Latin translations of the 12th century

Last updated

Albohali's De Iudiciis Natiuitatum was translated into Latin by Plato of Tivoli in 1136, and again by John of Seville in 1153. Here is the Nuremberg edition of John of Seville's translation, 1546. De Ludiciis Natiuitatum Albohali Nuremberg 1546.jpg
Albohali's De Iudiciis Natiuitatum was translated into Latin by Plato of Tivoli in 1136, and again by John of Seville in 1153. Here is the Nuremberg edition of John of Seville's translation, 1546.

Latin translations of the 12th century were spurred by a major search by European scholars for new learning unavailable in western Europe at the time; their search led them to areas of southern Europe, particularly in central Spain and Sicily, which recently had come under Christian rule following their reconquest in the late 11th century. These areas had been under Muslim rule for a considerable time, and still had substantial Arabic-speaking populations to support their search. The combination of this accumulated knowledge and the substantial numbers of Arabic-speaking scholars there made these areas intellectually attractive, as well as culturally and politically accessible to Latin scholars. [2] A typical story is that of Gerard of Cremona (c. 1114–87), who is said to have made his way to Toledo, well after its reconquest by Christians in 1085, because he:

Contents

arrived at a knowledge of each part of [philosophy] according to the study of the Latins, nevertheless, because of his love for the Almagest , which he did not find at all amongst the Latins, he made his way to Toledo, where seeing an abundance of books in Arabic on every subject, and pitying the poverty he had experienced among the Latins concerning these subjects, out of his desire to translate he thoroughly learnt the Arabic language. [3]

Many Christian theologians were highly suspicious of ancient philosophies and especially of the attempts to synthesize them with Christian doctrines. St. Jerome, for example, was hostile to Aristotle, and St. Augustine had little interest in exploring philosophy, only applying logic to theology. [4] For centuries, ancient Greek ideas in Western Europe were all but non-existent. Only a few monasteries had Greek works, and even fewer of them copied these works. [5]

There was a brief period of revival, when the Anglo-Saxon monk Alcuin and others reintroduced some Greek ideas during the Carolingian Renaissance. [6] After Charlemagne's death, however, intellectual life again fell into decline. Excepting a few persons promoting Boethius, such as Gerbert of Aurillac, philosophical thought was developed little in Europe for about two centuries. [7] By the 12th century, however, scholastic thought was beginning to develop, leading to the rise of universities throughout Europe. These universities gathered what little Greek thought had been preserved over the centuries, including Boethius' commentaries on Aristotle. They also served as places of discussion for new ideas coming from new translations from Arabic throughout Europe. [8]

By the 12th century, Toledo, in Spain, had fallen from Arab hands in 1085, Sicily in 1091, and Jerusalem in 1099. [9] The small population of the Crusader Kingdoms contributed very little to the translation efforts, though Sicily, still largely Greek-speaking, was more productive. Sicilians, however, were less influenced by Arabic than the other regions and instead are noted more for their translations directly from Greek to Latin. Spain, on the other hand, was an ideal place for translation from Arabic to Latin because of a combination of rich Latin and Arab cultures living side by side. [10]

Unlike the interest in the literature and history of classical antiquity during the Renaissance, 12th century translators sought new scientific, philosophical and, to a lesser extent, religious texts. The latter concern was reflected in a renewed interest in translations of the Greek Church Fathers into Latin, a concern with translating Jewish teachings from Hebrew, and an interest in the Qur'an and other Islamic religious texts. [11] In addition, some Arabic literature was also translated into Latin. [12]

