Dissemination Of Maimonides’ Medical Writings In The Middle Ages

Abstract

Jewish studies researchers usually consider Maimonides as one of the most, if not the most, important Jewish authors of medical texts in the medieval world. But the author have found many more quotations from another Jewish author, Isaac Israeli, in the medical literature of the time than the author have from Maimonides. The author wondered then whether we had exaggerated his importance as a medical author, whether his strong personality as a theologian or philosopher may have caused us to think that he must have stood out in every topic he wrote about. Was Maimonides actually as respected a physician in the Middle Ages as we tend to think nowadays? In order to answer these questions, this chapter approaches the matter by following the dissemination of his medical books. It focus on manuscripts preserved in the different languages in which his works were preserved: Arabic, Hebrew and Latin. Keywords: Jewish studies; Maimonides; medical texts