15e colloque hippocratique

Fifteenth Colloque Hippocratique "Commentary tradition"


Call for Papers

The fifteenth Colloque Hippocratique will take place in Manchester from 28–30 October 2015. It continues a long tradition of colloquia, initiated originally in Strasburg in 1972 by Louis Bourgey and Jacques Jouanna. This series of scholarly encounters has firmly established Hippocratic studies as an independent field of scholarship and produced some of the most important work in this area over the last three decades.

We now invite submissions from scholars active in the area of Hippocratic studies. The theme of this, the fifteenth reiteration of the Colloque Hippocratique, will be the vast commentary tradition that engaged with various writings within the Hippocratic Corpus. Galen is, of course, the best known author, many of whose commentaries have come down to us not only in the original Greek, but also in Arabic, Latin, and Syriac translations. But many other Greek doctors explained and interpreted the various Hippocratic texts, be it in the first-century Asia Minor (e.g., Rufus of Ephesus) or sixth- and seventh-century Alexandria (e.g., the elusive John and Stephen of Alexandria). Some commentaries only survive in Latin, Syriac, Arabic, or Hebrew translations, so that the secondary transmission of these works acquires tremendous importance. During the medieval and early modern period, physicians continued to write commentaries in Latin, Arabic and Hebrew, with the Aphorisms attracting the greatest exegetical attention.

The colloque will centre around five sessions, arranged roughly chronologically:

- Early commentaries

- Galen

- Late-Antique Alexandria

- Middle Ages (Latin, Arabic and Hebrew)

- Renaissance and early modern period

The aim is to cover the whole commentary tradition on the Hippocratic Corpus, which flourished well into the eighteenth century and beyond.

We ask those interested in delivering papers to submit titles and short abstracts (up to 200 words) to aphorisms@manchester.ac.uk by 15 February 2015. Papers can be presented in any of the main European languages, although the proceedings will be published in English. The papers and subsequent questions should last no more than thirty minutes.