Translators in Italy

Just before the burst of translations in the 12th century, Constantine the African, a Christian from Carthage who studied medicine in Egypt and ultimately became a monk at the monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy, translated medical works from Arabic. Constantine's many translations included Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi's medical encyclopedia The Complete Book of the Medical Art (as Liber Pantegni), [13] the ancient medicine of Hippocrates and Galen as adapted by Arabic physicians, [14] and the Isagoge ad Tegni Galeni [15] by Hunayn ibn Ishaq (Johannitius) and his nephew Hubaysh ibn al-Hasan. [16] Other medical works he translated include Isaac Israeli ben Solomon's Liber Febribus, Liber de Dietis universalibus et particularibus and Liber de Urinis; Ishaq ibn Imran's psychological work al-Maqala fi al-Malikhukiya as De Melancolia; and Ibn al-Jazzar's De Gradibus, Viaticum, Liber de Stomacho, De Elephantiasi, De Coitu and De Oblivione. [15]

Sicily had been part of the Byzantine Empire until 878, was under Muslim control from 878–1060, and came under Norman control between 1060 and 1090. As a consequence the Norman Kingdom of Sicily maintained a trilingual bureaucracy, which made it an ideal place for translations. Sicily also maintained relations with the Greek East, which allowed for exchange of ideas and manuscripts. [17]

Ibn Butlan's Tacuinum sanitatis, Rhineland, 2nd half of the 15th century. Ibn Butlan Receuil de Sante Rhenanie 2nd half 15th century.jpg
Ibn Butlan's Tacuinum sanitatis , Rhineland, 2nd half of the 15th century.

A copy of Ptolemy's Almagest was brought back to Sicily by Henry Aristippus, as a gift from the Emperor to King William I. Aristippus, himself, translated Plato's Meno and Phaedo into Latin, but it was left to an anonymous student at Salerno to travel to Sicily and translate the Almagest, as well as several works by Euclid, from Greek to Latin. [18] Although the Sicilians generally translated directly from the Greek, when Greek texts were not available, they would translate from Arabic. Admiral Eugene of Sicily translated Ptolemy's Optics into Latin, drawing on his knowledge of all three languages in the task. [19] Accursius of Pistoja's translations included the works of Galen and Hunayn ibn Ishaq. [20] Gerard de Sabloneta translated Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine and al-Razi's Almansor. Fibonacci presented the first complete European account of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system from Arabic sources in his Liber Abaci (1202). [13] The Aphorismi by Masawaiyh (Mesue) was translated by an anonymous translator in late 11th or early 12th century Italy. [21]

James of Venice, who probably spent some years in Constantinople, translated Aristotle's Posterior Analytics from Greek into Latin in the mid-12th century, [22] thus making the complete Aristotelian logical corpus, the Organon , available in Latin for the first time.

In 13th century Padua, Bonacosa translated Averroes' medical work Kitab al-Kulliyyat as Colliget, [23] and John of Capua translated the Kitab al-Taysir by Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) as Theisir. In 13th century Sicily, Faraj ben Salem translated Rhazes' al-Hawi as Continens as well as Ibn Butlan's Tacuinum Sanitatis . Also in 13th century Italy, Simon of Genoa and Abraham Tortuensis translated Abulcasis' Al-Tasrif as Liber Servitoris, Alcoati's Congregatio sive Liber de Oculis, and the Liber de Simplicibus Medicamentis by a pseudo-Serapion [24]

Translators on the Spanish frontier

As early as the end of the 10th century, European scholars travelled to Spain to study. Most notable among these was Gerbert of Aurillac (later Pope Sylvester II) who studied mathematics in the region of the Spanish March around Barcelona. Translations, however, did not begin in Spain until after 1085 when Toledo was reconquered by Christians. [25] The early translators in Spain focused heavily on scientific works, especially mathematics and astronomy, with a second area of interest including the Qur'an and other Islamic texts. [26] Spanish collections included many scholarly works written in Arabic, so translators worked almost exclusively from Arabic, rather than Greek texts, often in cooperation with a local speaker of Arabic. [27]

One of the more important translation projects was sponsored by Peter the Venerable, the abbot of Cluny. In 1142 he called upon Robert of Ketton and Herman of Carinthia, Peter of Poitiers, and a Muslim known only as "Mohammed" to produce the first Latin translation of the Qur'an (the Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete ). [28]

Translations were produced throughout Spain and Provence. Plato of Tivoli worked in Catalonia, Herman of Carinthia in Northern Spain and across the Pyrenees in Languedoc, Hugh of Santalla in Aragon, Robert of Ketton in Navarre and Robert of Chester in Segovia. [29] The most important center of translation was the great cathedral library of Toledo.

