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Robert of Ketton (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
: Robertus Ketenensis) (1110? – 1160?) was an English medieval theologian
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
, astronomer and Arabist
Arabist

This is an article about the western scholars known as Arabists, not the political movement Pan-Arabism.An Arabist is someone who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, and often Arabic literature....
.

Ketton
Ketton

Ketton is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is located about eight miles east of Oakham and three miles west of Stamford, Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire....
, where Robert was either born or perhaps first took holy orders, is a small village in Rutland
Rutland

Rutland is a Counties of England of mainland England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
, a few miles from Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire

Stamford is an ancient town located approximately 100 miles to the north of London, just off the A1, which was the old Great North Road leading to York and Edinburgh....
.

Robert is believed to have been educated at the Cathedral School of Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
. In 1134 he travelled from France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 to the East for four years with his fellow student and friend Herman of Carinthia
Herman of Carinthia

Herman of Carinthia or Herman Dalmatin was a philosopher, astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, translator and author.Among Adelard of Bath, John of Seville, Gerard of Cremona and Plato of Tivoli Herman is the most important translator of Arabic astronomical works in 12th century and populariser of Arabic culture in Europe....
 (also known as Herman Dalmatin).






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Robert of Ketton (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
: Robertus Ketenensis) (1110? – 1160?) was an English medieval theologian
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
, astronomer and Arabist
Arabist

This is an article about the western scholars known as Arabists, not the political movement Pan-Arabism.An Arabist is someone who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, and often Arabic literature....
.

Ketton
Ketton

Ketton is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is located about eight miles east of Oakham and three miles west of Stamford, Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire....
, where Robert was either born or perhaps first took holy orders, is a small village in Rutland
Rutland

Rutland is a Counties of England of mainland England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
, a few miles from Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire

Stamford is an ancient town located approximately 100 miles to the north of London, just off the A1, which was the old Great North Road leading to York and Edinburgh....
.

Robert is believed to have been educated at the Cathedral School of Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
. In 1134 he travelled from France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 to the East for four years with his fellow student and friend Herman of Carinthia
Herman of Carinthia

Herman of Carinthia or Herman Dalmatin was a philosopher, astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, translator and author.Among Adelard of Bath, John of Seville, Gerard of Cremona and Plato of Tivoli Herman is the most important translator of Arabic astronomical works in 12th century and populariser of Arabic culture in Europe....
 (also known as Herman Dalmatin). They visited the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
, the Crusader States in Palestine
Palestine

Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is derived from a name used already much earlier for a narrower geographical region, mainly along the coastal region....
 and Damascus
Damascus

Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is List of oldest continuously inhabited cities and its current population is estimated at about 4,000,000....
. Both men were to become famous as translators from the Arabic. By 1141 Robert had moved to Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 where the division of the country between Muslim and Christian rulers made it a natural base for translators. Some sources identify him with Robert of Chester
Robert of Chester

Robert of Chester was an English arabist who flourished around 1150. He translated several historically important books from Arabic to Latin, by authors such as Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan and Al-Khwarizmi including:...
 , who was also active in Spain as a translator in the 1140s.

Although he received support from the Church—he became Archdeacon
Archdeacon

A position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop....
 of Pamplona
Pamplona

Pamplona is the capital city of Navarre, Spain and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Ferm?n festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls or encierro is one of the main attractions....
 in 1143—Robert's preference was for translating scientific rather than theological works. He is known to have studied Euclid
Euclid

Euclid , floruit 300 BC, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematics and is often referred to as the Father of Geometry. He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I ....
 and to have translated the work of Al Battani and Avicenna
Avicenna

, known as Abu Ali Sina Balkhi or Ibn Sina and commonly known in English by his Latinized name Avicenna , was a Persian people polymath and the foremost Islamic medicine and Early Islamic philosophy of his time....
, and it seems that he would not have made the translation for which he is famous, that of the Qur'an
Qur'an

The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
, without the encouragement of the French Abbot Peter the Venerable
Peter the Venerable

Peter the Venerable , also known as Peter of Montboissier, Abbot of Cluny of the Rule of Saint Benedict abbey of Cluny, born to Blessed Raingarde in Auvergne , France....
, who wished to have access to Islamic texts. In 1142 Robert and other scholars met with Peter the Venerable, who was visiting Spain, and Robert set to work translating the Qur'an into Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
. The translation was done by 1143; entitled Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete
Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete

Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete was the translation of the Qur'an into Latin by Robert of Ketton .In 1142 Peter the Venerable persuaded Robert to join a team he was creating to translate Arabic language works into Latin in hopes of aiding the religious conversion of Muslims to Christianity....
, it was the first translation of the book into a European language and remained the standard well into the sixteenth century.

The last record we have of Robert's career is that in 1157 he became a canon
Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christianity clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule .Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergyhouse or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct or close of a cathedral and ordering his life according to the orders or rules of the church....
 of Tudela
Tudela, Navarre

Tudela is a municipality in Spain, the second city of the autonomous community of Navarre. Its population is around 40,000. Tudela is conveniently sited in the Ebro valley....
. The city had been conquered by the Christians in 1119.

See also

  • Latin translations of the 12th century


External links

  • Robert in Spain http://libro.uca.edu/monastic/monastic12.htm
  • Islamic perspective http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/Koran%20-%20Nativity%20-%2001.htm