Les gloses botaniques andalouses sur le manuscrit de Paris de la traduction arabe de la Materia Medica de Dioscorides

Abstract

The following study focusses on a precious manuscript from the National Library in Paris, namely n.º 2849 of the Arabic manuscript collection. This is a manuscript of Andalusian origin of the Arabic translation of Materia Medica by Dioscorides, written in Syria at the beginning of the 13th century. Its margins are filled with glosses of synonymic nature, relating to the Greek terms of the plants described by the Greek pharmacologist and physician. These glosses, of Andalusian origin, offer a great terminological richness which is part of a large Arabic — mainly Andalusian — movement of revision and commentary of Materia Medica in Arabic. In the first part a general introduction to the manuscript is provided showing its significant value for a critical edition of the book, the glosses contained and, especially, of the Andalusian botanical glosses, insisting on their synonymic value and their terminological contribution. In a second part, a critical annotated edition of 44 glosses from the first maqāla of the book is proposed.