Kermidene
Kermidene vel kermedenem apud Avicennam in secundo dicit quod est granum quod medici laudant et quod calefacit vulnera sed in arabico vulvam et ubi dicit quod solvit saniem in arabico est coleram et cetera.
Apparatus:
Kermidene ul' kermidenẽ B | Kermidene uel kermendenẽ ms. e | Kermedene l' kermedenẽ f | Kermidene l'ermedenẽ {vl' ermedenẽ A) AC {'k' in kermidenẽ misinterpreted as 'lˀ'ermidenẽ. The original expression in witnesses AC was probably also *Kermidene uel kermedenẽ with the second 'k' misread as 'lˀ'- the abbreviation for "vel". The result was *Kermidene uel lˀ ermedenẽ, with "vel" effectively written twice, therefore the first "vel" was omitted resulting in Kermidene l' ermedene.
vulnera AC | uulnera f | ul'nera B | vuln'a or voln'a ms. e
vuluam (-uã A) AC | uuluã f | vulua or volua ms. e | ē ul'nera B
coleram (-rã B f) AB f | col'a ms. e | colleram C
et cetera om. B ef
Translation:
Kermidene or kermedenem is given a chapter in the second book of Avicenna's Canon, where he says that it is a grain, which the physicians praise and which warms vulnera {'wounds'}, but in the Arabic text it says: it warms the vulva, and where it says in the Latin translation solvit saniem {"it loosens/eases corrupted matter"} it says in Arabic "it loosens/eases colera {'gall'}", et cetera.
Commentary:
Cf. Siggel (1950: 63): ﻛﺮﻣﺪﺍﻧﺔ /kirmdāna/ = ﺣﺐ ﻖﻨﻴﺪﻯ /habb {sic! better ḥabb} qnīdī/ S. v. Daphne cnidium {or: gnidium} (Thymelaeac.). However Steingass (1892: 1025) identifies ﻜﺮﻣﺪﺍﻧﻪ /kirm-dāna/ as "a species of mezereon; myrtle-seed".
Simon is quoting [Goehl], Avicenna, Canon, book II, Capitulum 384 (382). De kormidenen {(annotation: karmedane)}. Kormidenen quid est? Est granum, quod medici laudant. Membra expulsionis: provocat urinam et menstrua et calefacit vulvam valde et solvit saniem et aquam {v.l. aquam et coleram}. Or see Lyon edition (1522: 100), chapter ccclxxxiiij De komidenen [[1]].
In some mss. the copyists must have read uulua as uulnera – with "er" only written as an apostrophe after the 'n', i.e. uuln'a. But the Arabic original ﻛﺮﻣﺪﺍﻧﺔ /kirmdāna/ [[2]] says clearly: ﻳﺴﺨﻦ ﺍﻟﻗﺒﻞ ﺟﺪﺍ ﻭﻳﺴﻬﻞ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﺀ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺮﺓ /yusaḫḫinu l-qubla ǧiddan wa-yusahhilu l-māʔa wa-l-mirra/ n.b. ﻗﺒﻞ /qubla/ i.a. "pudenda" is written in the Arabic text with ﻕ and ﺏ unpointed, possibly for taboo reasons. "It warms up the vulva very much and it eases water and gall".
The Arabic text also supports Simon's correction that it should read coleram instead of saniem. Also the varia lectio aquam et coleram reflects the original Arabic statement.
Botanical identification:
ﻛﺮﻣﺪﺍﻧﺔ /kirmdāna/ following Siggel's identification is Daphne gnidium L. i.e. "flax-leaved daphne" [[3]] q.v.
WilfGunther 18/03/14
