The Alexandrian Summaries of Galen’s on Critical Days: Editions and Translations of the Two Versions of the Jawami, With an Introduction and Notes (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, 92)

Galen’s impact on Islamic civilization, mainly medicine, physics, and philosophy, was enormous. His most important books were mediated through “summaries,” which not only shortened but sometimes revised Galenic teachings. Several versions of these summaries exist, and their appreciation is critical for a proper understanding of the development of medieval science. This book presents the first editions, translations, and studies of the remaining summaries of On Critical Days. In Galenic theory, fevers develop towards a crisis which will determine a patient’s fate. The cycle of crisis is known through observation, but the search for the cause leads Galen and his later interpreters into the fields of astrology, archeology, and more.