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In the translator's workshop

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Vagelpohl, Uwe. (2011) In the translator's workshop. Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, Vol.21 (No.2). pp. 249-288. ISSN 0957-4239

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0957423911000038

Abstract

Hunayn ibn Ishaq's Arabic translation of Galen's commentary on the Hippocratic Epidemics is an invaluable source for our knowledge of Galenic medicine and its transmission history, not least because much of it is extant only in Arabic. Its importance for the Arabic medical tradition is amply attested in the later medical literature. It also tells us much about the methods and self-image of contemporary translators. Throughout the translation, we find remarks by Hunayn discussing the quality of his source text, his own interpretation and also his attempts to reconstruct problematic or damaged passages. Based on an edition of these notes, their analysis and comparison to similar texts and Galen's own thought on editing and interpreting difficult medical texts, this article aims to situate Hunayn's methods in the context of the Greek-Arabic translation movement. It argues that his approach differs in important respects from that of preceding Greek-Arabic and Greek-Syriac translators and that he was indebted to Galen not just as a physician, but also as a translator and exegete.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PA Classical philology R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > Classics and Ancient History
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Greek literature -- Translations into Arabic -- History and criticism, Hippocrates. Epidemics -- Criticism and interpretation, Galen. In Hippocratis Epidemiarum -- Translations into Arabic -- History and criticism, Medicine -- History -- To 1500
Journal or Publication Title:	Arabic Sciences and Philosophy
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0957-4239
Date:	1 September 2011
Volume:	Vol.21
Number:	No.2
Page Range:	pp. 249-288
Identification Number:	10.1017/S0957423911000038
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/38436