fol. 23a, and the third on fol. 183b. Fols. 20b-22a contain a table of contents to the diseases discussed in the second chapter.

The copy is undated. The general appearance of the paper, ink, and script in the bulk of the volume suggests a date of the 13th century. The replacement leaves (fols. 2b-5b) were transcribed, according to a note on fol. 2a, from a manuscript now in (Cairo, Dar al-Kutub MS 495 tibb) which was transcribed in 1717/1128 H.

The script is a large, clear naskh with nearly full vocalization. Brown ink with some re-inking. Headings in red, with some re-inking. The red overlinings have been added later. The second and third chapters have the text enclosed by frames of double red lines. The catchwords were not in the original copy, but were added on some folios by a later reader. The volume was heavily used, for there is copious marginalia in several hands in both Arabic and Persian. There are also some interlinear glosses.

The paper of the main text is biscuit-colored, thick, opaque, with no laid lines or chain lines visible. There is considerable water damage and some grease stains. The edges have been trimmed from their original size, and some folios have been repaired. The paper of the first five folios is blue and much more recent than the rest of the volume.

The volume consists of 195 leaves. Fol. 183a is blank. Folio 1 is the same paper as the replacement leaves and is blank except for a later note by an owner.

Binding

The volume is bound in pasteboards covered with black leather. The covers have block-stamped medallions. The spine and edges are repaired with black leather. There are modern paper pastedowns and endpapers.

References

Schullian/Sommer, p. 305 entry A25; Hamarneh, "NLM", p. 94 and fig. 4.

NLM Microfilm Reel: FILM 48-117 no. 1

Kitāb Bustān al-aṭibbā’ wa-rawḍa al-alibbā’ (MS A 8): (The Garden of the Physicians and the Meadows of the Wise); كتاب بستان الاطباء وروضه الالباء
by Muwaffaq al-Dīn Abū Naṣr As‘ad ibn Ilyās Ibn al-Muṭrān (d. 1191/587); موفق الدين ابو نصر اسعد ابن الياس ابن المطران

The Garden of the Physicians and Meadows of the Wise by the court physician to Saladin in Egypt, Ibn al-Muṭrān, is a medical anthology containing quotations and extracts from a large number of early medical writings, along with comments of his own (preceded by the phrase li, meaning "as for myself"). Virtually every medical topic is addressed in the course of the treatise, with occasional biographical notes about earlier Greek and Arabic physicians.

Only a few other copies of this important treatise are preserved today (one in Tehran and one in Tunis), and little scholarly attention has been given to it. The copy now in Tehran (Malik MS 1048) has been published in facsimile as: Ibn Maṭrān [sic], Bustan al-atibba' wa-rawdat al-alibba' - Facsimile Edition of the Manuscript held at Malik Public Library, with introduction of Mehdi Mohaghegh (Tehran, Center for the Publication of Manuscripts, 1989). see also, F. Rosenthal, "ar-Razi on the Hidden Illness", Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 43 (1969), pp. 45-60, esp. p. 50 note 20; reprinted, Franz Rosenthal, Science and Medicine in Islam: A Collection of Essays (Aldershot: Variorum, 1990) item IX.

Kitāb Bustān al-aṭibbā’ wa-rawḍa al-alibbā’ (MS A 8)

Illustrations

Folios 2b and 3a from Ibn al-Muṭrān's Kitāb Bustān al-aṭibbā’ wa-rawḍa al-alibbā’ (The Garden of the Physicians and the Meadows of the Wise) featuring the opening of the treatise. The biscuit, almost matte-finish paper has sagging and vertical laid lines. The text is written in a medium-small naskh script written in brown ink with headings in brown.

MS A 8, fol. 2b-3a

The opening of Ibn al-Muṭrān's Garden of Physicians and Meadows of the Wise, a medical anthology containing extracts from earlier writings along with Ibn al-Muṭrān's own comments.

Physical Description

Arabic. 186 leaves (fols. 2a-187a). Dimensions 22.2 x 15; text area 17 x 10 cm; 17-19 lines per page. The title is given on the title page (fol. 2a) along with the author's name, Muwaffaq al-Dīn Abū Naṣr As‘ad ibn Ilyās Ibn al-Muṭrān.

A complete copy, in two parts: part 1 occupies fols. 2b-92b, and part 2 fols. 93b-187a.

