[Sca-cooks] Suey's Blog: Avenzoar

[emilio szabo]

Suey, 

I, for one, appreciate very much your portrait of Avenzoar as a medieval author 
pertinent for culinary history. 


http://spanishfoodma.blogspot.com/2010/11/avenzoar.html

I have, however, a few suggestions.

1. Delele the anecdote I marked with <delete></delete> below. This passage is 
not relevant for Spanish Medieval Cuisine.

2. The article is incomplete. There are no passages so far, that deal with 
medieval Spanish cuisine and the aspects that Avenzoar contributed to this 
field.

3. Suggestion: This kind of article is very important, but it needs more 
structuring. How about this:


Avenzoar:


1. Life
2. Works
3. Relevance for Spanisch medieval cuisine
4. Literature (printed)
5. Weblinks


If you look at one of the weblinks: 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Zuhr


most of the biographical information is there. Therefore: Look what you can 
contribute in respect of Spanish cuisine from the work of Avenzoar.


As for quotiation and references: I would prefer a system of quotation where 
each piece of information is referenced seperately in the text, instead of a 
reference block for the whole article at the end of an article. 



E. 

Spanish Food of the Middle Ages by Susan Lord-Williams

AVENZOAR
Abā Marwā Abd Al-Malik ben Sur or Ibn Zuhr, 1091-1161, Physician of the 
Almoravide and Almorhad Emirs of Cordova. He came from a long line of scholars 
and physicians living in Spain and was considered one of the best physicians in 
Al-Andalus. Averrores praised him as the greatest physician after Galen. He 
learned his profession from his father and carried on Galen’s theories based on 
the four elements. Between 1121-1161 he wrote some 10 books on medicine mostly 
dealing with liver, spleen and abdominal diseases. Not only was Kitab al-Taysir 
one of his most important works it was one of the most outstanding Arabic works 
on medicine. During the following eras, Christian physicians kept copies of it. 
In Cordova, Avenzoar was especially remembered for his observation. 


<DELETE> At one point the Caliph Abd-al-Mumin needed to drink purgative drugs, 
which he detested. Avenzoar put the drug into 10 grapes. When the laxative 
content of the grapes was strong enough, he gave them to the Caliph to eat and 
he was healed. Another man complained of a large stomach tumor. Avenzoar, to the 
patient’s horror, broke his water jug. Inside was a frog. Avenzoar then told the 
man that that was the cause of his illness and that now the man would recover. 
He did.</DELETE> 


Avenzoar remained in Cordoba until he fell out of grace during the end of the 
Abu Yusuf Ya’qub’s reign. In 1131 Avenzoar was exiled and then imprisoned in 
Maraakesh. It is not known for how long but thought that he was set free between 
1142-1143. [Ibn Zuhr/García Sánchez. 1992:13; and ES: Pena. Aug 14, 01]