![KathedraleToledo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/KathedraleToledo.jpg)
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 works from
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 ...
into Latin.
The School went through two distinct periods separated by a transitional phase. The first was led by Archbishop
Raymond of Toledo
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
in the 12th century, who promoted the translation of philosophical and religious works, mainly from classical Arabic into Latin. Under King
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 ...
during the 13th century, the translators no longer worked with
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 ...
as the final language, but translated into
Old Spanish
Old Spanish, also known as Old Castilian ( es, castellano antiguo; osp, romance castellano ), or Medieval Spanish ( es, español medieval), was originally a dialect of Vulgar Latin spoken in the former provinces of the Roman Empire that provided ...
. This resulted in establishing the foundations of a first standard of the
Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
, which eventually developed 2 varieties, one from
Toledo and one from
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 ...
.
History
Background
Traditionally Toledo was a center of multilingual culture and had prior importance as a center of learning and translation, beginning in its era under Muslim rule. Numerous classical works of ancient philosophers and scientists that had been translated into Arabic during the
Islamic Golden Age
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
"back east" were well known in
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
such as those from the
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonism, Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and Hellenistic religion, religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of ...
school,
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
,
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
,
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...
,
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
, etc., as well as the works of ancient philosophers and scientists from Persia, India, and China; these enabled Arabic-speaking populations at the time (both in the east and in "the west," or North Africa and the Iberian peninsula) to learn about many ancient classical disciplines that were generally inaccessible to the Christian parts of western Europe, and Arabic-speaking scientists in the eastern Muslim lands such as
Ibn Sina
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
,
al-Kindi
Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ar, أبو يوسف يعقوب بن إسحاق الصبّاح الكندي; la, Alkindus; c. 801–873 AD) was an Arab Muslim philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physician ...
,
al-Razi Razi ( fa, رازی) or al-Razi ( ar, الرازی) is a name that was historically used to indicate a person coming from Ray, Iran.
People
It most commonly refers to:
* Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865–925), influential physician, alchemist ...
, and others, had added significant works to that ancient body of thought.
Some of the Arabic literature was also translated 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 ...
,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, and
Ladino
Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to:
* The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible
*Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...
, such as that of Jewish philosopher
Moses Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
, Muslim sociologist-historian
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab
The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...
,
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
citizen
Constantine the African
Constantine the African ( la, Constantinus Africanus; died before 1098/1099, Monte Cassino) was a physician who lived in the 11th century. The first part of his life was spent in Ifriqiya and the rest in Italy. He first arrived in Italy in the c ...
, or the Persian
Al-Khwarizmi
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 ...
.
Al-Andalus's multi-cultural richness beginning in the era of
Umayyad dynasty
Umayyad dynasty ( ar, بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ, Banū Umayya, Sons of Umayya) or Umayyads ( ar, الأمويون, al-Umawiyyūn) were the ruling family of the Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. In the ...
rule in that land (711-1031) was one of the main reasons why European scholars were traveling to study there as early as the end of the 10th century. As the Arabic-speaking rulers who initially came in 711 intermingled and intermarried with local populations, the co-existence of Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, and the local Romance vernacular had seen the emergence of new pidgin vernaculars and bilingual song forms, as well as the creation of new bodies of literature in Arabic and Hebrew. The environment bred multi-lingualism. This era saw the development of a large community of Arabic-speaking Christians (known as
Mozarabs
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 ...
) who were available to work on translations. But translating efforts were not methodically organized until Toledo was reconquered by Christian forces in 1085. The new rulers inherited vast libraries containing some of the leading scientific and philosophical thought not only of the ancient world, but of the Islamic east, the cutting edge of scientific discourse of the era—and it was all largely in Arabic.
Another reason for Al-Andalus's importance at the time is that Christian leaders in many other parts of Europe considered many scientific and theological subjects studied by the ancients, and further advanced by the Arabic-speaking scientists and philosophers, to be heretical. The
Condemnations of 1210–1277
The Condemnations at the medieval University of Paris were enacted to restrict certain teachings as being heretical. These included a number of medieval theological teachings, but most importantly the physical treatises of Aristotle. The investig ...
at the medieval
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
, for example, were enacted to restrict the teachings of several theological works, among which were the physical treatises of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
and the works of
Averroes
Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an
Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psycholog ...
(the Latinized name of the Muslim philosopher-physician of al-Andalus, Ibn Rushd).
Beginnings
Raymond of Toledo
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
, Archbishop of Toledo from 1126 to 1151, started the first translation efforts at the library of the
Cathedral of Toledo
, native_name_lang =
, image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, landscape =
, caption ...