The copy is undated. The appearance of the paper, ink, and script suggests a date of the 14th century. It must have been completed before 1433/837 H, when an owner's note was placed in it.

The text is written in a medium-small naskh script, with many of the diacritical dots missing. The guttural ha' occasionally has a minuscule letter beneath; the top stroke of the kaf is often missing. Some vocalization has been added later. It is not evident that the text area has been frame-ruled. Brown ink with headings in brown. There are no catchwords. There are marginal corrections and some marginalia in several hands. The volume has been collated, with a collation note on fol. 187a). There are additional miscellaneous notes on fol. 1b and 187. The copy has been recently refoliated.

The biscuit, almost matte-finish paper has sagging and vertical laid lines, with rather indistinct chain lines in alternating groups of 2's and 3's.

The volume consists of 188 leaves. Fols. 1 (except for owner's notes), 93a, 178b, 179a, and 188 are blank.

Binding

The volume is bound in a European library binding of pasteboard covers and envelope flap, covered with red leather. There are modern pastedowns and endpapers.

Provenance

On fol. 2a, on the lower third, there is a nearly illegible owner's note providing the date 837 [= 1433]. Beneath this note is another one written by Muḥammad ibn ‘Umar ibn Abī Bakr al-Jinānī, who on the previous leaf (fol. 1a) had carefully written a seven-line inscription giving the date 10 Muharam 887 [= 20 February 1482]; below this seven-line note is a second owner's note (partially defaced) written in the month of Shawwal 888 [= November 1483].

Also on fol. 2a are four additional owners' notes: one at the top for Muḥammad ibn al-‘Ahari; one at the top left corner for ‘Abd Allāh al-? (now illegible); one written vertically at the right for Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Khaṭayb; and one in the middle of the page that is badly defaced.

The volume was purchased in 1941 by the Army Medical Library from A.S. Yahuda, who acquired it from a dealer near Aleppo (ELS No. 1676).

References

Schullian/Sommer, Cat. of incun. & MSS, p. 299 entry A8.

NLM Microfilm Reel: FILM 66-66 no. 3 and FILM 48-113 no. 1

al-Irshād li-maṣāliḥ al-anfus wa-al-ajsād (MS A 22): (Guidance for the Welfare of Souls and Bodies); الارشاد لمصالح الانفس والاجساد; by Abū al-Makārim Hibat Allāh Ibn Jumay‘ al-Isrā’īlī (d. 1198/594 H); ابو المكارم هبة الله ابن جميع الاسرائيلى

The medical compendium by Ibn Jumay‘ titled al-Irshād li-maṣāliḥ al-anfus wa-al-ajsād (Guidance for the Welfare of Souls and Bodies) was written for al-Baysani, vizier to Saladin, the ruler of Egypt, for whom Ibn Jumay‘ was court physician. Ibn Jumay‘ died in 1198, before completing the treatise, which was then completed by his son Abu Tahir Isma‘il. The treatise is composed of four sections (maqalahs). The first is concerned with the general principles of medicine, the second with materia medica, the third with the treatment of diseases, and the fourth with compound remedies.

For other copies see Ullmann, Medizin, pp. 164 note 3; GAL vol. 1, p. 488 (643) no. 21, and GAL-S, vol. 1, p. 892; and Savage-Smith, "Bodleian", MSS Hunt. 19, Hunt. 177, Hunt. 242, Marsh 106, and Pococke 245.

al-Irshād li-maṣāliḥ al-anfus wa-al-ajsād (MS A 22)

Illustrations

Folio 8a from Ibn Jumay's al-Irshād li-maṣāliḥ al-anfus wa-al-ajsād (Guidance for the Welfare of Souls and Bodies) featuring a schematic drawing of cranial sutures in the middle of the text outlined and highlighting in red ink. The brown, semi-glossy paper has horizontal laid lines. The text is written in a medium-small naskh script written using black ink.

MS A 22, fol. 8a

The end of the 7th and beginning of the 8th subsection (fasl) of the first section (maqalah) of Ibn Jumay‘ al-Isrā’īlī's Guidance for the Welfare of Souls and Bodies. This portion is concerned with anatomy and includes a schematic drawing of cranial sutures. There is a collation note in the margin.