Plato of Tivoli's translations into Latin include al-Battani's astronomical and trigonometrical work De Motu Stellarum, Abraham bar Hiyya's Liber Embadorum, Theodosius of Bithynia's Spherics, and Archimedes' Measurement of a Circle . Robert of Chester's translations into Latin included al-Khwarizmi's Algebra and astronomical tables (also containing trigonometric tables). [30] Abraham of Tortosa's translations include Serapion the Younger's Liber de Simplicibus Medicamentis and Abulcasis' al-Tasrif as Liber Servitoris. [31] In 1126, Muhammad al-Fazari's Great Sindhind (based on the Sanskrit works of Surya Siddhanta and Brahmagupta's Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta ) was translated into Latin. [32]

In addition to philosophical and scientific literature, the Jewish writer Petrus Alphonsi translated a collection of 33 tales from Arabic literature into Latin. Some of the tales he drew on were from the Panchatantra and Arabian Nights , such as the story cycle of "Sinbad the Sailor". [33] The Pseudo-Platonic Book of the Cow , a 9th-century Arabic work on natural magic, was translated into Latin in the 12th century, probably in Spain. [34]

The Toledo School of Translators

King Alfonso X (the Wise) Las Siete Partidas.jpg
King Alfonso X (the Wise)

Toledo, with a large population of Arabic-speaking Christians (Mozarabs) had been an important center of learning since as early as the end of the 10th century, when European scholars traveled to Spain to study subjects that were not readily available in the rest of Europe. Among the early translators at Toledo were an Avendauth (who some have identified with Abraham ibn Daud), who translated Avicenna's encyclopedia, the Kitāb al-Shifa (The Book of Healing), in cooperation with Domingo Gundisalvo, Archdeacon of Cuéllar. [35] The translating efforts at Toledo are often overemphasized into a “school of translation,” however the representation of Toledo translating activity creates a false sense that a formal school arose around the Archbishop Raymond. Only one translation, by John of Seville, can be definitively dedicated to the archbishop. It is more accurate to consider Toledo as a geographically bilingual environment where local interests were favorable to translation efforts, making it a practical and appealing location for translators to work. As a result, many translators became active in the area and Toledo became the focus of translating activity. [36]

However translating efforts were not properly organized until Toledo was reconquered by the Christian forces in 1085. Raymond of Toledo started the first translation efforts at the library of the Cathedral of Toledo, where he led a team of translators that included Mozarabic Toledans, Jewish scholars, Madrasa teachers and monks from the Order of Cluny. They worked in the translation of many works from Arabic into Castilian, from Castilian into Latin, or directly from Arabic into Latin or Greek, and also made available important texts from Arabic and Hebrew philosophers who the Archbishop deemed important for an understanding of Aristotle. [37] As a result of their activities, the cathedral became a translations center known as the Escuela de Traductores de Toledo (Toledo School of Translators), which was on a scale and importance not matched in the history of western culture. [38]

Al-Razi's Recueil des traites de medecine translated by Gerard of Cremona, second half of the 13th century. Al Razi Receuil de traite de medecine translated by Gerard de Cremone Second half of 13th century.jpg
Al-Razi's Recueil des traités de médecine translated by Gerard of Cremona, second half of the 13th century.
Depiction of the Persian physician al-Razi, in Gerard of Cremona's "Recueil des traites de medecine" 1250-1260. Al-RaziInGerardusCremonensis1250.JPG
Depiction of the Persian physician al-Razi, in Gerard of Cremona's "Recueil des traités de medecine" 1250–1260.