, where he led a team of translators who included Mozarabic Toledans, Jewish scholars,
Madrasah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
teachers, and monks from the
Order of Cluny
Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter.
The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...
. They translated many works, usually from Arabic, Jewish and Greek into Latin, as Spanish language was not yet developed until the XIII century. The work of these scholars made available very important texts from Arabic and Hebrew philosophers, whom the Archbishop deemed important for an understanding of several classical authors, specially
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
. As a result, the library of the cathedral, which had been refitted under Raymond's orders, became a translations center of a scale and importance not matched in the history of western culture.
Gerard of Cremona
Gerard of Cremona (Latin: ''Gerardus Cremonensis''; c. 1114 – 1187) was an Italian translator of scientific books from Arabic into Latin. He worked in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile and obtained the Arabic books in the libraries at Toledo. Some of ...
was the most productive of the Toledo translators at the time, translating more than 87 books in Arabic science. He came to Toledo in 1167 in search of Ptolemy's ''Almagest.'' Since he did not know Arabic when he arrived, he relied on Jews and Mozarabs for translation and teaching.
His translated books include the following:
*
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
's ''
Almagest
The ''Almagest'' is a 2nd-century Greek-language mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy ( ). One of the most influential scientific texts in history, it canoni ...
'';
*
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
's ''
Posterior Analytics
The ''Posterior Analytics'' ( grc-gre, Ἀναλυτικὰ Ὕστερα; la, Analytica Posteriora) is a text from Aristotle's ''Organon'' that deals with demonstration, definition, and scientific knowledge. The demonstration is distinguished ...
'', ''
Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
'', ''
On the Heavens and the World'', ''
On Generation and Corruption
''On Generation and Corruption'' ( grc, Περὶ γενέσεως καὶ φθορᾶς; la, De Generatione et Corruptione), also known as ''On Coming to Be and Passing Away'' is a treatise by Aristotle. Like many of his texts, it is both scie ...
'', and ''
Meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
'', ''
Nicomachean Ethics
The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...
'';
*
al-Khwarizmi
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 ''
On Algebra and Almucabala''.
*
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists ...
' ''
On the Measurement of the Circle'';
*
Euclid
Euclid (; grc-gre, Wikt:Εὐκλείδης, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements'' trea ...
's ''
Elements of Geometry
The ''Elements'' ( grc, Στοιχεῖα ''Stoikheîa'') is a mathematical treatise consisting of 13 books attributed to the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postulate ...
'',
*
Jabir ibn Aflah
Abū Muḥammad Jābir ibn Aflaḥ ( ar, أبو محمد جابر بن أفلح, la, Geber/Gebir; 1100–1150) was an Arab Muslim astronomer and mathematician from Seville, who was active in 12th century al-Andalus. His work ''Iṣlāḥ al-Ma ...
's ''Elementa astronomica'',
*
Al-Kindi
Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ar, أبو يوسف يعقوب بن إسحاق الصبّاح الكندي; la, Alkindus; c. 801–873 AD) was an Arab Muslim philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physician ...
's ''On Optics'',
*
al-Farghani
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī ( ar, أبو العبّاس أحمد بن محمد بن كثير الفرغاني 798/800/805–870), also known as Alfraganus in the West, was an astronomer in the Abbasid court ...
's ''On Elements of Astronomy on the Celestial Motions'',
*
al-Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the Western world, West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a reno ...
's ''On the Classification of the Sciences'',
*
al-Razi Razi ( fa, رازی) or al-Razi ( ar, الرازی) is a name that was historically used to indicate a person coming from Ray, Iran.
People
It most commonly refers to:
* Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865–925), influential physician, alchemist ...
(Rhazes)
chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...
and
medical
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
works, and
*
Thabit ibn Qurra Thabit ( ar, ) is an Arabic name for males that means "the imperturbable one". It is sometimes spelled Thabet.
People with the patronymic
* Ibn Thabit, Libyan hip-hop musician
* Asim ibn Thabit, companion of Muhammad
* Hassan ibn Sabit (died 674) ...
and
Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-Ibadi (also Hunain or Hunein) ( ar, أبو زيد حنين بن إسحاق العبادي; (809–873) was an influential Nestorian Christian translator, scholar, physician, and scientist. During the apex of the Islamic ...
.
He edited for Latin readers the "
Toledan Tables
The ''Toledan Tables'', or ''Tables of Toledo'', were astronomical tables which were used to predict the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the fixed stars. They were a collection of mathematic tables that describe different aspe ...
", the most accurate compilation of
astronomical
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies ...
/
astrological
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
data (
ephemeris
In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris (pl. ephemerides; ) is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position (and possibly vel ...