Physical Description

Arabic. 143 leaves. (fols. 1a-143b). Dimensions 22.2 x ca. 14.5 (leaves vary in size; text area 18.5 x 11.5; 25 lines per page. The title is given on the title page (fol. 1a) and again on fol. 1b, line 16, fol. 30b, line 2, and fol. 57b [old 58b], line 2. The author is named on the title page (fol. 1a) as Hibat Allāh. Although only a small part of the author's name is given, the text clearly corrsponds to that written by Ibn Jumay‘ and extant in other copies. On fol. 2b, line 10, the son of Ibn Jumay‘, Isma‘il, who completed the treatise after his father's death, is named.

A nearly complete copy. One folio is missing between fols. 47 and 48 [old 47 and 49]; four folios are missing between fols. 125 and 126 [old 126 and 137]; and one folio between fols. 131 and 132 [old 136-139] is missing. The first section (maqalah) occupies fols. 1b-30a, the second fols. 30b-56b [old 57b], the third fols. 57b-108b [old 58b-109b],and the fourth fols. 109b-143b [old 110b-149b].

No date is legible in the manuscript. The appearance of the paper, ink, and script suggests a date of about 1200; it is possibly the earliest of the preserved copies of this treatise.

The text is written in a medium-small naskh script with some diacritical dots missing. The text area has been frame-ruled. Black ink. The red outlining and highlighting of some of the large black headings and the suture diagrams (fol. 8a) have been added later. Also the red end-line markers on fol. 1b-10a were possibly added later. There are no catchwords except in the second section, where they were added later. There are marginalia in various hands, especially in the second section (maqalah) on materia medica, where comparisons with the Canon on Medicine of Avicenna are given. The volume has been collated and collation notes occur on several folios, including fols. 8a, 17b, 60a and 66a. There are miscellaneous later notes on fols. 1a and 56b [old 57b], with drug recipes on fols. 57a [old 58a] and 108b [old 109b]. On fol. 142a a small strip of recent paper has been pasted over four lines of text, with the four lines written again in a recent hand. Quires of ten folios are numbered in Arabic numerals. The individual folios are also numbered in Arabic numerals; the volume has been renumbered in Western numerals.

The brown, semi-glossy paper has horizontal laid lines, with traces only of chain lines visible on a few leaves. There is some water damage to the paper, and the paper is greatly stained with grime and thumbing. The edges of the leaves have been trimmed from their original size. Some folios have been repaired, and fols. 141-143 are guarded.

The volume consists of 143 leaves. Fol. 57a (except for later recipes) and 109a are blank.

Binding

The volume is bound in a Turkish (?) binding of pasteboard covers and envelope flap covered with dark-brown leather. The covers and envelope flap have gold-tooled medallions (most of the gilt now worn off) and blind tooled borders; the envelope flap has a gilt-tooled ground. The fore-edge also has a blind-tooled overall design. The spine is a modern replacement. There are block-pressed leather doublures and flap lining. There are modern paper endpapers.

Provenance

The volume was purchased in 1941 by the Army Medical Library apparently from A.S. Yahuda. No further information available on provenance.

References

Schullian/Sommer, Cat. of incun. MSS, p., entry A22.

NLM Microfilm Reel: FILM 48-116 no. 4

Kitāb al-Asbāb wa-al-‘alāmāt (MS A 83/I, item 1; MS A 60, item 2): (The Book of Causes and Symptoms); كتاب الاسباب والعلامات; by Abū ḥamid Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī ibn ‘Umar Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 1222/619 H); ابو حامد محمد ابن على ابن عمر نجيب الدين السمرقندى

The large therapeutic encyclopaedia by Najib al-Din al-Samarqandi usually titled simply "Causes and Symptoms" (al-Asbāb wa-al-‘alāmāt) was also known by the fuller title Asbāb al-‘ilal wa-‘alamatuha wa-‘ilajuha (The Causes of Illnesses and their Symptoms and their Treatments). The treatise discusses the causes (asbab), symptoms (‘alamah) and treatment (‘ilaj) of every disease then known, arranged in order from those afflicting the head downward and concluding with a discussion of poisonous substances and insects. The treatise was enormously popular and was the focus of several commentaries, the most well-known one being that by Nafīs ibn ‘Iwāḍ al-Kirmānī. The final section of al-Samarqandī's treatise --- that concerned with antidotes to poisonous substances and insect bites --- often circulated separately and was frequently attached to copies of the commentary by Nafīs ibn ‘Iwāḍ al-Kirmānī, since the latter covered all of al-Samarqandī's treatise except this last section.

