ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Rewriting Hayat al-Hayawan in Latin: Abraham Ecchellensis' Translation of De proprietatibus ac virtutibus medicis animalium

• In Event: New Insights in Early Modern Science: Savants

English Abstract

This paper examines the transmission, transformation, and Latinisation of Arabic zoological-pharmacological knowledge through the first major circulation of Hayat al-Hayawan in early modern Europe. The translation in question is the work entitled De proprietatibus ac virtutibus medicis animalium, plantarum, ac gemmarum, published by Abraham Ecchellensis in 1647. Although the Latin text presents itself as an interpretation of al-Suyuti’s abridgement, Diwan al-Hayawan, it actually rests on a deeper genealogical layer rooted in al-Damiri’s monumental Hayat al-Hayawan. This textual lineage provides an exceptional case for understanding how Arabic zoological, pharmacological, and therapeutic knowledge was reshaped as it entered the Republic of Letters.
The analysis first reconstructs the compilation logic of the original Arabic tradition, namely the shift from descriptive zoology to a medico-therapeutic orientation that foregrounds “properties,” “benefits,” and the pharmacological uses of animals. It emphasises that Ecchellensis relied more on al-Damiri’s extensive work, selectively reorganising the material rather than writing an independent study based on al-Suyuti.
Turning to the Latin version, the paper analyses how Ecchellensis’ translation operates not merely as a linguistic transfer but as a process of epistemic transformation. By reframing the text as a materia medica, meaning a tripartite treatise on animals, plants, and gems, the translation accentuates “medicinal virtues,” aligning Arabic zoological tradition with early modern medical and natural-philosophical concerns. Ultimately, the paper argues that De proprietatibus offers an exceptional lens through which to study how Arabic scientific compilations were integrated and received by a different epistemic community through adaptation.

Author

• Mehmet Feyzi Çetinkaya, İstanbul Medeniyet University, Institute of History of Science