Pseudo-Galen is a modern designation for the unknown author or authors of a corpus of medical texts falsely attributed to Galen. These works were composed between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE, a period when attributing works to famous authorities was a common practice to ensure their preservation and dissemination. The anonymous compilers worked within the Greek medical tradition, summarizing and adapting earlier knowledge across the Eastern Roman Empire.
The heterogeneous Pseudo-Galenic corpus includes treatises such as the Definitions medicae, a dictionary of medical terms, and the Introductio sive medicus, a basic overview of the medical art. Other texts address pharmacology, pulse lore, and therapeutics. The entire corpus was transmitted and preserved as part of the larger Galenic tradition.
These writings transmitted and popularized medical knowledge in late antiquity and the Byzantine period. Serving as textbooks and reference works, they made Galenic doctrines more accessible, influencing subsequent Byzantine, Arabic, and Latin medical traditions. They are sources for the practice and pedagogy of post-classical medicine.
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