The most productive of the Toledo translators at that time was Gerard of Cremona, [39] who translated 87 books, [40] including Ptolemy's Almagest , many of the works of Aristotle, including his Posterior Analytics, Physics, On the Heavens, On Generation and Corruption, and Meteorology, al-Khwarizmi's On Algebra and Almucabala , Archimedes' On the Measurement of the Circle , Euclid's Elements of Geometry , Jabir ibn Aflah's Elementa Astronomica, [30] al-Kindi's On Optics, al-Farghani's On Elements of Astronomy on the Celestial Motions, al-Farabi's On the Classification of the Sciences, the chemical and medical works of al-Razi (Rhazes), [13] the works of Thabit ibn Qurra and Hunayn ibn Ishaq, [41] and the works of al-Zarqali, Jabir ibn Aflah, the Banu Musa, Abu Kamil, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, and Ibn al-Haytham (Not including the Book of Optics , because the catalog of the works of Gerard of Cremona does not list that title; however the Risner compilation of Opticae Thesaurus Septem Libri also includes a work by Witelo and also de Crepusculis, which Risner incorrectly attributed to Alhazen, and which was translated by Gerard of Cremona). [42] The medical works he translated include Haly Abenrudian's Expositio ad Tegni Galeni; Practica, Brevarium Medicine by Yuhanna ibn Sarabiyun (Serapion); Alkindus' De Gradibus ; Rhazes' Liber ad Almansorem, Liber Divisionum, Introductio in Medicinam, De egritudinibus iuncturarum, Antidotarium and Practica Puerorum; Isaac Israeli ben Solomon's De Elementis and De Definitionibus; [21] Abulcasis' Al-Tasrif as Chirurgia; Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine as Liber Canonis; and Liber de Medicamentis Simplicus by Abenguefit. [23] At the close of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries, Mark of Toledo translated the Qur'an (once again) and various medical works. [43] He also translated Hunayn ibn Ishaq's medical work Liber Isagogarum. [23]

Under King Alfonso X of Castile, Toledo rose even higher in importance as a translation center. By insisting that the translated output was "llanos de entender" ("easy to understand"), [44] they reached a much wider audience both within Spain and in other European countries, as many scholars from places like Italy, Germany, England or the Netherlands, who had moved to Toledo in order to translate medical, religious, classical and philosophical texts, brought back to their countries the acquired knowledge. Others were selected and hired with very high salaries by the King himself from many places in Spain, like Seville or Córdoba and foreign places like Gascony or Paris.

Michael Scot (c. 1175–1232) [45] translated the works of (Alpetragius) al-Betrugi' On the Motions of the Heavens in 1217, [13] and Averroes' influential commentaries on the scientific works of Aristotle. [46]

Later translators

David the Jew (c. 1228–1245) translated the works of al-Razi (Rhazes) into Latin. Arnaldus de Villa Nova's (1235–1313) translations include the works of Galen and Avicenna [47] (Including his Maqala fi Ahkam al-Adwiya al-Qalbiya as De Viribus Cordis), the De Medicinis Simplicibus by Abu al-Salt (Albuzali), [23] and Costa ben Luca's De Physicis Ligaturis. [21]

In 13th century Portugal, Giles of Santarém translated Rhazes' De Secretis Medicine, Aphorismi Rasis and Mesue's De Secretis Medicine. In Murcia, Rufin of Alexandria translated the Liber questionum medicinalium discentium in medicina by Hunayn ibn Ishaq (Hunen), and Dominicus Marrochinus translated the Epistola de cognitione infirmatum oculorum by Ali Ibn Isa (Jesu Haly). [23] In 14th century Lerida, John Jacobi translated Alcoati's medical work Libre de la figura del uyl into Catalan and then Latin. [24]