For other copies, see A. Z. Iskandar, "A Study of al-Samarqandi's Medical Writings", Le Muséon, vol. 85 (1972), p. 459 note 59; Ullmann, Medizin, p. 170 note 4; Dietrich, Medicinalia Arabica, p. 212; and GAL vol. 1, p. 491 (646) no. 28 and GAL-S, vol. 1, p. 895 no. 28; and Savage-Smith, "Bodleian", MSS Marsh 226 (copied in 1258/656), Marsh 545, item 1, and Ind. Inst. Arab. 18.

Kitāb al-Asbāb wa-al-‘alāmāt (MS A 83/I, item 1)

Illustrations

Folio 5a of MS A 83/I featuring the title page of Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī's Kitāb al-Asbāb wa-al-‘alāmāt (The Book of Causes and Symptoms) with surrounding notes. The thin biscuit paper has a nearly matte-finish. The text is written in a small naskh hand. Black ink with headings in red and red overlinings.

MS A 83, fol. 5a

The title page, with surrounding notes, including the copyist's name Ahmad ibn Safar al-Üsküdari. Elsewhere in the volume it is stated that Aḥmad ibn Ṣafar, a physician of Üsküdar (a suburb of Istanbul) completed the copy in the year 1685/1097 H. From a copy of Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī's medical compendium Causes and Symptoms.

Physical Description

Arabic. 162 leaves (fol. 5a-166b). Dimensions 20.7 x 14.5; text area 14.5 x 8.5; 21 lines per page. The title al-Asbab wa-al-‘alamat is taken from the table of contents (fol. 2a). On the title page (fol. 5a) the title is given in the form (grammatically incorrect): Kitā Asbāb [wa-]‘alāmāt min tibb. The author is given in the text (fol. 5b, lines 4-5) as Najīb al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī ibn ‘Umar al-mutatabbib [the physician] al-Samarqandī. On the title page (fol. 5a) the author is designated as Muḥammad al-Samarqandī.

A complete copy.

The copy was made in 1097 [= 1685-6] by Ahmad ibn Safar "the physician in Uskudar" (al-tabib bi-dar Uskudar), according to the colophon on fol. 166b, lines 15-16. Üskūdar is a suburb of Istanbul. On the title page (fol. 5a) the scribe is named as Aḥmad ibn Ṣafar al-Üsküdāri.

The text is written in a small naskh hand typical of Turkish products. The text area has been frame-ruled. Black ink with headings in red and red overlinings. There are catchwords and red marginal headings. The volume was very heavily used and there are numerous marginalia (often written in different directions), and some interlinear notes, in various hands throughout the treatise.

The thin biscuit paper has a nearly matte-finish; it is watermarked and has visible laid lines and single chain lines. The paper is water damaged and heavily soiled. The edges are damaged and some have been repaired.

The volume consists of 185 leaves and one preliminary folio. Fols. 2b-4a contains a table of contents for the volume bound together with this one; prelim fol. [1] and fols. 1a-2a and 4b contain miscellaneous recipes and notes, mostly in Turkish, in a number of different hands. Fols. 5a-166b are numbered with Arabic numerals 1-162. Throughout item one (fol. 5-166), one or more small loose sheets of paper are tipped in between nearly every folio; between fols. 42 and 43 there is a large sheet nearly the size of the volume itself. These extra sheets are unnumbered and contain miscellaneous notes and recipes, in a variety of hands, mostly in Turkish. Fols. 167a-171a contain an anonymous and untitled treatise on methods of washing (MS A 83/I, item 2). Fols. 171b-179a, and fol. 180a (bottom half) to 185b, contain miscellaneous notes in different hands, mostly in Turkish, on compound remedies (MS A 83/I, item 3). Fols. 179b-180a contain a table of contents for the treatise by al-Īlāqī which is found in the manuscript with which this volume is bound together; this table of contents was written after the two manuscripts were bound into one volume. The front endpaper has very recent recipes and contents notes in Turkish; there is also a penciled note in English on the contents.

