Description
Book SynopsisHerbals - collections describing plants used for medicinal purposes - were among the ancient and medieval world''s most valued scientific texts, synthesizing a vast treasury of medical learning to facilitate scientific edification for scholar, bibliophiles, or practical consultation by physicians. Abu Ja?far al-Ghafiqi (d. ca. 1165 CE) lived in the Arab-Islamic zone of the southern Iberian peninsula called al-Andalus, a land of many cultures, religions, and languages. His Herbal reflects the diverse milieu in which he lived, drawing from ancient Greek sources like Dioscorides and Galen as well as over thirty other works from India as well as the Hellenistic and Islamic worlds. The manuscript reproduced in this edition was purchased in 1912 by Sir William Osler and is now housed in the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University. It has entries for herbal, mineral, and animal-derived drugs, illustrated by almost 400 coloured, hand-drawn images of plants and animals. A