) ever seen in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
at the time, which were partly based on the work of
al-Zarqali and the works of
Jabir ibn Aflah
Abū Muḥammad Jābir ibn Aflaḥ ( ar, أبو محمد جابر بن أفلح, la, Geber/Gebir; 1100–1150) was an Arab Muslim astronomer and mathematician from Seville, who was active in 12th century al-Andalus. His work ''Iṣlāḥ al-Ma ...
, the
Banu Musa
Banu or BANU may refer to:
* Banu (name)
* Banu (Arabic), Arabic word for "the sons of" or "children of"
* Banu (makeup artist), an Indian makeup artist
* Banu Chichek, a character in the ''Book of Dede Korkut''
* Bulgarian Agrarian National Union ...
brothers,
Abu Kamil
Abū Kāmil Shujāʿ ibn Aslam ibn Muḥammad Ibn Shujāʿ ( Latinized as Auoquamel, ar, أبو كامل شجاع بن أسلم بن محمد بن شجاع, also known as ''Al-ḥāsib al-miṣrī''—lit. "the Egyptian reckoner") (c. 850 – ...
,
Abu al-Qasim
The name Abu al-Qasim or Abu'l-Qasim ( ar, أبو القاسم), meaning ''father of Qasim'', is a kunya or attributive name of Islamic prophet Muhammad, describing him as father to his son Qasim ibn Muhammad. Since then the name has been used by ...
, and
Ibn al-Haytham
Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham, Latinized as Alhazen (; full name ; ), was a medieval mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age from present-day Iraq.For the description of his main fields, see e.g. ("He is one of the prin ...
(including the ''
Book of Optics
The ''Book of Optics'' ( ar, كتاب المناظر, Kitāb al-Manāẓir; la, De Aspectibus or ''Perspectiva''; it, Deli Aspecti) is a seven-volume treatise on optics and other fields of study composed by the medieval Arab scholar Ibn al- ...
'').
Other medical works which he translated include the following:
*
Haly Abenrudian
Abu'l Hassan Ali ibn Ridwan Al-Misri () (c. 988 - c. 1061) was an Arab of Egyptian origin who was a physician, astrologer and astronomer, born in Giza.
He was a commentator on ancient Greek medicine, and in particular on Galen; his commentar ...
's ''Expositio ad Tegni Galeni'';
*
Yuhanna ibn Sarabiyun (Serapion) ''Practica, Brevarium medicine'';
*
Alkindus
Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ar, أبو يوسف يعقوب بن إسحاق الصبّاح الكندي; la, Alkindus; c. 801–873 AD) was an Arab Muslim philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physicia ...
' ''
De Gradibus
''De Gradibus'' was an Arabic book published by the Arab physician Al-Kindi (c. 801–873 CE). ''De gradibus'' is the Latinized name of the book. An alternative name for the book was ''Quia Primos''.p. 19"Al-Kindi, A Precursor Of The Scientific Re ...
'';
*
Rhazes
Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (full name: ar, أبو بکر محمد بن زکریاء الرازي, translit=Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī, label=none), () rather than ar, زکریاء, label=none (), as for example in , or in . In m ...
' ''Liber ad Almansorem, Liber divisionum, Introductio in medicinam, De egritudinibus iuncturarum, Antidotarium'' and ''Practica puerorum'';
*
Isaac Israeli ben Solomon
Isaac Israeli ben Solomon (Hebrew: יצחק בן שלמה הישראלי, ''Yitzhak ben Shlomo ha-Yisraeli''; Arabic: أبو يعقوب إسحاق بن سليمان الإسرائيلي, ''Abu Ya'qub Ishaq ibn Suleiman al-Isra'ili'') ( 832 &ndas ...
, ''De elementis'' and ''De definitionibus'';
*
Abulcasis
Abū al-Qāsim Khalaf ibn al-'Abbās al-Zahrāwī al-Ansari ( ar, أبو القاسم خلف بن العباس الزهراوي; 936–1013), popularly known as al-Zahrawi (), Latinised as Albucasis (from Arabic ''Abū al-Qāsim''), was ...
, ''
Al-Tasrif
The ''Kitāb al-Taṣrīf'' ( ar, كتاب التصريف لمن عجز عن التأليف, lit=The Arrangement of Medical Knowledge for One Who is Not Able to Compile a Book for Himself), known in English as The Method of Medicine, is a 30-volume ...
'' as ''Chirurgia'';
*
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
, ''
The Canon of Medicine
''The Canon of Medicine'' ( ar, القانون في الطب, italic=yes ''al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb''; fa, قانون در طب, italic=yes, ''Qanun-e dâr Tâb'') is an encyclopedia of medicine in five books compiled by Persian physician-phi ...
