Bonaventure of Siena ( it, Bonaventura da Siena) was a Tuscan scribe and translator who worked at the court of

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

in the 1260s, when Alfonso was claiming the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. His most famous work is a translation of the ''

Book of Muhammad's Ladder The ''Book of Muḥammad's Ladder'' is a first-person account of the Islamic prophet Muḥammad's night journey (''Isra' and Mi'raj, isrāʾ'') and ascent to heaven (''Isra' and Mi'raj, miʿrāj''), translated into Latin (as ) and Old French (as ) ...

'' into

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Life

Nothing is known of Bonaventure's family or of his biography before he arrived at the court of Alfonso X in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. He arrived after Alfonso's election as Holy Roman emperor, along with may other expatriates from the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

city of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. The earliest reference to him is from 1264, when he was a "notary and scribe of the lord king". On 10 May 1266, on Alfonso X's instruction, he drew up the act by which the ''

infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...

'' Fernando de la Cerda named the men who would represent him at his

proxy marriage A proxy wedding or proxy marriage is a wedding in which one or both of the individuals being united are not physically present, usually being represented instead by other persons. If both partners are absent a double proxy wedding occurs. Marriage ...

to Blanche, daughter of

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

. On 18 January 1284,

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon ( November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pres ...

named a certain Filippo Bonaventura da Siena, recommended to him by Cardinal

Latino Malabranca Orsini Latino Malabranca Orsini (b. at Rome, year unknown – d. 10 August 1294, Perugia) was a Roman noble, an Italian cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, and nephew of Pope Nicholas III. Early life Latino was son of Roman senator Angelo Malabranca an ...

, as a member of his ''

familia regis In the Middle Ages, a ''familiaris'' (plural ''familiares''), more formally a ''familiaris regis'' ("familiar of the king") or ''familiaris curiae''In medieval documents, ''curiae'' may also be spelled ''curiæ'' or ''curie''. ("of the court"), ...

''. This may have been Bonaventure's son. His presence in Spain would be explained by his father's earlier contacts there, although the exact purpose of his visit is unknown.

Work

Bonaventure was commissioned by Alfonso X to translate the ''

'' into

and possibly also

. He worked from

Abraham of Toledo Abraham of Toledo (–1294), also known as Abraham Alfaquín and Abraham ibn Waqar, was an Iberian Jewish physician and translator of the Toledo School of Translators. Life Abraham's birthplace is unknown, but was probably either Toledo or Burgos ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

translation of an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

original. A note in the only surviving French manuscript indicates that the French translation was completed in May 1264. Some doubts have been raised about the ascription of the French translation to Bonaventure. It has been argued that he only produced the Latin translation shortly before 1264, while the French translation was made from the Latin shortly after by an anonymous translator from

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

.Jacques Monfrin and Peter Wunderli both reject Bonaventure as the French translator. , is sympathetic Monfrin's position, but argues against it. He wrote an original preface to the Latin translation, addressed to Alfonso.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{refend Writers from Siena 13th-century Italian writers 13th-century translators Spanish–French translators Spanish–Latin translators Alfonso X of Castile