Peter of Toledo was a significant translator into Latin of the twelfth century. He was one of the team preparing the first Latin translation of the ''

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

'' (the ''

Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete ''Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete'' ( en, Law of Muhammad the pseudo-prophet/false prophet) is the translation of the Qur'an into Medieval Latin by Robert of Ketton ( 1110 – 1160 AD). It is the earliest translation of the Qur'an into a Western langua ...

''). While not much is known of his life, from his fluency in

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 ...

he is assumed to have been a

Mozarab The Mozarabs ( es, mozárabes ; pt, moçárabes ; ca, mossàrabs ; from ar, مستعرب, musta‘rab, lit=Arabized) is a modern historical term for the Iberian Christians, including Christianized Iberian Jews, who lived under Muslim rule in A ...

. His activities as a translator suggest he worked at the

Toledo School of Translators The Toledo School of Translators ( es, Escuela de Traductores de Toledo) is the group of scholars who worked together in the city of Toledo during the 12th and 13th centuries, to translate many of the Judeo-Islamic philosophies and scientific w ...

, which was supported by the archbishop of Toledo,

Raymond de Sauvetât Francis Raymond de Sauvetât, or Raymond of Toledo, was the Archbishop of Toledo from 1125 to 1152. He was a French Benedictine monk, born in Gascony. His most important work was the creation of a working group of translators that would later be ...

. Deficiencies in the translation of ''

Apology of al-Kindy ''Apology of al-Kindi'' (also spelled al-Kindy) is a medieval theological polemic making a case for Christianity and drawing attention to alleged flaws in Islam. The word "apology" is a translation of the Arabic word ', and it is used in the se ...

'', on which he is known to have worked, indicate that his knowledge of

Classical Arabic Classical Arabic ( ar, links=no, ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ, al-ʿarabīyah al-fuṣḥā) or Quranic Arabic is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notab ...

was limited. In 1142,

Peter the Venerable Peter the Venerable ( – 25 December 1156), also known as Peter of Montboissier, was the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Cluny. He has been honored as a saint, though he was never canonized in the Middle Ages. Since in 1862 Pope Pius IX co ...

, abbot of Cluny, visited Spain and recruited a team of translators who were to translate five Arabic texts, including the Qur'an. The collection is known at the '' Corpus Cluniacense''. The translation work went on in 1142–1143. Peter of Toledo appears to have been the principal translator of only one of the texts, the ''Apology'', but he played a key role in the project as a whole, collaborating with three other people who were familiar with Arabic, Robert of Ketton,

Herman of Carinthia Herman of Carinthia (1105/1110 – after 1154), 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 int ...

, a Muslim called Mohammed and also with

Peter of Poitiers Peter of Poitiers (Latin: ''Petrus Pictaviensis'') was a French scholastic theologian, born at Poitiers or in its neighbourhood about 1130. He died in Paris, probably in 1215. Life He studied at the University of Paris, where he became professo ...

, who undertook the polishing of the Latin.Kritzeck, J
Robert of Ketton's translation of the Qur'an
Peter the Venerable recounted that because Peter of Toledo was not as familiar with Latin as he was with Arabic, he was assisted by another brother, Peter of Poitiers. Kritzeck credits Peter of Toledo with having planned and annotated the collection, but this interpretation depends on the Peter being the author of anonymous glosses in a manuscript which has survived in France. Kritzeck, James. ''Peter the Venerable and Islam''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964. (Princeton Oriental Studies No. 23)

Notes

References

*James Kritzeck (1964), ''Peter the Venerable and Islam'' {{authority control Arabic–Latin translators Spanish translators 12th-century people from León and Castile People from Toledo, Spain Spanish–Arabic translators Judeo-Arabic literature Translators of the Quran into Latin