'' as ''Liber Canonis''; and
* Ibn Wafid (
Abenguefit
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Wāfid al-Lakhmī () (c. 1008 – 1074), known in Latin Europe as , was an Andalusian Arab pharmacologist and physician from Toledo. He was the vizier of Al-Mamun of Toledo. His main work is ''Kitāb al-adwiya al- ...
), the ''Liber de medicamentis simplicus''.
Another important translator was
John of Seville
John of Seville (Latin: ''Johannes Hispalensis'' or ''Johannes Hispaniensis'') ( fl. 1133-53) was one of the main translators from Arabic into Castilian in partnership with Dominicus Gundissalinus during the early days of the Toledo School of Tran ...
. Together with
Dominicus Gundissalinus Dominicus Gundissalinus, also known as Domingo Gundisalvi or Gundisalvo ( 1115 – post 1190), was a philosopher and translator of Arabic to Medieval Latin active in Toledo. Among his translations, Gundissalinus worked on Avicenna's ''Liber de phil ...
during the early days of the School, he was the main translator from Arabic into Castilian. John of Seville translated ''
Secretum Secretorum
The or (from Latin: "The Secret of Secrets"), also known as the ( ar, كتاب سر الأسرار, lit=The Secret Book of Secrets), is a pseudo-Aristotelian treatise which purports to be a letter from Aristotle to his student Alexander the ...
'', a 10th-century Arabic encyclopedic treatise on a wide range of topics, including statecraft, ethics, physiognomy, astrology, alchemy, magic and medicine, which was very influential in Europe during the High Middle Ages. He also translated many astrology treatises from
al-Fargani
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī ( ar, أبو العبّاس أحمد بن محمد بن كثير الفرغاني 798/800/805–870), also known as Alfraganus in the West, was an astronomer in the Abbasid court ...
,
Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi
Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, Latinized as Albumasar (also ''Albusar'', ''Albuxar''; full name ''Abū Maʿshar Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar al-Balkhī'' ;
, AH 171–272), was an early Persian Muslim astrologer, thought to be the greatest ast ...
,
al-Kindi
Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ar, أبو يوسف يعقوب بن إسحاق الصبّاح الكندي; la, Alkindus; c. 801–873 AD) was an Arab Muslim philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physician ...
,
Aḥmad ibn Yusuf,
al-Battani
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jābir ibn Sinān al-Raqqī al-Ḥarrānī aṣ-Ṣābiʾ al-Battānī ( ar, محمد بن جابر بن سنان البتاني) ( Latinized as Albategnius, Albategni or Albatenius) (c. 858 – 929) was an astron ...
,
Thābit ibn Qurra
Thābit ibn Qurra (full name: , ar, أبو الحسن ثابت بن قرة بن زهرون الحراني الصابئ, la, Thebit/Thebith/Tebit); 826 or 836 – February 19, 901, was a mathematician, physician, astronomer, and translator who ...
,
al-Qabisi, etc. In philosophy he produced Latin translations of
Ibn Sina
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
(Avicenna),
Costa ben Luca's ''De differentia spiritus et animae'',
Al-Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the Western world, West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a reno ...
,
Ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
(Avicebron),
Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
, etc. Overall he's known for his intelligent syntheses, combined with his own observations and interpretations, particularly in astrology.
Rudolf of Bruges, a Flemish astronomer and translator from Arabic to Latin,
[">Arzobispo Raimundo de Toledo Escuela de Traductores [1130-1187]](_blank)
/ref> was a pupil of Hermann of Carinthia">130-1187]">Arzobispo Raimundo de Toledo Escuela de Traductores [1130-1187]
/ref> was a pupil of Hermann of Carinthia. He translated into Latin the ''Liber de compositione astrolabii,'' a major work of Islamic science on the astrolabe
An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستارهیاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
, by Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti, which he dedicated to his colleague John of Seville.
Dominicus Gundissalinus Dominicus Gundissalinus, also known as Domingo Gundisalvi or Gundisalvo ( 1115 – post 1190), was a philosopher and translator of Arabic to Medieval Latin active in Toledo. Among his translations, Gundissalinus worked on Avicenna's ''Liber de phil ...
is considered to be the first appointed director of the Toledo School of Translators, beginning in 1180. At the beginning, Gundissalinus only translated from Greek into Latin or Castilian, as he did not have sufficient knowledge of Arabic. He depended on John of Seville for all translations in that language. Later in his career Gundissalinus mastered Arabic sufficiently to translate it by himself. Unlike his colleagues, he focused exclusively on philosophy, translating Greek and Arabic works and the commentaries of earlier Muslim philosophers of the peninsula. Among his important translations is ''Fons Vitæ'' (''Meqor Hahayim''), by the Jewish philosopher ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
. At one time it was thought to be the work of the Christian scholastic Avicebron
Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
. Gundissalinus also translated several works of the major Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
philosophers Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
and al-Ghazâlî. He is known for frequently eliminating passages and adding his own commentaries, rather than being scrupulously faithful to the originals.
