The 12th century saw a major search by European scholars for new learning, which led them to the Arabic fringes of Europe, especially to Spain and Sicily. A typical story is that of Gerard of Cremona (c. 1114-87), who was descrbed as having^[1] World map showing the location of Europe. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... The Islamic conquest and domination of Sicily (as well as parts of southern Italy) is a process whose origin must be traced back in the general expansion of Islam from the 7th century onwards (see Muslim conquests for more details). ... Gerard of Cremona (Gherardo) (Cremona, Lombardy, c. ...

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 thouroughly learnt the Arabic language.... Almagest is the Latin form of the Arabic name (al-kitabu-l-mijisti, i. ...

Unlike the interest in the literature of classical antiquity found in 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 the translating Jewish teachings from Hebrew, and most significantly, an interest in the Qur'an and other Muslim religious texts.^[2] Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD... The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ... This is a subarticle to Islamic studies and science. ... Islamic philosophy (الفلسفة الإسلامية) is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between philosophy (reason) and the religious teachings of Islam (faith). ... The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ...

Translators in Italy and Sicily

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 presented the ancient medicine of Hippocrates and Galen as adapted by Arabic physicians.^[3] Constantine the African was a translator of Greek medical texts. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Carthage (Greek: , from the Phoenician meaning new town, Arabic: , Latin: ) refers both to an ancient city in North Africa located in modern day Tunis and to the civilization that developed within the citys sphere of influence. ... The restored Abbey. ... Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos (ca. ... Galen (Greek: Γαληνός, Galinos; Latin: Claudius Galenus; AD 129 –c. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

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.^[4] Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... The following is a list of monarchs of Naples and Sicily: See also: List of Counts of Apulia and Calabria Hauteville Counts of Sicily, 1071-1130 Roger I 1071-1101 Simon 1101-1105 Roger II 1105-1130 Hauteville Kings of Sicily, 1130-1198 Roger II 1130-1154 William I 1154...

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.^[5] 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.^[6] Almagest is the Latin form of the Arabic name (al-kitabu-l-mijisti, i. ... Henry Aristippus was the archdeacon of Catania (from c. ... William I (d. ... PLATO was one of the first generalized Computer assisted instruction systems, originally built by the University of Illinois (U of I) and later taken over by Control Data Corporation (CDC), who provided the machines it ran on. ... Meno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. ... It has been suggested that Phaidon be merged into this article or section. ... Euclid (Greek: ), also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Hellenistic mathematician who flourished in Alexandria, Egypt, almost certainly during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). ... A medieval artists rendition of Claudius Ptolemaeus Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: ; ca. ...

Translators on the Spanish frontier

As early as the end of the tenth 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 for another century.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9] Gerbert of Aurillac, later known as pope Silvester II, (or Sylvester II), (ca. ... The Marca Hispanica (Spanish Mark or March) was a buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, first set up by Charlemagne in 795 as a defensive barrier to keep the Muslim Moors out of the Frankish Kingdom. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (Catalan) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... This is a subarticle to Islamic studies and science. ... Islamic mathematics is the profession of Muslim Mathematicians. ... This is a sub-article of Islamic science and astronomy. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ...

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 translate the Qur'an.^[10] Peter the Venerable (about 1092 - December 25, 1156 in Cluny), also known as Peter of Montboissier, was born to Raingarde in Auvergne. ... The abbey today The Abbey of Cluny (or Cluni, or Clugny) was founded on 2 September 909 by William I, Count of Auvergne, who installed Abbot Berno and placed the abbey under the immediate authority of Pope Sergius III. The Abbey and its constellation of dependencies soon came to exemplify... Robert of Ketton (c. ... Herman of Carinthia, Herman Dalmatin, Sclavus Dalmata, Secundus Herman of Carinthia or Herman Dalmatin (also known in Latin as Sclavus Dalmata, Secundus) was a philosopher, astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, translator and author. ... Look up Peter, peter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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.^[11] The most important center of translation was the great cathedral library of Toledo. Coat of arms of Provence Provence (Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France, located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to the Italian border. ... Plato Tiburtinus (Plato of Tivoli) was a 12th century Italian mathematician, astronomer and translator who lived in Barcelona. ... Anthem: Capital Barcelona Official language(s) Catalan,Spanish and Aranese. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Coat of arms of the province of Languedoc, now being used as an official flag by the Midi-Pyrénees region as well as by the city of Toulouse Languedoc (pronounced ) (Lengadòc (pronounced ) in Occitan) is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions... Capital Zaragoza Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 4th  47,719 km²  9. ... Capital Pamplona (Basque: Iruña) Official language(s) Spanish; Basque co-official in the north of community. ... Robert of Chester (Robertus Castrensis) was an English arabist who flourished around 1150. ... Location Location of Segovia in Spain Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Segovia (Spanish) Spanish name Segovia Postal code 40001-40006 Website http://www. ...

