project

A Pseudo-Aristotelian Medical/Magical Arabic Manuscript

1 June 2015 - 31 August 2015

About the research

This project will produce a preliminary transcription and an article describing the contents of a manuscript containing an influential, previously unedited work of Arabic Hermetic magic, The Book of Venus. It will elucidate its reliance on the concept of man-as-microcosm, and other ideas central to medieval medical, philosophical, and scientific literature. By describing the relation of this manuscript to other similar manuscripts, this article will help scholars navigate an important but poorly-understood body of texts that survive mainly in manuscript form. It will also explore the decisions of the manuscripts compiler in presenting these medical-magical texts and their intriguing illustrations.