Robert of Chester (
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 ...
: ''Robertus Castrensis'') was an English
Arabist of the 12th century. He translated several historically important books from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...
to
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 ...
, such as:
* ''
The Book of the Composition of Alchemy'' (''Liber de compositione alchemiae''): translated in 1144, this was the first book on
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
to become available in Europe
The Arabic Origin of Liber de compositione alchimiae
*'''' (''Liber algebrae et almucabola''): Al-Khwārizmī
Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī ( ar, محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي, Muḥammad ibn Musā al-Khwārazmi; ), or al-Khwarizmi, was a Persian polymath from Khwarazm, who produced vastly influential works in mathematics, astronom ...
's book about algebra
Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics.
Elementary ...
, translated in 1145
In the 1140s Robert worked in Spain, where the division of the country between Muslim and Christian rulers resulted in opportunities for interchange between the different cultures. However, by the end of the decade he had returned to England. Some sources identify him with Robert of Ketton
Robert of Ketton, known in Latin as Rodbertus Ketenensis ( 1141–1157), was an English astronomer, translator, priest and diplomat active in Spain. He translated several works of Arabic into Latin, including the first translation of the Quran int ...
( la, Robertus Ketenensis) who was also active as an Arabic-Latin translator in the 1140s.[
However, ]Ketton
Ketton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is about east of Oakham and west of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population ...
and Chester, while both places in England, are a long way apart. Also, when in Spain, Robert of Ketton was based in the Kingdom of Navarre, whereas Robert of Chester is known to have worked in Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...
.
See also
*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 at the time; their search led them to areas of southern Europe, particularly in central Spain and Sicily, w ...
*Louis Charles Karpinski
Louis Charles Karpinski (5 August 1878 – 25 January 1956) was an American mathematician.
Background
Louis Charles Karpinski was born on August 5, 1878, in Rochester, New York. His parents were Henry Hermanagle Karpinski of Warsaw, Poland, an ...
Notes
References
*
* Charles Burnett, ‘Ketton, Robert of ( fl. 1141–1157)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
, Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2004. (This is, in effect, a double biography covering both Robert of Ketton and Robert of Chester.)
External links
complete text online. Translation of Robert of Chester, or Robert of Ketton.
__NOTOC__
Arabic–Latin translators
Translators from Arabic
12th-century English people
Medieval English mathematicians
Translators of the Quran into Latin
Medieval Arabists
Medieval orientalists
Medieval linguists
Medieval English scientists
12th-century translators
12th-century English mathematicians
12th-century Latin writers
{{Sci-hist-stub