Liber pantegni

The Liber pantegni (παντεχνη "[encompassing] all [medical] arts") is a medieval medical text compiled by Constantinus Africanus in ca. the 1080s, ascribed to Isaac Israeli ben Solomon (10th century). It is a compendium of Hellenistic and Islamic medicine, in large parts a translation of the kitab al-malaki "royal book" of Ali ibn al-Abbas. For the first time in a medical text, a distinction is made between theorica and practica. The work was expanded by Johannes Afflatius under the title of liber aureus, and further by Stephanus of Antiochia (1127) as regalis dispositio.

Additional recommended knowledge

Essential Laboratory Skills Guide

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A shorter and more practical compilation of Constantinus is the Viaticum.

Editions

• Opera omnia ysaac. Ed. Andreas Turinus. Lugduni 1515; Constantini opera. Apud Henricus Petrus. Basileae 1536/39.
• Wolfenbüttel Digital Library

Literature

• Constantine the African and Ali ibn al-Abbas al-Magusi: The Pantegni and Related Texts, The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Edited by Burnett and Jacquart, Studies in Ancient Medicine, vol. 10. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994.
• Moritz Steinschneider: Constantinus Africanus und seine arabischen Quellen. In: Virchows Arch. 37 (1866) 351-416;
• Charles Singer: A Legend of Salerno. How Constantin the Africain Brought the Art of Medicine to the Christians. In: John Hopkins Bulletin 28 (1917) 64-69;
• Hermann Lehmann: Die Arbeitsweise des Constantinus Afrikanus und des Johannes Afflacius im Verhältnis zueinander. In: Archeion 12 (1930) 272-281;