Nahyan Fancy

This project analyzes, for the first time, physiological issues that attracted the interests of eight Islamic commentators on the “Canon of Medicine” and its abridgment, “The Epitome,” between 1200 and 1520 CE. It helps define the main contours of medical thought during a period often mischaracterized as one of “scientific decline.” It situates the Arabic medical discussions within the intellectual, institutional, and social contexts of post-1200 Islamic societies by analyzing both the text and paratext—i.e. manuscript marginalia, ownership notes, and colophons. The grant will support a writing period in the summer of 2020.