Michael Scot
Michael Scot (Latin: Michael Scotus; 1175 – ) was a Scottish mathematician and scholar in the Middle Ages. He was educated at Oxford and Paris, and worked in Bologna and Toledo, where he learned Arabic. His patron was Frederick II of the H ...
, a Scotsman who studied at Oxford University and in Paris before settling in Toledo, also worked as a translator during this period. He translated Aristotle's works on homocentric spheres, ''De verificatione motuum coelestium'', later used by Roger Bacon, and ''Historia animalium,'' 19 books, dated Oct 21, 1220. He also translated the works of al-Betrugi (Alpetragius) in 1217, ''On the Motions of the Heavens'', and Averroes' influential commentaries on the scientific works of Aristotle, among many others.
Herman the German was the bishop of Astorga
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Astorga ( la, Asturicensis) is a diocese whose seat is in the city of Astorga, in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain.[Nicomachean Ethics
The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...]
'' by Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
in 1240, ''Rhetoricoric'' by Averroes
Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an
Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psycholog ...
, and the commentaries of Alfarabi regarding the ''Rhetoric'' of Aristotle. Herman also wrote his own philosophical commentary and summary of the Nicomachean Ethics
Transitional period
During the decades following Archbishop Raimundo's death, the translating activity in Toledo decreased considerably, although it continued into the next century, and overlapped with Alfonso's School of Translators. At least one translator, Hermannus Alemannus, is known to have worked in both schools; he translated the ''Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
'' during the second period. This transitional period was when the first direct translations were made from Arabic into the vernacular Castilian.
Mark of Toledo Mark of Toledo ( fl. 1193-1216) was a Spanish physician and a canon of Toledo. Biography
He produced one of the earliest translations of the Qur'an into Latin while working at the Toledo School of Translators. He also translated Hippocrates' ''De a ...
, a Spanish physician and Canon of Toledo, translated 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. ...
and various medical works such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-Ibadi (also Hunain or Hunein) ( ar, أبو زيد حنين بن إسحاق العبادي; (809–873) was an influential Nestorian Christian translator, scholar, physician, and scientist. During the apex of the Islamic ...
's ''Liber isagogarum'', Hippocrates' ''De aere aquis locis''; and Hunayn Ibn Ishaq's versions of four of Galen's treatises: ''De tactu pulsus'', ''De utilitate pulsus'', ''Se motu membrorum'', ''De motibus liquidis''. He also translated ''Hunayn Ibn Ishaq's Isagoge ad Tegni Galieni'', a series of Muslim religious treatises, dated 1213, and a Greek treatise on biology.
Alfred of Sareshel
Alfred of Sarashel, also known as Alfred the Philosopher, Alfred the Englishman or Alfredus Anglicus, was born in England some time in the 12th century and died in the 13th century.
Not much more is known about his life apart from that he moved t ...
(also known as Alvred Alphitus, Walfred, Sarawel, Sarchel, Alphredus Philosophus, Alphredus Anglicus, etc.) was an English translator and philosopher who resided in Spain towards the end of the 12th century. He Translated the pseudo-Aristotelian Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as ...
''De plantis'', and the part on alchemy, ''Avicennae Mineralia'' of Ibn Sina's ''Sifa''.
John of Toledo John of Toledo (died 1275) was an English Cistercian and Cardinal.
Little is known about John before 1244: He was born in England, had studied medicine in Toledo and acquired theological skills at an unknown place. He became a Cistercian monk in ...
attended the School to study works of medicine before returning to England and being ordained cardinal. Later he traveled to Rome, where he became a personal physician to the Pope. He is believed to have translated into Latin several medical treatises which dealt with practical medicine.
Hermannus Alemannus Hermannus Alemannus (Latin for Herman the German) translated Arabic philosophical works into Latin. He worked at the Toledo School of Translators around the middle of the thirteenth century (from approximately 1240 to 1256) and is almost certainly ...
worked in Toledo between 1240-1256. Although at the service of Manfred (Naples) from 1258–66, he returned to Spain where he became a naturalized citizen of the kingdom of Castile. He translated most of Aristotle's Rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
, interspersed with portions of Averroes
Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an
Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psycholog ...
