Ibn al-Jazzar's Zad al-musafir (books I and II) - Critical editions of the Arabic original, of Constantinus Africanus' Latin version, of Moses ibn Tibbon's Hebrew translation, and of the anonymous Byzantine version Ephodia tou apodemountos.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Gerrit Bos
• Subject Area: Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies ; Religious Studies and Jewish Studies ; History of Science
• Term: from 2016 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 318593138

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn abi Khalid Ibn al-Jazzar from Kairouan wrote at the end of the 4th/10th century a therapeutical compendium entitled Zad al-musafir wa-qut al-hadir ("Provisions for the Traveller and Nourishment for the Sedentary"). This medical handbook enjoyed great popularity among the European physicians of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age. The Arabic original was translated three times into the languages of science of these eras, viz. Medieval Latin, Byzantine Greek, and Hebrew. Despite the enormous impact of these translations on the history of the occidental medicine, so far no modern editions are available. The aim of this project is the critical edition of books I and II of Ibn al-Jazzar's Arabic original - along with a commented English translation -, and the first critical editions of the said translations, namely Constantinus Africanus' Latin Viaticum peregrinantis, Moses ibn Tibbon's Hebrew Sedat ha-Derakhim and the Byzantine Ephodia tou apodemountos by an anonymous translator. This first joint edition of all four independent versions of this important text will allow insights into the techniques of mediaeval translators of medical literature. The present project builds on an earlier project funded by the DFG in 2009 and 2010 in the framework of which the Arabic and Hebrew versions of book VII (7-30) were edited along with a study on Ibn Tibbon's Romance vocabulary. The submitter of this application has, in addition, already published editions of books VI and VII (1-6) of the Zad al-musafir. His long-term aim is the edition of the remaining books (III-V).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom, USA
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Petros Bouras-Vallianatos, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Michael R. McVaugh