CONSTANTINE THE AFRICAN’S LIBER PANTEGNI
TRANSMISSION OF GREEK MEDICAL TRADITION TO THE LATIN WEST
VIA BYZANTIUM AND THE ARABIC WORLD
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, June 4–6, 2009
An Interdisciplinary Symposium sponsored by
The Academia Europaea and The Gyllenberg Foundation
(Organizers: Matti Haltia and Heikki Solin)
The tradition of classical Greek medicine reached medieval Europe largely through
Latin translations of Greek and Arabic medical literature. The Arabs had been
exposed to Greek medical culture preserved in the lands conquered from the
Byzantine Empire. The first wave of such translations was connected with the Salerno
School of medicine and its central figure Constantine the African. He moved from
North Africa to Southern Italy at around 1070 and worked at the Benedictine
monastery of Montecassino until his death (before 1098/9). The most influential of his
many works was Liber Pantegni, based on the famous book al-Kitab al-Malaki of the
Persian physician Haly Abbas. Liber Pantegni was the first comprehensive treatise of
medical science in the Latin language and rapidly became the leading textbook of
medicine at the first European universities. Despite its pivotal role in the early
development of European medicine, no modern editions or translations of Liber
Pantegni into any modern language exist.
Our symposium is prompted by a manuscript on parchment in the
collections of the National Library of Finland, which turned out to be one of the
earliest preserved manuscripts of Theorica Pantegni (the important theoretical part of
Liber Pantegni), written in Northern Germany during the late twelfth century. Work
is now in progress with the aim of producing a modern Latin edition and English
translation of Constantine the African’s famous treatise. Scholars from various
disciplines are invited to join the symposium to discuss the problems connected with
the transmission of the Greek medical tradition to the medieval Latin West , with
particular emphasis on the role of Constantine and his Liber Pantegni in this process.
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2009 (7.30 PM-)
Welcome Reception at the Villa Gyllenberg, hosted by the Gyllenberg Foundation
Venue: Villa Gyllenberg (address: Kuusisaarenpolku 11, Helsinki)
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2009 (9.30 AM – 4.30 PM)
The Greek Medical Tradition and Its Transmission to the Latin West
Venue: Unioninkadun Juhlahuoneistot (address: Unioninkatu 33, Helsinki)
Heinrich von Staden (Princeton):
Hellenistic Medicine: Reception, Transmission, and Loss
Vivian Nutton (London):
Galen and Roman Medicine, or Can a Greek Become a Latin?
Brigitte Mondrain (Paris):
La médecine à Byzance à la lumière des manuscrits: transmission et lecture des
œuvres de l’Antiquité, étude de textes traduits et créations
Gotthard Strohmaier (Berlin):
Arabic Medicine: Continuation of Greek Tradition and Innovation
Danielle Jacquart (Paris):
Latin translations of Arabic medical texts and medieval European medicine
Lola Ferre (Granada):
The Jewish Contribution to the Transmission Process
Matti Haltia (Helsinki):
Reflexions of Alexandrian/Galenic Medicine in the Nordic Renaissance: the
Neuroanatomical Views of the Finnish Scholar S.A. Forsius (ca. 1560–1624)
6.00 PM – 8.00 PM
Program with the Friends of the National Library (including reception)
Venue: Cupola Hall, National Library of Finland (address: Unioninkatu 36, Helsinki)
Heinrich von Staden (Princeton):
Ars longa, vita brevis: Migrations of Greek Medicine from Antiquity to the Early
Modern Period
Outi Kaltio (Helsinki):
Euroopan ensimmäinen lääketieteen oppikirja: käsikirjoitusaarre Kansalliskirjastossa
(Europe´s First Textbook of Medicine; in Finnish)
SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2009 (9.00 AM – 1.00 PM)
The Salerno School of Medicine and Constantine the African´s Liber Pantegni
Venue: Unioninkadun Juhlahuoneistot (address: Unioninkatu 33, Helsinki)
Heikki Solin (Helsinki):
Was There a Medical School at Salerno in Roman Times?
Charles Burnett (London):
The 12th Century Manuscript of Constantine the African´s Liber Pantegni in the
British Library
Outi Merisalo (Jyväskylä):
The 12th Century Manuscript of Constantine´s Theorica Pantegni in the National
Library of Finland
Raphaela Veit (Tübingen):
The Relation of Constantine´s Liber Pantegni to the Arabic original by Haly Abbas
Outi Kaltio (Helsinki):
Chapter V of Constantine´s Theorica Pantegni: a Comparison of Early Manuscripts
and the Renaissance Editions
Symposium Dinner (7.00 PM, separate fee)
Pyydämme kiinnostuneita ilmoittautumaan ensi tilassa sähköpostitse symposiumin
sihteerille (uta-maria.liertz@helsinki.fi), joka lähettää rekisteröitymislomakkeen.
Rekisteröitymisen yhteydessä suoritettava osallistumismaksu 60 euroa kattaa
lounaan (perjantaina 5.6.) ja kolmet aamu/iltapäiväkahvit (perjantaina 5.6. ja
lauantaina 6.6.) sekä osallistumisen symposiumiin liittyviin kahteen iltavastaanottoon
(Villa Gyllenberg torstaina 4.6., Kansalliskirjaston Kupolisali perjantaina 5.6.) buffettarjoiluineen.