Willem van Moerbeke, known in the English speaking world as William of Moerbeke (c. 1215–1286) was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek into Latin. At the request of Aquinas, so it is assumed—the source document is not clear—he undertook a complete translation of the works of Aristotle or, for some portions, a revision of existing translations. He was the first translator of the Politics (c. 1260) from Greek into Latin. The reason for the request was that the many copies of Aristotle in Latin then in circulation had originated in Spain (see Gerard of Cremona). These earlier translations were assumed to have been influenced by the rationalist Averroes, who was suspected of being a source of philosophical and theological errors found in the earlier translations of Aristotle. Moerbeke's translations have had a long history; they were already standard classics by the 14th century, when Henricus Hervodius put his finger on their enduring value: they were literal (de verbo in verbo), faithful to the spirit of Aristotle and without elegance. For several of William's translations, the Greek texts have since disappeared, without him the works would be lost. William also translated mathematical treatises by Hero of Alexandria and Archimedes. Especially important was his translation of the Elements of Theology of Proclus (made in 1268), because the Elements of Theology is one of the fundamental sources of the revived Neo-Platonic philosophical currents of the 13th century. The Vatican collection holds William's own copy of the translation he made of the greatest Hellenistic mathematician, Archimedes, with commentaries of Eutocius, which was made in 1269 at the papal court in Viterbo. William consulted two of the best Greek manuscripts of Archimedes, both of which have since disappeared.

Other European translators

Adelard of Bath's (fl. 1116–1142) translations into Latin included al-Khwarizmi's astronomical and trigonometrical work Astronomical Tables and his arithmetical work Liber Isagogarum Alchorismi, the Introduction to Astrology of Abu Ma'shar, as well as Euclid's Elements. [48] Adelard associated with other scholars in Western England such as Peter Alfonsi and Walcher of Malvern who translated and developed the astronomical concepts brought from Spain. [49] Abu Kamil's Algebra was also translated into Latin during this period, but the translator of the work is unknown. [30]

Alfred of Sareshel's (c. 1200–1227) translations include the works of Nicolaus of Damascus and Hunayn ibn Ishaq. Antonius Frachentius Vicentinus' translations include the works of Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Armengaud Blaise's translations include the works of Avicenna, Averroes, Hunayn ibn Ishaq, and Maimonides. Berengarius of Valentia translated the works of Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis). Drogon (Azagont) translated the works of al-Kindi. Farragut (Faradj ben Salam) translated the works of Hunayn ibn Ishaq, ibn Zezla (Byngezla), Masawaiyh (Mesue), and al-Razi (Rhazes). Andreas Alphagus Bellnensis' translations include the works of Avicenna, Averroes, Serapion, al-Qifti, and Albe'thar. [50]

In 13th century Montpellier, Profatius and Bernardus Honofredi translated the Kitab al-Aghdhiya by Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) as De regimine sanitatis; and Armengaud translated the al-Urjuza fi al-Tibb, a work combining the medical writings of Avicenna and Averroes, as Cantica cum commento. [24]

Other texts translated during this period include a number of alchemical works, the first of which appears to have been the Liber de compositione alchemiae ("Book on the Composition of Alchemy"), translated by Robert of Chester in 1144 and containing a dialogue between Morienus and Khālid ibn Yazīd. [51] Also notable are translations from alchemical works attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber), such as the Book of the Seventy (Arabic: Kitāb al-Sabʿīn, translated by Gerard of Cremona, before 1187, as Liber de Septuaginta), The Great Book of Mercy (Arabic: Kitāb al-Raḥma al-Kabīr, anonymously translated as Liber Misericordiae), and The Book of the Kingship (Arabic: Kitāb al-Mulk, translated as Liber Regni). [52] Another work translated during this period was De Proprietatibus Elementorum , an Arabic work on geology written by a pseudo-Aristotle. [13] A pseudo-Mesue's De consolatione medicanarum simplicum, Antidotarium, was also translated into Latin by an anonymous translator. [23]

Vernacular languages

In the 12th century in southern France and Italy, many Arabic scientific texts were translated into Hebrew. France and Italy had large Jewish communities where there was little knowledge of Arabic, requiring translations to provide access to Arabic science. The translation of Arabic texts into Hebrew was used by translators, such as Profatius Judaeus, as an intermediate step between translation from Arabic into Latin. This practice was most widely used from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. [53]

List of translations

This list is of translations after c. 1100 of works written originally in Greek.

