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Unlike the interest in the literature of Classical Antiquity found in the Renaissance , 12th century translators sought new Scientific , Philosophical and, to a lesser extent, religious texts. The latter concern was reflected in a renewed interest in translations of the Greek Church Fathers into Latin , a concern with the translating Jew ish teachings from Hebrew , and most significantly, an interest in the Qur'an and other Muslim religious texts.M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 426-33 TRANSLATORS IN ITALY Just before the burst of translations in the 12th century, . the ancient medicine of Hippocrates and Galen as adapted by Arabic Physicians ,M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 422-6 and the works of Hunayn Ibn Ishaq and his nephew Hubaysh ibn al-Hasan.D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 4-5. Sicily had been part of the Byzantine Empire until 878, was under Muslim Control from 878-1060, and came under Norman control between 1060 and 1090. As a consequence the Norman Kingdom Of Sicily maintained a trilingual bureaucracy, which made it an ideal place for translations. Sicily also maintained relations with the Greek East, which allowed for exchange of ideas and manuscripts.C. H. Haskins, ''Studies in Mediaeval Science,'' pp 155-7 A copy of Ptolemy 's '' Almagest '' was brought back to Sicily by Henry Aristippus , as a gift from the Emperor to King William I . Aristippus, himself, translated Plato 's '' Meno '' and '' Phaedo '' into Latin, but it was left to an anonymous student at Salerno to travel to Sicily and translate the ''Almagest'', as well as several works by Euclid from Greek to Latin.M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 433-4 Although the Sicilians generally translated directly from the Greek, when Greek texts were not available, they would translate from Arabic. Admiral Eugene Of Sicily translated Ptolemy's '' Optics '' into Latin, drawing on his knowledge of all three languages in the task.M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," p. 435 Accursius of Pistoja 's translations included the works of Galen and Hunayn Ibn Ishaq .D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 3. Gerard de Sabloneta translated Avicenna 's '' The Canon Of Medicine '' and Al-Razi 's ''Almansor''. Fibonacci presented the first complete European account of the Hindu-Arabic Numeral System from Arabic Sources in his '' Liber Abaci '' (1202). TRANSLATORS ON THE SPANISH FRONTIER As early as the end of the tenth century, European scholars travelled to Spain to study. Most notable among these was Gerbert Of Aurillac (later Pope Sylvester II) who Studied Mathematics in the region of the Spanish March around Barcelona . Translations, however, did not begin in Spain for another century.C. H. Haskins, ''Studies in Mediaeval Science'', pp. 8-10 The early translators in Spain focused heavily on Scientific Works , especially Mathematics and Astronomy , with a second area of interest including the Qur'an and other Islam ic texts.M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 429-30, 451-2 Spanish collections included many scholarly works written in Arabic, so translators worked almost exclusively from Arabic, rather than Greek texts, often in cooperation with a local speaker of Arabic.C. H. Haskins, ''Renaissance of the Twelfth Century,'' p. 288 One of the more important translation projects was sponsored by Peter The Venerable , the abbot of Cluny . In 1142 he called upon Robert Of Ketton and Herman Of Carinthia , Peter Of Poitiers , and a Muslim known only as "Mohammed" to translate the Qur'an.M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," p. 429 Translations were produced throughout Spain and Provence . Plato Of Tivoli worked in Catalonia , Herman of Carinthia in Northern Spain and across the Pyrenees in Languedoc , Hugh Of Santalla in Aragon , Robert of Ketton in Navarre and Robert Of Chester in Segovia .M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 444-8 The most important center of translation was the great cathedral library of Toledo . Plato of Tivoli's translations into Latin include Al-Battani 's astronomical and Trigonometrical work ''De motu stellarum'', Abraham Bar Hiyya 's ''Liber embadorum'', Theodosius Of Bithynia 's ''Spherica'', and Archimedes ' ''Measurement of a Circle''. Robert of Chester's translations into Latin included Al-Khwarizmi 's '' Algebra '' and astronomical tables (also containing trigonometric tables). Abraham of Tortosa 's translations include Ibn Sarabi's ( Serapion Junior) ''De Simplicibus'' and Abulcasis ' '' Al-Tasrif '' as ''Liber Servitoris''. In 1126, Muhammad Al-Fazari 's ''Great Sindhind'' (based on the '' Surya Siddhanta '' and the works of Brahmagupta ) was translated into Latin.G. G. Joseph, ''The Crest of the Peacock'', p. 306. The "Toledo School" One of the sponsors of translations in Spain was Archbishop Raymond Of Toledo , (1125-52), to whom John Of Seville dedicated a translation in appreciation. Starting from this fragmentary evidence, nineteenth-century historians proposed that Raymond had established a formal translation school, but no specific evidence