' middle commentary and short fragments from Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
and Alfarabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a renowned early Isla ...
, Aristotle's '' Aethica Nichomachea'', middle commentary on the Poetics
Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry.
History
The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...
, finished Averroes' ''Commentario Medio y Poetica'' to Aristotle's ''Rhetoric,'' translated the Psalterio from the Hebrew text into Castilian, and translated from Arabic to Castilian an epitome of the ''Ethics'' known as the ''Summa Alexandrinorum''.
Alfonso X and the establishment of the School
Under King 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 ...
(known as the Wise), Toledo rose even higher in importance as a translation center, as well as for the writing of original scholarly works. The Crown did not officially recognize the School, but the team of scholars and translators shared their communal knowledge and taught newcomers new languages and translation methods. There were usually several persons involved in the same translation. The Castilian Crown paid for most of their work, and sometimes hired the most able translators from other parts of Spain and Europe to join the school at Toledo.
King Alfonso's decision to abandon Latin as the target language for the translations and use a revised vernacular version of Castilian, had very significant consequences on the development of the first foundations of the Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
. By his insisting that the texts translated be "llanos de entender" ("easy to understand"), he ensured that the texts would reach a much wider audience, both within Spain and in other European countries. The scholars from such nations as Italy, Germany, England or the Netherlands, who had moved to Toledo in order to translate medical, religious, classical and philosophical texts, returned to their countries with the acquired knowledge from classical Arabic, classical Greek, and ancient Hebrew. The King also commissioned the translation into Castilian of several "oriental" fables and tales which, although written in Arabic, were originally in Sanskrit, such as the ''Kalila wa-Dimna
The ''Panchatantra'' ( IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame stor ...
'' (Panchatantra
The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story. ) and the '' Sendebar''.
Translation methods evolved under the direction of Alfonso X. Previously, a native speaker would verbally communicate the contents of the books to a scholar, who would dictate its Latin equivalent to a scribe, who wrote down the translated text. Under the new methodology, a translator, with expertise in several languages, dictated from the base language, translating into Castilian for the scribe, who wrote down the Castilian version. The scribe's work was later reviewed by one or several editors. Among those editors was the King, who had a keen interest in many disciplines, such as science, history, law, and literature. He effectively managed and selected each of the translators, and reviewed some of their work, encouraging intellectual debate.
Under Alfonso's leadership, Sephardic
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
Jewish scientists and translators acquired a prominent role in the School. They were highly valued by the King because of their intellectual skills and mastery of the two languages most used in the translations: Arabic and Castilian. The King kept some of the Jewish scholars as his personal physicians, and recognized their services with splendid favors and praises. Alfonso's nephew Juan Manuel wrote that the King was so impressed with the intellectual level of the Jewish scholars that he commissioned the translation of the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
, the law of the Jews, as well as the Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
. He intended to prove that the texts were a reflection of Christian doctrine, and that the Jews put their souls in peril by not acknowledging that. Such translations have been lost, although there could be a link with the later development of the Christian Kabbalah
Christian Kabbalah arose during the Renaissance due to Christian scholars' interest in the mysticism of Jewish Kabbalah, which they interpreted according to Christian theology. It is often transliterated as Cabala (also ''Cabbala'') to distingu ...
.
The first known translation of this period, the ''Lapidario'', a book about the medical properties of various rocks and gems, was done by Yehuda ben Moshe Cohen assisted by Garci Pérez, when Alfonso was still 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 ...
. Alfonso obtained the book from a Jew who had kept it hidden, and commanded Yehuda to translate it from Arabic into the Castilian language.
Yehuda ben Moshe was one of the most notable Jewish translators during this period and also worked as the King's physician, even before Alfonso was crowned. Among his most notable translations besides the ''Lapidario'' are the ''Picatrix
''Picatrix'' is the Latin name used today for a 400-page book of magic and astrology originally written in Arabic under the title ''Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm'' ( ar, غاية الحكيم), which most scholars assume was originally written in the midd ...
'', a composite work of ancient treatises on magic and astrology, or the ''Tratado de la açafeha'' that was translated into Latin from an Arabic text by Al-Zarqali with the help of Guillelmus Anglicus. He also did the ''Tetrabiblon'' or ''Quatriparito'' (Ptolemy), 15 treatises on astrology (effects of stars on man and properties of 360 stones with which to ward off negative astral influences), and ''Los IIII libros de las estrellas de la ochaua espera'', that the King Alfonso later ordered to be revised by Samuel ha-Levi
Samuel ben Meir Ha-Levi Abulafia (Úbeda, approx. 1320 - Seville, 1360), was the treasurer of king Pedro I "the Cruel" of Castile and founder of the Synagogue of El Transito in Toledo, Spain.
