Nonnus, Theophanes
Θεοφανὴς Νόννος
(Θεοφανὴς Νόννος,) sometimes called Nonus, a Greek medical writer who lived in the tenth century after Christ, as his work is dedicated to the emperor Constantinus Porphyrogenitus, A. D. 911-959, at whose command it was composed. Though commonly called Nonnus, it is supposed by some persons that his real name was Theophanes.
Works
Ἐπιτομὴ τῆς Ἰατρικῆς ἁπάσης Τέχνης, Compendium totius Artis Medicae
His work is entitled Ἐπιτομὴ τῆς Ἰατρικῆς ἁπάσης Τέχνης, Compendium totius Artis Medicae, and consists of two hundred and ninety short chapters; it is compiled almost entirely from previous writers, especially Alexander Trallianus, Aetius, and Paulus Aegineta, whom, however, he does not once mention by name. Almost the only point worthy of notice is that (according to Sprengel) he is the earliest Greek medical writer, who makes distinct mention of distilled rose-water, an article which his countrymen seem to have gained from the Arabians.
Editions
It was first published by Jeremias Martius, Greek and Latin, Argent., 8vo. 1568; and afterwards, in a much improved form, in 1794, 1795, 8vo. two vols., Gothae et Amstel., edited by J. S. Bernard, and published after his death.
Further Information
See Freind's Hist. of Physic, vol. i.; Sprengel, Hist. de la Méd., vol. ii.; Haller, Bibl. Medic. Pract. vol. i.; Fabric. Bibl. Gr. vol. xii. p. 685, ed. vet.; Choulant, Handbb. der Bücherkunde für die Aeltere Med.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.