Latin translations of the 12th century
Latin translations of the 12th century were spurred by a major search by European scholars for new learning unavailable in western Europe
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
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
Translators in Italy
Just before the burst of translations in the 12th century,
A copy of
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
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
One of the more important translation projects was sponsored by
Translations were produced throughout Spain and
Plato of Tivoli's translations into Latin include
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 Toledo School of Translators
Toledo, with a large population of Arabic-speaking Christians (
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.[36] 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.[37]
The most productive of the Toledo translators at that time was
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"),[43] 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)[44] 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.[45]
Later translators
David the Jew (c. 1228–1245) translated the works of
In 13th century Portugal,
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.[47] 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.[48] Abu Kamil's Algebra was also translated into Latin during this period, but the translator of the work is unknown.[30]
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
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
List of translations
This list is of translations after c. 1100 of works written originally in Greek.
- Hippocrates and school (5th, 4th centuries B.C.)
- Aphorisms: Burgundio of Pisa, from Greek, 12th century
- Various treatises: Gerard of Cremona and others, from Arabic, Toledo 12th century
- William of Moerbeke, from Greek, after 1260
- Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
- Posterior Analytics (a founding document of the logica nova): two versions from Greek, 12th century; from Arabic, Toledo 12th century
- Meteorologica (Book 4): Henricus Aristippus, from Greek, Sicily c. 1156
- Physica, De Generatione et Corruptione, Parva Naturalia, Metaphysica (first 4 books), De Anima, from Greek, 12th century
- Meteorologica (Books 1-3), Physica, De Cælo et Mundo, De Generatione et Corruptione: Gerard of Cremona, from Arabic, Toledo 12th century
- De Animalibus (Historia Animalium, De Partibus Animalium, De Generatione Animalium): Michael Scot, from a 9th-century Arabic translation, Spain c. 1217-20
- Almost complete works: William of Moerbeke, new or revised translations from Greek c. 1260-71
- Euclid (c. 330-260 B.C.)
- Elements (15 books, 13 genuine): Adelard of Bath from Arabic, c. 1126; revised by Campanus of Novara, c. 1254
- Optica and Catoptrica: from Greek, probably Sicily
- Apollonius (3rd century B.C.)
- Conica: perhaps Gerard of Cremona, from Arabic, 12th century
- Archimedes (287-212 B.C.)
- De Mensura Circuli: Gerard of Cremona, from Arabic, Toledo 12th century
- De Iis quæ in Humido Vehuntur (On Floating Bodies): William of Moerbeke from Greek 1269
- Diocles ( 2nd century B.C.)
- De Speculis Comburentibus (On Burning Mirrors): Gerard of Cremona, from Arabic, Toledo 12th century
- Hero of Alexandria (1st century B.C.?)
- Pneumatica: from Greek, Sicily 12th century
- Catoptrica (attributed to Ptolemy in Middle Ages): William of Moerbeke, from Greek, after 1260
- Pseudo-Aristotle
- Mechanica: from Greek, early 13th century; Bartholomew of Messina, from Greek, Sicily c.1260
- De Plantis or De Vegetabilibus (now attributed to Nicolaus of Damascus, 1st century B.C.): Alfred of Sareshel, from Arabic, Spain probably before 1200
- Pseudo-Euclid
- Liber Euclidis de Ponderoso et Levi (on statics): from Arabic, 12th century
- Galen (129-200 A.D.)
- Various treatises: Burgundio of Pisa, from Greek, c. 1185
- Various treatises: Gerard of Cremona and others, from Arabic, Toledo 12th century
- Various treatises: William of Moerbeke, from Greek, 1277
- Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.)
- Almagest: from Greek, Sicily c. 1160; Gerard of Cremona, from Arabic, Toledo 1175
- Optica: Eugenius of Palermo, from Arabic, c. 1154
- Alexander of Aphrodisias (fl. 193 -217 A.D.)
- Commentary on the Meteorologica: William of Moerbeke, from Greek, 13th century
- De Motu et Tempore: Gerard of Cremona, from Arabic, Toledo 12th century
- Proclus (412-485 A.D.)
- Elements of Physics (De motu): from Greek, Sicily 12th century
- Elements of Theology: William of Moerbeke, from Greek, 1268
- Three opuscules (On Providence, On Providence and Fate, and On the Existence of Evils): William of Moerbeke, from Greek, 13th century
- Commentary on Plato's Parmenides: William of Moerbeke, from Greek, 13th century
- Simplicius (6th century A.D.)
- Part of Commentary on Aristotle's De Cælo: Robert Grosseteste, from Greek, 13th century
- Commentary on Aristotle's Physica: from Greek, 13th century
- Commentary on Aristotle's De Cælo: William of Moerbeke, from Greek, 1271
- Commentary on Aristotle's Categories: William of Moerbeke, from Greek, 13th century
See also
- Toledo School of Translators
- Renaissance of the 12th century
- Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe
- Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete
- List of translators
- Graeco-Arabic translation movement
Notes
- ^ Suter & Samsó 1960–2007.
- ^ See, e.g., Sarton 1952, pp. 31–32.
- ^ Burnett 2001, p. 255.
- ^ Laughlin 1995, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Laughlin 1995, p. 139.
- ^ Laughlin 1995, p. 141.
- ^ Laughlin 1995, pp. 143–146.
