Latin translations of the 12th centuryLatin 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, which recently had come under Christian rule following their reconquest in the late 11th century.
AristotleAristotle (Ancient Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης, romanized: Aristotélēs; 384–322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings span the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he began the wider Aristotelian tradition that followed, which set the groundwork for the development of modern science.
LatinLatin (lingua Latina or Latinum) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire.
Alexander the GreatKing of Macedon from 336 to 323 BCAlexander III of Macedon (Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος, romanized: Aléxandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 336 BC until his death. He was the son of Philip II, born to him by his fourth wife, Olympias, and ascended to the throne at the age of 20 after Philip was assassinated.
Literal translationLiteral translation, direct translation, word-for-word translation, word-by-word translation, or word-to-word translation is the translation of a text done by translating each word separately without analysing how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence. In translation theory, another term for literal translation is metaphrase (as opposed to paraphrase for an analogous translation).
PhysiognomyPhysiognomy, or face reading and sometimes known by the later term anthroposcopy, is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term physiognomy can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain without reference to its implied characteristics—as in the physiognomy of an individual plant (e.g. plant life-form) or of a plant community (e.g. vegetation).
High Middle AgesThe High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history between c. 1000 and c. 1300; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended c. 1500 according to historiographical convention.
Pseudo-AristotlePseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their works to the Greek philosopherAristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as pseudepigrapha. The term Corpus Aristotelicum covers both the authentic and spurious works of Aristotle.
Syriac languageThis article contains Syriac text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper , you may see unjoined Syriac letters or other symbols instead of Syriac script.
Alchemy in the medieval Islamic worldAlchemy in the medieval Islamic world refers to both traditional alchemy and early practical chemistry (the early chemical investigation of nature in general) by Muslim scholars in the medieval Islamic world. The word alchemy was derived from the Arabic word الكيمياء (al-kīmyāʾ), which itself may derive either from the Egyptian word kemi ('black') or from the Greek word khumeia ('fusion').
ArabicCentral Semitic languageArabic is a Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic, including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic.
Ancient GreekAncient Greek (Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ [hellɛːnikɛ̌ː]) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (c. 1400 – c. 1200 BC), Dark Ages (c. 1200 – c. 800 BC), the Archaic or Homeric period (c. 800 – c. 500 BC), and the Classical period (c. 500 – c. 300 BC).
Astrology in the medieval Islamic worldAstrology was highly prevalent in the Islamic world, as Arabs and, later, the Turco-Mongols who ruled over much of it took a keen interest in its study. This interest arose partly from their belief that celestial bodies played an essential role in human affairs and partly because inhabitants of desert regions often traveled at night, relying on their knowledge of the constellations for guidance.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.