The books VI to VIII of Galen’s treatise On Simple Drugs. Textual transmission and annotated translation.

The aim of the thesis is to provide a French translation of Galen’s treatise On Simple Drugs, books VI to VIII, which focuses on plants of pharmacological interest. To understand the nature and the aim of the work, I related the physician to his historical and cultural contexts, the 2nd century AD, and I also provided some essential information about his biography and his literary production and, especially, about his pharmacological texts. I also studied the role of plants in medicine in the era of Roman empire and the sources of the work, especially Dioscorides. Despite the importance of the treatise over the subsequent centuries, it has not been studied in depth and the most recent edition is still K. G. Kühn’s one, dating back to the 19th century. Therefore, a critical edition is necessary. That is why I tried to establish a list of the manuscripts which transmit the Galenic text. Hopefully, this research will help better understand the importance of simple drugs in Galen’s pharmacology and it will represent a starting point for new researches on Galen’s treatise On Simples Drugs.