- ^ Laughlin 1995, pp. 147–148.
- ^ Watt 1972, pp. 59–60; Lindberg 1978, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Lindberg 1978, pp. 58–59.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, pp. 426–433.
- ^ Irwin 2003, p. 93.
- ^ Santa Fe Community College.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, pp. 422–426.
- ^ a b Jacquart 1996, p. 981.
- ^ Campbell 1926, pp. 4–5.
- ^ Haskins 1924, pp. 155–157.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, pp. 433–434.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, p. 435.
- ^ Campbell 1926, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Jacquart 1996, p. 982.
- ^ Reynolds & Wilson 1968, p. 106.
- ^ a b c d e f Jacquart 1996, p. 983.
- ^ a b c Jacquart 1996, p. 984.
- ^ Haskins 1924, pp. 8–10.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, pp. 429–430, 451–452.
- ^ Haskins 1927, p. 288.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, p. 429.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, pp. 444–448.
- ^ a b c Katz 1998, p. 291.
- ^ Campbell 1926, p. 3.
- ^ Joseph 2000, p. 306.
- ^ Irwin 2003, p. 93.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, pp. 444–446, 451.
- ^ Lindberg 1978, p. 64.
- ^ Taton 1963, p. 481.
- ^ Burnett 2001, pp. 249–51, 270.
- ^ Haskins 1927, p. 287: "More of Arabic science passed into Western Europe at the hands of Gerard of Cremona than in any other way."
- ^ For a list of Gerard of Cremona's translations see Burnett 2001, pp. 275–281.
- ^ Campbell 1926, p. 6.
- ^ 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.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, pp. 429, 455.
- ^ Larramendi, Cañada & Parrilla 2000, p. 109.
- ^ Wightman 1953, p. 332.
- ^ Kann 1993.
- ^ Campbell 1926, p. 5.
- ^ Burnett 1999, p. xi.
- ^ D'Alverny 1982, pp. 440–443.
- ^ Campbell 1926, p. 4.
- ^ Dapsens 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Lindberg 1978, p. 69.
References
- Burnett, Charles, ed. (1999). Adelard of Bath: Conversations with His Nephew. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Burnett, Charles (2001). "The Coherence of the Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo in the Twelfth Century". Science in Context. 14 (1–2): 249–288. S2CID 143006568.
- Campbell, Donald (1926). Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-23188-4.
- D'Alverny, Marie-Thérèse (1982). "Translations and Translators". In Benson, Robert L.; Constable, Giles (eds.). Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 421–462.
- Dapsens, Marion (2016). "De la Risālat Maryānus au De Compositione alchemiae: Quelques réflexions sur la tradition d'un traité d'alchimie" (PDF). Studia graeco-arabica. 6: 121–140.
- OCLC 836689268.
- Haskins, Charles Homer (1927). The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. (see especially chapter 9, "The Translators from Greek and Arabic")
- Kann, Christoph (1993). "Michael Scotus". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Vol. 5. Herzberg: Bautz. cols. 1459–1461. ISBN 3-88309-043-3.
- Irwin, Robert (2003). The Arabian Nights: A Companion. London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 1-86064-983-1.
- Jacquart, Danielle (1996). "The Influence of Arabic Medicine in the Medieval West". In ISBN 0-415-12410-7.
- Joseph, George G. (2000). The Crest of the Peacock. Non-European Roots of Mathematics. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00659-8.
- Katz, Victor J. (1998). A History of Mathematics: An Introduction. Reading: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-321-01618-1.
- Larramendi, Miguel Hernando de; Cañada, Luis Miguel Pérez; Parrilla, Gonzalo Fernández, eds. (2000). La traducción de literatura árabe contemporánea: antes y después de Naguib Mahfuz. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. ISBN 84-8427-050-5.
- Laughlin, Burgess (1995). The Aristotle Adventure. A Guide to the Greek, Arabic, and Latin Scholars Who Transmitted Aristotle's Logic to the Renaissance. Flagstaff Ariz.: Albert Hale Pub.
- ISBN 9780226482330.
- Moureau, Sébastien (2020). "Min al-kīmiyāʾ ad alchimiam. The Transmission of Alchemy from the Arab-Muslim World to the Latin West in the Middle Ages". Micrologus. 28: 87–141. hdl:2078.1/211340.
- Reynolds, L.D.; Wilson, Nigel G. (1968). Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature. London: Oxford University Press. OCLC 895660376.
- ISBN 9781298825681.
- Smith, A. Mark (2001). Alhacen's Theory of Visual Perception: A Critical Edition with English Translation and Commentary of the First Three Books of Alhacen's De Aspectibus, the Medieval Latin Version of Ibn al-Haytam's Kitab al-Manazir. Volume One: Introduction and Latin Text. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 91, 4. Vol. 91. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. pp. i–337. )
- Suter, H.; Samsó, J. (1960–2007). "al-Khayyāṭ". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. .
- Taton, René (1963). History of Science: Ancient and Medieval Science. New York: Basic Books. OCLC 797291798.
- Watt, W. Montgomery (1972). The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
- Wightman, William P. D. (1953). The Growth of Scientific Ideas. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 1-135-46042-6.
External links
- Robert of Ketton's Qu'ran, as edited by Bibliander (1550 revised edition)
- 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
- Makdisi - Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West