Pseudo-Galenic texts and the formation of the Galenic corpus (original) (raw)

Abstract

Despite Galen’s own attempts at cataloguing his own works in two famous bio-bibliographical treatises (On his own books and On the order of his own books), dozens of anonymous works were wrongly transmitted under his name. This confusion started from an early date, in Galen’s own lifetime and continued through late antiquity, the middle ages and beyond. In the standard reference edition (C. G. Kühn, 1821-1833), authentic and spurious texts are mixed together, thus creating ongoing confusion in modern scholarship about which works really are by Galen. Indeed, early editions of Galen’s complete works routinely privileged a thematic classification of Galenic works, regardless of authenticity. The aim of this conference is to clarify the various processes that informed the Galenic corpus as we know it. The conference will especially focus on the Greek and Latin trends of transmission of pseudo-Galenic texts, from antiquity to the Renaissance, with a view to better understand how Galen's works were collected, assembled and used at various moments in history. It will also address some issues about their transmission in Syriac, Arabic and Hebrew. Ultimately, the aim of the conference is to map out, and get a better grasp of the Galenic corpus, the boundaries of which still confuse many scholars and students.

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