The "Toledo School"

One of the sponsors of translations in Spain was Archbishop Raymond of Toledo, (1125-52), to whom John of Seville dedicated a translation in appreciation. Starting from this fragmentary evidence, nineteenth-century historians proposed that Raymond had established a formal translation school, but no specific evidence for such a school has emerged and its existence is now doubted. Many of the translators worked outside Toledo and those who did work in Toledo, worked after Raymond's episcopacy.^[12] Francis Raymond de Sauvetât, or Raymond of Toledo, was the French Archbishop of Toledo from 1125 to 1152. ...

Toledo, however, was a center of multilingual culture, with a large population of Arabic speaking Christians (Mozarabs) and had prior importance as a center of learning. This tradition of scholarship, and the books that embodied it, survived the conquest of the city by King Alfonso VI in 1085. A further factor was that Toledo's early bishops and clergy came from France, where Arabic was not widely known. Consequently the cathedral became a center of translations, which were on a scale and importance that "has no match in the history of western culture".^[13] The Mozarabs (in Spanish, mozárabes; in Portuguese, moçárabes) were Iberian Christians living under Muslim domination, and their descendants. ... Alfonso VI (before June 1040 – July 1, 1109), nicknamed the Brave, was King of León from 1065 to 1109 and King of Castile since 1072 after his brothers death. ...

King Alfonso X (the Wise)

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' in cooperation with Domingo Gundisalvo, Archdeacon of Cuéllar.^[14] The most productive of the Toledo translators was Gerard of Cremona who translated over seventy books (including Ptolemy's Almagest, al-Khwarizmi's On Algebra and Almucabala, Archimedes's On the Measurement of the Circle, Aristotle's On the Heavens, and Euclid's Elements of Geometry)^[15] At the close of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries, Mark of Toledo translated the Qur'an (once again) and various medical works.^[16] Abraham ben David was a Jewish, French commentator on the Talmud. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... The Book of Healing is a scientific encyclopedia written by the great Persian physician and philosopher Ibn Sina of Persia in the 10th century. ... Dominicus Gundissalinus (flourished ca. ... Gerard of Cremona (Gherardo) (Cremona, Lombardy, c. ... A medieval artists rendition of Claudius Ptolemaeus Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: ; ca. ... Almagest is the Latin form of the Arabic name (al-kitabu-l-mijisti, i. ... Soviet postage stamp commemorating the 1200th anniversary of Muhammad al‑Khwarizmi in 1983. ... A page from the book (Arabic for The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing), also known under a shorter name spelled as Hisab al-jabr w’al-muqabala, Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala and other transliterations) is a mathematical book written approximately 820 AD by the Persian... Archimedes (Greek: c. ... Aristotle (Greek: AristotélÄ“s) (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... On the Heavens (or De Caelo) is Aristotles chief cosmological treatise: it contains his astronomical theory. ... Euclid (Greek: ), also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Hellenistic mathematician who flourished in Alexandria, Egypt, almost certainly during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). ... Mark of Toledo (fl. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ...

Later translators

King Alfonso X of Castile (reigned 1252-84) continued to promote translations, as well as the production of original scholarly works. Alfonso X and his court. ...

See also

• Renaissance of the 12th century
• Islamic Golden Age and Islamic science
• Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete
• Mark of Toledo
• List of translators

New technological discoveries allowed the development of the gothic style. ... Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian Astronomer. ... This is a subarticle to Islamic studies and science. ... Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete (English: Law of Muhammad the pseudo-prophet) was the translation of the Quran into Latin by Robert of Ketton. ... Mark of Toledo (fl. ... This is primarily a list of notable Western translators. ...

Notes

References

• Burnett, Charles. "The Coherence of the Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo in the Twelfth Century," Science in Context, 14 (2001): 249-288.
• d'Alverny, Marie-Thérèse. "Translations and Translators." pp. 421-462 in Robert L. Benson and Giles Constable, eds., Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1982.
• Haskins, Charles Homer. The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1927. See especially chapter 9, "The Translators from Greek and Arabic."
• Haskins, Charles Homer. Studies in the History of Mediaeval Science. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1967 (reprint of the Cambridge, Mass., 1927 ed.) Most of the book deals with the translations of Arabic and Greek scientific literature.

External sources

• The Impact of Translations of Muslim Sciences on the West
• Norman Roth, "Jewish Collaborators in Alfonso's Scientific Work," in Robert I. Burns, ed., Emperor of Culture: Alfonso X the Learned of Castile and His Thirteenth-Century Renaissance Culture