Binding

The volume is bound in soft dark-brown leather covers. Macrophotographs of the binding, examined by the University of Cincinnati Leather Industries Research Laboratory, identified the leather as water buffalo or sheep or goat or calf. The binding is not original with the manuscript. There are paper pastedowns and endpapers. Manuscript A 83/I is bound together with a treatise by al-Īlāqī (MS A 83/II).

Provenance

There is an undated owner's stamp on the title page (fol. 5a).

The volume was purchased in 1941 by the Army Medical Library from A.S. Yahuda, who acquired it in Cairo (ELS 2368 Med., former no. 141).

References

Schullian/Sommer, Cat. of incun. & MSS., p. 325 entry A83, item 1-2; Hamarneh, "NLM", p. 100.

NLM Microfilm Reel: FILM 48-148 no. 1

Fī saqy al-summūm (MS A 60, item 2): (On drinking poisons) [final portion of al-Samarqandī's Causes and Symtoms]; فى سقى السموم; by Abū Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī ibn ‘Umar Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 1222/619 H); ابو حامد محمد ابن على ابن عمر نجيب الدين السمرقندى

Physical Description

Arabic. 14 leaves (fols. 594b-607a). Dimensions 18.3 x 10.5; text area 13.5 x 6.5; 19 lines per page. The title Fī saqy al-summūm (On drinking poisons) is given in the first line of text, on fol. 594b. The author is not given, but the item corresponds to the final section of al-Samarqandī's treatise Causes and Symptoms, as found on fols. 154a-166b of NLM MS A 83/I, item 1.

This is a copy of only the final portion of al-Samarqandī's treatise, on antidotes for poisons and poisonous bites. It is appended to a copy of the commentary written on it by Nafīs ibn ‘Iwāḍ al-Kirmānī (MS A 60, item 1). It is written by the same scribe, and although the items have separate colophon, it was intended as an appendix to the commentary. See below for the copy of the commentary. For other manuscripts which append this chapter by al-Samarqandī to the treatise by al-Kirmānī, see A. Z. Iskandar, "A Study of al-Samarqandī's Medical Writings", Le Muséon, vol. 85 (1972), pp. 451-479.

The copy is undated. The appearance of the paper, script, illuminated openings and decorative medallion (in the first part of the volume) suggests a dating of about 1500. It must have been produced before an owner's stamp dated 1082 [= 1671-2] was placed in it.

The text is written in a small and careful naskh script. The text area has been frame-ruled. Dense black ink with headings in red. There are also red overlinings and red marginal section-headings. Throughout the volume the text has been written within frames formed of three black thin lines, two filled with gilt, and an outside blue line. There are some catchwords. There are marginal emendations, some written by the copyist, and a number of glosses throughout (occasionally interlinear), in several hands with some in Persian. The text has also been collated (collation notes on folis 180b, 191b, etc.).

The gray, glossy paper is very thin with wavy laid lines and on some folios traces of irregular chain lines. The paper is slightly grease-stained at the top. The edges have been trimmed from their original size, and folios near the start of the volumes have had edges replaced.

The volume consists of 607 leaves and one unnumbered preliminary leaf. Fol. 1a is blank but for a partially obliterated illuminated medallion and an owner's stamp. Fols. 1b-594a are Nafīs ibn ‘Iwāḍ al-Kirmānī's commentary on al-Samarqandī's treatise The Causes and Symptoms (MS A 60, item 1). Fol. 607b is blank. Fol. 180b has attached to it a small piece of paper (11.2 x 6.5 cm) with a casually written Persian note on it, unrelated to the text; fol. 313b has a similar small piece of paper attached to it.

Binding

The volume is bound in pasteboard covers and envelope flap, covered with black leather; the covers and envelope flap have blind-tooled borders. The spine has been repaired. The doublures are of fairly recent blue, white, and maroon printed paper, repaired with blue cloth tape. There are paper endpapers.

Provenance

An owner's stamp dated 1082 [1671-2] was impressed over the illuminated (partially obliterated) medallion on fol. 1a.

The volume was purchased in 1941 by the Army Medical Library from A.S. Yahuda, who acquired it in Baghdad (ELS 2374 M; former 47).

References

Schullian/Sommer, Cat. of incun. & MSS., p. 317 entry A60; Hamarneh, "NLM", p. 100.

NLM Microfilm Reel: FILM 48-123 no. 7