Benevenutus Grassus Hierosolimitanus (also called Benevenutus Grapheus/Crassus or Benvenuto Grassi of Jerusalem) (c. 1200-c. 1290) was a medieval eye doctor who lived in the second half of the thirteenth century and is known for his treatise on the treatment of eye disorders ''Ars Probatissima Oculorum'' or ''De probatissima arte oculorum'', the only published record of his work. Based on his work, it is believed that he lived most of his life in Italy but had travelled to northern Africa. His work was translated and incorporated into many European language works and included instructions for cataract treatment. The earliest known English work that incorporates his teachings is

Philip Barrough Philip Barrow or Barrough (fl. 1590) was an English medical writer. Barrow was the son of John Barrow, of Suffolk. He obtained from the university of Cambridge, in 1559, a licence to practise chirurgery, and in 1572 a similar licence to practis ...

's ''The Method of Phisicke'' (1583). The oldest printed version of his book is edited by Severino of Ferrara from 1474. A copy of this was translated into English by

Casey Albert Wood Casey Albert Wood (November 21, 1856 – January 26, 1942) was a Canadian ophthalmologist and comparative zoologist who studied aspects of animal vision especially those of birds. He collected books on birds and zoology and helped establish th ...

in 1929. The work of Benvenutus Grassus also made use of the works of Ali Ibn Isa's ''Tadhkirat al-Kahhalin'' (" The Oculists' Memorandum Book ") which was probably published in the 11th century. A study of a German translation has suggested that Grassus studied at the Salernitan school of medicine which had connections to Arab medicine. The text claims that Grassus learnt from a variety of sources and practiced by travelling to various places both in the temperate and tropic areas. He quotes Hippocrates, Galen, Johannicius and Hunayn bin Ishaq of Baghdad.

References

{{authority control 13th-century Italian physicians 13th-century Italian writers 13th-century writers in Latin