John of Seville
Encyclopedia
John of Seville was the main translator from Arabic into Castilian together with Dominicus Gundissalinus
during the early days of the Toledo School of Translators
.
Some historians argue that in fact there were two different persons with a similar name, one as Juan Hispano (Ibn Dawud) and other as Juan Hispalense, this last one perhaps working at Galician Limia (Ourense), for he signed himself as "Johannes Hispalensis atque Limiensis", during the Reconquista
, the Christian campaign to regain the Iberian Peninsula.
His three translations, the Secretum Secretorum
dedicated to a Queen T[arasia?], a tract on gout
offered to one of the Popes Gregory, and the original version of the 9th century Arabic philosopher Costa ben Luca's De differentia spiritus et animae, were all medical translations, intermixed with alchemy
in the hispano-Arabic tradition. In his Book of Algorithms on Practical Arithmetic, John of Seville provides one the earliest known descriptions of Indian positional notation
, whose introduction to Europe is usually associated with the book Liber Abaci
by Fibonacci
:
John of Seville translated the Arab astrologer Albohali's "Book of Birth" into Latin in 1153.
Dominicus Gundissalinus
Dominicus Gundissalinus also known as Domingo Gundisalvo may have been a converted Jew and was the archdeacon of Segovia, Spain and a scholastic philosopher...
during the early days of the Toledo School of Translators
Toledo School of Translators
The Toledo School of Translators is the name that commonly describes the group of scholars who worked together in the city of Toledo during the 12th and 13th centuries, to translate many of the philosophical and scientific works from classical Arabic, classical Greek, and ancient Hebrew.The School...
.
Some historians argue that in fact there were two different persons with a similar name, one as Juan Hispano (Ibn Dawud) and other as Juan Hispalense, this last one perhaps working at Galician Limia (Ourense), for he signed himself as "Johannes Hispalensis atque Limiensis", during the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
, the Christian campaign to regain the Iberian Peninsula.
His three translations, the Secretum Secretorum
Secretum Secretorum
Secretum secretorum is a medieval treatise also known as Secret of Secrets, or The Book of the Secret of Secrets, or in Arabic Kitab sirr al-asrar, or the Book of the science of government: on the good ordering of statecraft...
dedicated to a Queen T[arasia?], a tract on gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
offered to one of the Popes Gregory, and the original version of the 9th century Arabic philosopher Costa ben Luca's De differentia spiritus et animae, were all medical translations, intermixed with alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
in the hispano-Arabic tradition. In his Book of Algorithms on Practical Arithmetic, John of Seville provides one the earliest known descriptions of Indian positional notation
Positional notation
Positional notation or place-value notation is a method of representing or encoding numbers. Positional notation is distinguished from other notations for its use of the same symbol for the different orders of magnitude...
, whose introduction to Europe is usually associated with the book Liber Abaci
Liber Abaci
Liber Abaci is a historic book on arithmetic by Leonardo of Pisa, known later by his nickname Fibonacci...
by Fibonacci
Fibonacci
Leonardo Pisano Bigollo also known as Leonardo of Pisa, Leonardo Pisano, Leonardo Bonacci, Leonardo Fibonacci, or, most commonly, simply Fibonacci, was an Italian mathematician, considered by some "the most talented western mathematician of the Middle Ages."Fibonacci is best known to the modern...
:
- “A number is a collection of units, and because the collection is infinite (for multiplication can continue indefinitely), the Indians ingeniously enclosed this infinite multiplicity within certain rules and limits so that infinity could be scientifically defined; these strict rules enabled them to pin down this subtle concept.”
John of Seville translated the Arab astrologer Albohali's "Book of Birth" into Latin in 1153.