He was a member of the powerful Abulafia family, whic ...
, Joan de Mesina, and Joan de Cremona. He also contributed to the translation of another book on judicial astrology, the ''Libro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas'', that was, ironically, translated from Latin (as it was used among the Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
), into 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 ...
, and then back into Castilian and Latin.
Yehuda ben Moshe also collaborated in the translation of the ''Libro de las cruces'', ''Libros del saber de Astronomía'', and the famous Alfonsine tables, compiled by Isaac ibn Sid, that provided data for computing the position of the Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
and planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
s relative to the fixed stars
In astronomy, fixed stars ( la, stellae fixae) is a term to name the full set of glowing points, astronomical objects actually and mainly stars, that appear not to move relative to one another against the darkness of the night sky in the backgro ...
, based on observations of astronomers that Alfonso had gathered in Toledo. Among them were Aben Raghel y Alquibicio and Aben Musio y Mohamat, from Seville, Joseph Aben Alí and Jacobo Abenvena, from Córdoba, and fifty more he brought from Gascony and Paris lured with big salaries, and to whom he also assigned the translation of Ptolemy's ''Quadripartitum'' and to gather books by Montesan and Algazel. As a result of their work, the ''Alfonsine tables'' became the most popular astronomical tables in Europe with updated versions being regularly reprinted for over three hundred years. Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated ...
himself owned a copy.
Juan D'Aspa assisted Yehuda ben Moses Cohen in the literal translation of the ''Libro de la alcora'' and the ''Libro de las cruzes'', while Guillén Arremon D'Aspa collaborated with Yehuda on the translation of the ''IIII libros de las estrellas de la ochaua espera''.
Isaac ibn Sid was another renowned Jewish translator favored by the King; he was highly learned on astronomy, astrology, architecture and mathematics. At the King's direction, he produced a translation of the ''Libro de las armellas'' that was simple and easy to understand, so that "any man could readily use it". He also translated several scientific treatises, such as the ''Libro del astrolabio redondo'', or the ''Libro del ataçir'', a book on the flat astrolabe (for rapid calculations of movement of the stars), typically used by astrologers. King Alfonso wrote a preface to Isaac ibn Sid's translation, ''Lamina Universal'', explaining that the original Arabic work was done in Toledo and from it Arzarquiel made his ''açafea''. Isaac ibn Sid also contributed to the translation, ''Libro de quadrante pora rectificar:'' four works on the crafting of clocks, including the ''Libro del relogio dell argen uiuo'' and the ''Libro del relogio del palacio de las oras,'' The latter included designs for a palace with windows placed so that light entering them throughout the day would indicate the time on an internal patio.
Rabbi Zag Sujurmenza Rabbi Zag de Sujurmenza was a Jewish convert of 13th-century Spain who helped King Alfonso X of Castile with his scientific works.
Zag de Sujurmenza was commissioned by the king to write ''Astrolabio redondo'' (spherical astrolabe), ''Astrolabio l ...
is credited with the translation from Arabic of ''Astrolabio redondo'' (spherical astrolabe), ''Astrolabio llano'' (flat astrolabe), ''Constelaciones'' (constellations) and ''Lámina Universal'' (an instrument that improved on the astrolabe
An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستارهیاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
). Of his works, the most important are those of the "round astrolabe" and the "flat astrolabe". He also contributed to translations of ''Armellas de Ptolemy'', ''Piedra de la sombra'' (stone of the shadow, or sundial), ''Relox de agua'' (clepsydra, or water clock), ''Argente vivo o azogue'' (quicksilver or mercury), and ''Candela'' (candle clock).
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 ...
, physician to both Alfonso and his son Sancho
The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...
, translated several books from Arabic into Spanish (Castilian), such as Al-Heitham's treatise on the construction of the universe, and al-Zarqālī's ''Astrolabe.'' Others included Samuel ha-Levi, who translated ''Libro del saber''; Abulafia de Toledo, who was an author, compiler and translator, and Abraham Alfaqui, Ḥayyim Israel or Judah Cohen. Maestre Bernardo, an Islamic convert, assisted Abraham Alfaqui in the revision of the ''Libro de la açafeha'', which had first been translated by a team led by Maestre Ferrando de Toledo, from the same school.
Among the Christian translators of this period were Alvaro de Oviedo, who translated ''Libro Conplido'' (''De judiciis Astrologiae''). Alvaro did the Latin translation while Yehuda ben Moshe's gave him an oral Spanish (Castilian) translation of the Arabic treatise by Aben Ragel. This is the only documented case of a double, simultaneous translation.