See also

Notes

  1. Suter & Samsó 1960–2007.
  2. See, e.g., Sarton 1952 , pp. 31–32.
  3. Burnett 2001, p. 255.
  4. Laughlin 1995 , pp. 128–129.
  5. Laughlin 1995 , p. 139.
  6. Laughlin 1995 , p. 141.
  7. Laughlin 1995 , pp. 143–146.
  8. Laughlin 1995 , pp. 147–148.
  9. Watt 1972 , pp. 59–60; Lindberg 1978 , pp. 58–59.
  10. Lindberg 1978 , pp. 58–59.
  11. D'Alverny 1982 , pp. 426–433.
  12. Irwin 2003 , p. 93.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Bieber, Jerome B. Medieval Translation Table 2: Arabic Sources Archived 18 March 2001 at the Wayback Machine , Santa Fe Community College.
  14. D'Alverny 1982 , pp. 422–426.
  15. 1 2 Jacquart 1996 , p. 981.
  16. Campbell 1926 , pp. 4–5.
  17. Haskins 1924 , pp. 155–157.
  18. D'Alverny 1982 , pp. 433–434.
  19. D'Alverny 1982 , p. 435.
  20. Campbell 1926 , p. 3.
  21. 1 2 3 Jacquart 1996 , p. 982.
  22. Reynolds & Wilson 1968 , p. 106.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jacquart 1996 , p. 983.
  24. 1 2 3 Jacquart 1996 , p. 984.
  25. Haskins 1924 , pp. 8–10.
  26. D'Alverny 1982 , pp. 429–430, 451–452.
  27. Haskins 1927 , p. 288.
  28. D'Alverny 1982 , p. 429.
  29. D'Alverny 1982 , pp. 444–448.
  30. 1 2 3 Katz 1998 , p. 291.
  31. Campbell 1926 , p. 3.
  32. Joseph 2000 , p. 306.
  33. Irwin 2003 , p. 93.
  34. Pingree 2014, p. 464.
  35. D'Alverny 1982 , pp. 444–446, 451.
  36. Lindberg 1978 , p. 64.
  37. Taton 1963 , p. 481.
  38. Burnett 2001 , pp. 249–51, 270.
  39. Haskins 1927 , p. 287: "More of Arabic science passed into Western Europe at the hands of Gerard of Cremona than in any other way."
  40. For a list of Gerard of Cremona's translations see Burnett 2001 , pp. 275–281.
  41. Campbell 1926 , p. 6.
  42. Smith 2001 , p. clxviii has found that there were at least two translators from Ibn al-Haytam's Kitab al-Manazir (in Arabic) to Alhacen's De Aspectibus (in Latin), one of them a master as skilled as Gerard of Cremona, and the other(s) less skilled.
  43. D'Alverny 1982 , pp. 429, 455.
  44. Larramendi, Cañada & Parrilla 2000 , p. 109.
  45. Wightman 1953 , p. 332.
  46. Kann 1993.
  47. Campbell 1926 , p. 5.
  48. Burnett 1999 , p. xi.
  49. D'Alverny 1982 , pp. 440–443.
  50. Campbell 1926 , p. 4.
  51. Dapsens 2016.
  52. On the Latin translations of Arabic works attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan, see Moureau 2020 , pp. 111–112. As noted by Moureau, other Latin works attributed to Geber (Summa perfectionis, De inventione veritatis, De investigatione perfectionis, Liber fornacum, Testamentum Geberi, and Alchemia Geberi) are pseudepigraphic.
  53. Lindberg 1978 , p. 69.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herman of Carinthia</span> 12th-century astrologer