for such a school has emerged and its existence is now doubted. Many of the translators worked outside Toledo and those who did work in Toledo, worked after Raymond's episcopacy.M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 444-7 Toledo, however, was a center of multilingual culture, with a large population of Arabic speaking Christians ( Mozarabs ) and had prior importance as a center of learning. This tradition of scholarship, and the books that embodied it, survived the conquest of the city by King Alfonso VI in 1085. A further factor was that Toledo's early bishops and clergy came from France, where Arabic was not widely known. Consequently the cathedral became a center of translations, which were on a scale and importance that "has no match in the history of western culture".C. Burnett, "Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo", pp. 249-51, 270. Among the early translators at Toledo were an Avendauth (who some have identified with Abraham Ibn Daud ), who translated Avicenna 's encyclopedia, the '' Kitāb Al-Shifa '' (''The Book of Healing''), in cooperation with Domingo Gundisalvo , Archdeacon of Cuéllar.M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 444-6, 451 Alfonso of Toledo's translations into Latin include Averroes ' ''De separatione primi principii''. John Of Seville 's translations included the works of Al-Battani , Thabit Ibn Qurra , Maslamah Ibn Ahmad Al-Majriti , Al-Farabi , Abu Ma'shar , Al-Ghazali , and Al-Farghani .Salah Zaimeche (2003). Aspects of the Islamic Influence on Science and Learning in the Christian West , p. 10. Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation. The most productive of the Toledo translators was Gerard Of Cremona ,C. H. Haskins, ''Renaissance of the Twelfth Century,'' p. 287. who translated 87 books, including Ptolemy 's '' Almagest '', Al-Khwarizmi 's '' On Algebra And Almucabala '', Archimedes ' ''On the Measurement of the Circle'', Aristotle 's '' On The Heavens '', Euclid 's '' Elements Of Geometry '', Jabir Ibn Aflah 's ''Elementa astronomica'', Al-Kindi 's ''On Optics'', Al-Farghani 's ''On Elements of Astronomy on the Celestial Motions'', Al-Farabi 's ''On the Classification of the Sciences'',For a list of Gerard of Cremona's translations see: Edward Grant (1974) ''A Source Book in Medieval Science'', (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr.), pp. 35-8 or Charles Burnett, "The Coherence of the Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo in the Twelfth Century," ''Science in Context'', 14 (2001): at 249-288, at pp. 275-281. the Chemical and Medical works of Al-Razi (Rhazes), the works of Thabit Ibn Qurra and Hunayn Ibn Ishaq ,D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 6. and the works of Al-Zarkali , Jabir Ibn Aflah , the Banu Musa , Abu Kamil , Abu Al-Qasim , and Ibn Al-Haytham (including the '' Book Of Optics ''). At the close of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries, Mark Of Toledo translated the Qur'an (once again) and various Medical Works .M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 429, 455 Later translators (Alpetragius) in 1217, Al-Bitruji 's ''On the Motions of the Heavens'', and Averroes ' influential commentaries on the scientific works of Aristotle . ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexicon'' King Alfonso X Of Castile (reigned 1252-84) continued to promote translations, as well as the production of original scholarly works. David the Jew (c. 1228-1245) translated the works of Al-Razi (Rhazes) into Latin. Arnaldus De Villa Nova 's (1235-1313) translations include the works of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Qusta Ibn Luqa (Costa ben Luca), and Galen .D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 5. OTHER EUROPEAN TRANSLATORS and Walcher Of Malvern who translated and developed the astronomical concepts brought from Spain.M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 440-3 Abu Kamil 's ''Algebra'' was also translated into Latin during this period, but the translator of the work is unknown.V. J. Katz, ''A History of Mathematics: An Introduction'', p. 291. Alfred Of Sareshel 's (c. 1200-1227) translations include the works of Nicolaus Of Damascus and Hunayn Ibn Ishaq . Antonius Frachentius Vicentinus' translations include the works of Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Armenguad's translations include the works of Avicenna, Averroes , Hunayn ibn Ishaq, and Maimonides . Berengarius of Valentia translated the works of Abu Al-Qasim (Abulcasis). Drogon (Azagont) translated the works of Al-Kindi . Farragut (Faradj ben Salam) translated the works of Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Ibn Zezla (Byngezla), Masawaiyh (Mesue), and Al-Razi (Rhazes). Andreas Alphagus Bellnensis' translations include the works of Avicenna, Averroes, Serapion , al-Qifti, and Albe'thar.D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 4. Other texts translated during this period include the Chemical works of Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Geber), and the ''De Proprietatibus Elementorum'', an Arabic Work on Geology written by a Pseudo-Aristotle . SEE ALSO
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