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La Topographie de la traduction de la fin du Xe siècle
au début du XIIe siècle

Conférences de l'année 2012-2013
The Topography of Translation, from the end of the tenth century
until the early twelfth century
Charles Burnett
p. 189-190

Texte intégral

1This course of seminars attempted to explore how the cultures of different regions of Europe and the Middle East contributed to the production of Latin translations in science and philosophy, made from Greek, Hebrew and Arabic, before the great campaigns of translation undertaken in Toledo and under the patronage of the Hohenstaufen and of Alfonso X, king of Castille and León. We followed a roughly easterly course, beginning with England, and passing through Catalonia, Tuscany, Sicily and Constantinople, to end in the principality of Antioch. We discovered on our journey the specific characteristics of each region as reflected in their choice of texts to translate, and the language out of which they made these translations.

2In the first seminar we explored the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Norman-French background of the writings of Adelard of Bath, who left his native land to search for Greek learning in Sicily and Arabic learning in the Principality of Antioch, but returned to Bath where he translated Arabic texts on geometry, astronomy, astrology and magic, and taught these subjects to the sons of the nobility. He belonged to a network of scholars in the West Country of England, who included the Jewish convert, Petrus Alfonsi, and Walcher, the abbot of Great Malvern, followed by Roger of Hereford and Robert Grosseteste later in the century. A strong interest in the mathematical sciences, nourished from Arabic sources, characterised these English scholars.

3In the second seminar we looked at the earliest examples of Latin knowledge of Arabic doctrine, in astrology and the construction and use of the astrolabe, which appear in Catalonia in the late tenth century. In the same area of Northeast Spain, in the second quarter of the twelfth century, Latin scholars benefitted both from the heritage of the Islamic dynasty of the Banu Hud in Saragossa, among whom mathematics prospered, and from the presence of Jewish intellectuals whose scientific language was Arabic.

4In the third seminar we traced the journey of the Jewish savant, Abraham Ibn Ezra, from the Northeast of Spain to Tuscany in the 1130s and 40s. Here, the trading network of Pisa extended from one end of the Mediterranean to the other, and strong bonds tied the city to Constantinople. Hence it could benefit from the works of both Greek and Arabic scholars. Abraham Ibn Ezra himself wrote a great number of texts in Hebrew and Latin, including translations from Arabic, for the Jewish and Christian communities of Pisa and Lucca. Burgundio of Pisa, in turn, translated Greek texts on medicine, philosophy and Christian theology, from manuscripts originating in Constantinople. Translations made in Sicily also reflect contacts with Constantinople, and here the interest in Greek learning mingled with that in Arabic and Hebrew.

5In the fourth seminar our attention turned to Constantinople itself. Constantinople was the home for a small group of Italian scholars, some of whom were engaged in reconciling the schism between the Eastern and Western church. But while mainly making available to Latin readers theological works and works on the Greek language, they also translated scientific and philosophical works. Antioch greatly benefitted from its proximity to the Byzantine realm, but was also close to Arabic centres of learning. Stephen the philosopher provided a link between Pisa (where he originated) and Antioch, where he translated medical and philosophical works. He compiled a large glossary of pharmaceutical terms in three languages—Arabic, Greek and Latin—while someone in his circle with the name “Abd al-Masih of Winchester” made the earliest translation of Ptolemy’s Almagest into Latin.

6The seminars revealed the richness and diversity of the cultures in which translations were made, and brought out the links between the various centres as well as their specific natures.

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Charles Burnett, « La Topographie de la traduction de la fin du Xe siècle
au début du XIIe siècle
 »
Annuaire de l'École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Section des sciences historiques et philologiques, 145 | 2014, 189-190.

Référence électronique

Charles Burnett, « La Topographie de la traduction de la fin du Xe siècle
au début du XIIe siècle
 »
Annuaire de l'École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Section des sciences historiques et philologiques [En ligne], 145 | 2014, mis en ligne le 15 décembre 2014, consulté le 18 février 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ashp/1604 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/ashp.1604

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Auteur

Charles Burnett

Directeur d’études invité, École pratique des hautes études – Section des sciences historiques et philologiquesWarburg Institute, University of London

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