Transliteration versus Translation of Greek Plant Names in the Syriac Medical Writings of Sergius of Reš ʿAynā: On the Tables of Contents in BL Add. 14,661

This article explores some of the translational choices made by Sergius of Res ʿAynā in translating the Greek plant names found in Books VI–VIII of Galen’s treatise On simple drugs into Syriac, and especially as found in the “tables of contents”—or pinakes—which preface these books. These latter took the form of alphabetically ordered lists of Greek phytonyms transliterated into Syriac characters, occasionally followed by a translational gloss in Syriac. After a brief introduction, we discuss the form, function and content of these pinakes, outline a typology, and suggest explanations for selected problematic features.