Charles I of Anjou commissioned a 1279 Latin translation of the medical encyclopedia Al-Hawi, entrusting the task to the Sicilian-Jewish physician Faraj ben Salim. Born in Agrigento in 1230, this scholar performed the vital role of converting Arabic medical expertise into a language accessible to the Latin-speaking world during the second half of the thirteenth century.
Professional Engagement and Royal Recognition
Faraj ben Salim served Charles I of Anjou, who held the translator in high regard. This appreciation manifested in the manuscript of the Continens, currently held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris as MS. 6912. The king ordered friar Giovanni of Monte Cassino, an illuminator, to depict Faraj alongside the royal portrait on the original copy.
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His primary contributions involved rendering complex medical texts into Latin. He translated the 25-volume Al-Hawi by Abu Bakr al-Razi, which appeared in print in 1486 under the title Continens, complete with his own glossary. He also processed the Tacuini Ægritudinum, or Tables of Disease, authored by ibn Jazla and published in Strasbourg in 1532. Additionally, he translated the De medicinis expertis, attributed to Galen, which appeared in Venice in 1565 and later in a 1679 Paris edition.
Scholarly Scope and Attributions
Faraj translated the Tacuinis sanitatis, or Tables of Health, by Ibn Buṭlān, a text containing agricultural calendars and illustrations of plants. Moritz Steinschneider suggests that Faraj also produced the Latin version of Masarjawaih's treatise on surgery, previously linked to a figure named Ferrarius. Further references connect him to the translation of the De expositionibus vocabulorum seu synonimorum simplicis medicinæ and works referencing Hippocrates, Theophrastus, and the Presocratics.
Fast facts
- Born: 1230, Agrigento, Italy
- Occupation: Physician and translator
- Notable Patron: Charles I of Anjou
- Key Translation: Al-Hawi (Continens) by Abu Bakr al-Razi
- Manuscript Location: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Questions readers ask
What medical encyclopedia did Faraj ben Salim translate?
He translated the 25-volume medical encyclopedia Al-Hawi, written by Abu Bakr al-Razi.
Which historical figure ordered a portrait of Faraj to be created?
Charles I of Anjou commissioned a portrait of Faraj to be drawn by friar Giovanni of Monte Cassino on the original manuscript of the Continens.