Herman of Carinthia, also called Hermanus Dalmata or Sclavus Dalmata, Secundus, by his own words born in the "heart of Istria", was a philosopher, astronomer, astrologer, mathematician and translator of Arabic works into Latin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard of Cremona</span> Italian translator and astrologer (c. 1114–1187)

Gerard of Cremona was an Italian translator of scientific books from Arabic into Latin. He worked in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile and obtained the Arabic books in the libraries at Toledo. Some of the books had been originally written in Greek and, although well known in Byzantine Constantinople and Greece at the time, were unavailable in Greek or Latin in Western Europe. Gerard of Cremona is the most important translator among the Toledo School of Translators who invigorated Western medieval Europe in the twelfth century by transmitting the Arabs' and ancient Greeks' knowledge in astronomy, medicine and other sciences, by making the knowledge available in Latin. One of Gerard's most famous translations is of Ptolemy's Almagest from Arabic texts found in Toledo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science in the medieval Islamic world</span> Science developed and practised during the Islamic Golden Age

Science in the medieval Islamic world was the science developed and practised during the Islamic Golden Age under the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad, the Umayyads of Córdoba, the Abbadids of Seville, the Samanids, the Ziyarids and the Buyids in Persia and beyond, spanning the period roughly between 786 and 1258. Islamic scientific achievements encompassed a wide range of subject areas, especially astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. Other subjects of scientific inquiry included alchemy and chemistry, botany and agronomy, geography and cartography, ophthalmology, pharmacology, physics, and zoology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aristotelianism</span> Philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle

Aristotelianism is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the social sciences under a system of natural law. It answers why-questions by a scheme of four causes, including purpose or teleology, and emphasizes virtue ethics. Aristotle and his school wrote tractates on physics, biology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics, and government. Any school of thought that takes one of Aristotle's distinctive positions as its starting point can be considered "Aristotelian" in the widest sense. This means that different Aristotelian theories may not have much in common as far as their actual content is concerned besides their shared reference to Aristotle.

Dominicus Gundissalinus, also known as Domingo Gundisalvi or Gundisalvo, was a philosopher and translator of Arabic to Medieval Latin active in Toledo. Among his translations, Gundissalinus worked on Avicenna's Liber de philosophia prima and De anima, Ibn Gabirol's Fons vitae, and al-Ghazali's Summa theoricae philosophiae, in collaboration with the Jewish philosopher Abraham Ibn Daud and Johannes Hispanus. As a philosopher, Gundissalinus crucially contributed to the Latin assimilation of Arabic philosophy, being the first Latin thinker in receiving and developing doctrines, such as Avicenna's modal ontology or Ibn Gabirol's universal hylomorphism, that would soon be integrated into the thirteenth-century philosophical debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunayn ibn Ishaq</span> Arab Christian scholar, physician and scientist (809–873)

Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-Ibadi (Arabic: أبو زيد حنين بن إسحاق العبادي; ʾAbū Zayd Ḥunayn ibn ʾIsḥāq al-ʿIbādī was an influential Arab Nestorian Christian translator, scholar, physician, and scientist. During the apex of the Islamic Abbasid era, he worked with a group of translators, among whom were Abū 'Uthmān al-Dimashqi, Ibn Mūsā al-Nawbakhti, and Thābit ibn Qurra, to translate books of philosophy and classical Greek and Persian texts into Arabic and Syriac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Israeli ben Solomon</span> 9th-century Jewish philosopher and physician

Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, also known as Isaac Israeli the Elder and Isaac Judaeus, was one of the foremost Jewish physicians and philosophers living in the Arab world of his time. He is regarded as the father of medieval Jewish Neoplatonism. His works, all written in Arabic and subsequently translated into Hebrew, Latin and Spanish, entered the medical curriculum of the early thirteenth-century universities in Medieval Europe and remained popular throughout the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John of Seville</span> 12th-century scholar

John of Seville was one of the main translators from Arabic into Castilian in partnership with Dominicus Gundissalinus during the early days of the Toledo School of Translators. John of Seville translated a litany of Arabic astrological works in addition to being credited with the production of several original works in Latin.