With Pietro de Reggio, the Italian Edigio de Tebladis de Parma translated the following into Latin: Ptolemy's ''Quatripartito'' and Jehudas's Spanish (Castilian) version of Ibn Aben Ragel's ''Liber de Judiciis Astrologiae'' (''Libro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas'').
Maestre Joan de Cremona, who was the King's notary, translated parts of the ''Libro de las estrellas fixas'' and worked with Yehuda, Samuel ha-Levi and fellow Italian Juan de Mesina on the ''IIII Libros''. Another King's notary and scribe, Bonaventura of Siena, translated Abraham's Spanish (Castilian) translation of the ''Escala de Mohama'' into French (''Livre de leschiele Mahomet'').
Aftermath
After Alfonso's death, Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV of Castile (12 May 1258 – 25 April 1295) called the Brave (''el Bravo''), was the king of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. Following his brother Ferdinand's death, he gained the support of nobles that ...
, his self-appointed successor, dismantled most of the team of translators, and soon most of its members transferred their efforts to other activities under new patronages, many of them leaving the city of Toledo.
Legacy
The translations of works on different sciences, such as astronomy, astrology, algebra, medicine, etc. acted as a magnet for numerous scholars from all over Europe who came to Toledo eager to learn first hand about the contents of all those books that had been out of reach to Europeans for many centuries. Thanks to this group of scholars and writers, the knowledge acquired from the Arabic, Greek and Hebrew texts found its way into the heart of the universities in Europe. Although the works of Aristotle and Arab philosophers were banned at some European learning centers, such as the University of Paris in the early 1200s, the Toledo's translations were accepted, due to their physical and cosmological nature.
Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...
based his systematization of Aristotelian philosophy, and much of his writings on astronomy, astrology, mineralogy, chemistry, zoology, physiology, and phrenology upon those translations made in Toledo. His pupil, Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
also used many of the translated work to bring Aristotle into his philosophical and theological treatises.
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon (; la, Rogerus or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empiri ...
relied on many of the Arabic translations to make important contributions in the fields of optics, astronomy, the natural sciences, chemistry and mathematics. Many other scholars of the Renaissance period used the translation of ibn al-Haitham
Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham, Latinized as Alhazen (; full name ; ), was a medieval mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age from present-day Iraq.For the description of his main fields, see e.g. ("He is one of the prin ...
's ''Kitab al-manazir'', which was the most important optical treatise of ancient and medieval times. In general, most disciplines in the field of medicine in Europe greatly benefited from the translations made of works that reflected the advanced state of medicine in medieval Islam and some Asian countries.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...
, the first scientist to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology, which placed the sun instead of the earth at the center of the universe, studied the translation of Ptolemy's astronomical Almagest
The ''Almagest'' is a 2nd-century Greek-language mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy ( ). One of the most influential scientific texts in history, it canoni ...
. He also used the data for astronomical computing contained in the Alfonsine tables, of which he owned a copy after they were published in Venice in 1515. This work was the pioneer in a long list of efforts by European astronomers to attempt the computation of accurate tables of astrological predictions. They became the most popular astronomical tables in Europe and updated versions were regularly produced for three hundred years. Other translated works of astronomical nature, such as ''Theorica planetarum'', were used as an introductory text in astronomy by European students all through the 15th century.[Gillispie, Charles C., ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography''. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970–1980.]
Another side effect of this linguistic enterprise was the promotion of a revised version of the Castilian language which, although it incorporated a large amount of scientific and technical vocabulary, had streamlined its syntax in order to be understood by people from all walks of life and to reach the masses, while being made suitable for higher expressions of thought. The contributions of all these scholars, both oral and written, under the tutelage and direction of Alfonso X, established the foundations of the modern supranational Spanish language.
See also
* Translations during the Spanish Golden Age
*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 ...
*Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe
During the High Middle Ages, the Islamic world was at its cultural peak, supplying information and ideas to Europe, via Al-Andalus, Sicily and the Crusader kingdoms in the Levant. These included Latin translations of the Greek Classics and o ...
References
External links
*
Biblioteca Virtual Antigua Escuela de Traductores de Toledo
The School of Translators of Toledo
University of Castile-La Mancha
*
El literalismo de los traductores de la corte de Alfonso el Sabio
in Spanish
in Robert I. Burns, ed.
*
Sobre la noción, significado e importancia de la Escuela de Toledo
by Paulo Vélez León
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Translations
History of translation
Spanish language
12th century in Castile
13th century in Castile
Spanish Renaissance
Toledo, Spain
Literature of Al-Andalus