The Reception of Galen in Hebrew Medieval Scientific Writings

Abstract

The development of science in medieval Jewish cultures has received significant attention over the last few decades. Much research has been carried out, and many discoveries made since ElinorLieber published her pioneering study on the transmission of Galen’s works in the medieval Islamic world. This contribution presents a brief overview of the current state of the art on the reception of Galenicas well as pseudo-Galenic texts and ideas in the Hebrew scientific corpus with a view toward better understanding how they were transmitted and used in Hebrew and other languages by Western Jews at various times during the Middle Ages. The focus here isonthe consumption of Galenicworks and ideas through quotationsand the translation of Galenic and pseudo-Galenic works into Hebrew.