The three brothers Abū Jaʿfar, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir ; Abū al‐Qāsim, Aḥmad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir and Al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir, were Persian scholars who lived and worked in Baghdad. They are collectively known as the Banū Mūsā.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toledo School of Translators</span> Group of scholars

The Toledo School of Translators is the group of scholars who worked together in the city of Toledo during the 12th and 13th centuries, to translate many of the Islamic philosophy and scientific works from Classical Arabic into Medieval Latin.

The Kitāb al-Ḥayawān is an Arabic translation of treatises of Aristotle's:

Qusta ibn Luqa, also known as Costa ben Luca or Constabulus (820–912) was a Melkite Christian physician, philosopher, astronomer, mathematician and translator. He was born in Baalbek. Travelling to parts of the Byzantine Empire, he brought back Greek texts and translated them into Arabic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transmission of the Greek Classics</span> Key factor in the development of intellectual life in Western Europe

The transmission of the Greek Classics to Latin Western Europe during the Middle Ages was a key factor in the development of intellectual life in Western Europe. Interest in Greek texts and their availability was scarce in the Latin West during the Early Middle Ages, but as traffic to the East increased, so did Western scholarship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe</span> Influence of Islamic civilisation on Medieval Europe

During the High Middle Ages, the Islamic world was at its cultural peak, supplying information and ideas to Europe, via Al-Andalus, Sicily and the Crusader kingdoms in the Levant. These included Latin translations of the Greek Classics and of Arabic texts in astronomy, mathematics, science, and medicine. Translation of Arabic philosophical texts into Latin "led to the transformation of almost all philosophical disciplines in the medieval Latin world", with a particularly strong influence of Muslim philosophers being felt in natural philosophy, psychology and metaphysics. Other contributions included technological and scientific innovations via the Silk Road, including Chinese inventions such as paper, compass and gunpowder.

The Graeco-Arabic translation movement was a large, well-funded, and sustained effort responsible for translating a significant volume of secular Greek texts into Arabic. The translation movement took place in Baghdad from the mid-eighth century to the late tenth century.

Abū Bishr Mattā ibn Yūnus al-Qunnāʾī was an Arab Christian philosopher who played an important role in the transmission of the works of Aristotle to the Islamic world. He is famous for founding the Baghdad school of Aristotelian philosophers.

Yusuf al-Khuri, also known as Yusuf al-Khuri al-Qass, was a Christian priest, physician, mathematician, and translator of the Abbasid era.

<i>Elements of Theology</i> Work by Proclus

The Elements of Theology is a work on Neoplatonic philosophy written by Proclus. Conceived of as a systematic summary of Neoplatonic metaphysics, it has often served as a general introduction to this subject.

Job of Edessa, called the Spotted, was a Christian natural philosopher and physician active in Baghdad and Khurāsān under the Abbasid Caliphate. He played an important role in transmitting Greek science to the Islamic world through his translations into Syriac.

<i>Kitab al-wadih bi-l-haqq</i> Copto-Arabic treatise against Islam

The Kitāb al-wāḍiḥ bi-l-ḥaqq, known in Latin as the Liber denudationis, is a Copto-Arabic apologetic treatise against Islam. It was written by a Muslim convert to Christianity, Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ, around 1010 in Fāṭimid Egypt. Its purpose is to provide a refutation of Islam on the basis of the Qurʾān and the ḥadīth (tradition). It was translated into Latin in the 13th century, probably in Toledo. It had much greater influence in translation than in its original language.

References