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Secondary sourceBook1507

Canon Venice 1507 Title Page

Avicenna · 1507

Title page of an early printed Latin edition of Avicenna's Canon of Medicine, printed in Venice in 1507.

A later printed edition of Avicenna's own medical text, showing its lasting influence centuries after he wrote it.

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Title page of an early printed book in black letter type. Large decorated heading 'Liber Canonis Avicenne' with smaller text below and a printer's device in the lower center. Handwritten notes in brown ink appear at the top and margins. Aged yellowed paper.
Avicenna, Canon of Medicine, Venice edition, 1507.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of a printed Latin edition of the Canon of Medicine, published in Venice in 1507. The decorated heading reads 'Liber Canonis Avicenne' (The Book of the Canon of Avicenna), with a printer's device and handwritten notes added later by a reader.

Why it matters

Avicenna wrote the original Canon centuries earlier, but this printed copy shows how important his medical encyclopedia still was in Renaissance Europe. Printing allowed his work to spread widely among university students and doctors long after his death.

Look closer

  • Why might a printer in 1507 choose to publish a work written hundreds of years before?
  • What do the handwritten margin notes suggest about how this book was used?
  • What does the decoration on the title page tell you about how important this book was considered?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Avicenna on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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