f13r - banana?

[MarcoP]

I am struggling to find a medieval Arabic depiction of a banana plant. These might be more realistic. Any ideas?

Hi VViews, it was not terribly easy, but I could find the illustration of Banana in two copies of the Wonders of Creation by al-Qazwīnī. It was easier to find the less interesting image: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. is a XVIII Century Turkish copy, but the site provides page descriptions (banana is on f218). We are lucky that there are libraries with such great websites!


Using the Walters ms as a reference, I browsed the most ancient copy of the text (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., Iraq, completed in 1280). Banana is at the bottom of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..

Plant names are conveniently written in red, so I was able to check that the name is consistent with what Rene mentioned ('mawz' / 'muz').

The herb is mentioned in the earlier herbal BL Egerton 747, on fol.66r (right). Its transcription has been published and says:

Musa calida est in medio primi gradi, humida eiusdem fine. Fructus sunt similis citroli, quod alii pomum paradisi vocant. In ultramarinis partibus crescunt. Cuius folia similatur enula campana, sed sunt triplex mariores. Ventrem humectat, pectoris asperitatem lenit et pulmonem. Est nutrimenti multi et crossi, que assuefacta stomachi generat gravitatem et splenis et epatis oppilationem. Unde necesse est illam sepe comedentibus, ut post comestionem zinziber conditum detur aut oximelle, si manducantes sunt frigide nature, quod si calide, oxizachara accipiant.  

Thank you, Rene! I checked Egerton 747, but I couldn't spot the unillustrated paragraph.
Here is my rough translation:
Musa is hot in the average of the first degree and wet at the extreme of the first degree. Its fruits are similar to cucumber, some call them "the apples of paradise". They grow beyond the sea. Its leaf is like that of elecampane, but thrice as large. It keeps the bowels wet, cures coarseness of the chest and lungs. It is an abundant and thick nourishment: when ingested, it causes heaviness in the stomach and the spleen and blocks the liver. For these reasons, it is necessary that he who often eat [the fruits], after eating take ginger or oximel. if he is of a cold nature or, if of a hot [nature], he should take oxizachara.

If I understand correctly, oximel is vinegar and honey. Oxizachara could be vinegar and sugar.

Interestingly, the edition of Egerton 747 ("PS. Bartolomaeus Mini de Senis: Tractatus de herbis (MS London, British Library, Egerton 747) A cura de Iolanda Ventura") gives references to earlier copies of the text, though they are only partial.

In 'Liber de naturis rerum' of Pseudo-John Folsham (13th Century) ( You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. )  it says:

Muza calida est in medio primi gradus, humida in  eiusdem fine, pectoris et pulmonis  lenit asperitatem. Hec arbor fit per infixionem ossis dactili in herba quadam , que dicitur colcasia. Et dicitur, quod in pomo huius arboris, quod iocundissimi et gratissimi saporis est,  deceptus erat primus parens noster

The first part is the same as Egerton 747, but the rest is surprising!

This tree is produced by implanting the seed of a date in a certain plant called colocasia. They say that the fruit of this tree, which is very pleasant and deliciously tasting, deceived our first ancestor.

The forbidden fruit was a banana