John of Seville facts for kids
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John of Seville (also known as Johannes Hispalensis in Latin) was an important translator who lived around the years 1133 to 1153. He worked with Dominicus Gundissalinus at the famous Toledo School of Translators. This school was a key place for translating many books from Arabic into Latin and Castilian (an early form of Spanish).
John of Seville translated many Arabic books, especially about astrology. He also wrote some of his own books in Latin.
Contents
Life and Background
John of Seville was a baptized Jew. This means he was Jewish but converted to Christianity. His original Jewish name is not known for sure. It might have been something like "Avendeut" or "Aven Daud." Because he was from Toledo, he was often called Johannes (David) Toletanus.
Some historians think there might have been two different people with similar names. One was Juan Hispano (Ibn Dawud), who translated Arabic into Spanish. The other was John of Seville (Juan Hispalense), who translated Arabic directly into Latin. This John sometimes signed his work as "Johannes Hispalensis atque Limiensis," suggesting he might have worked in Galicia too.
We don't know his exact birth or death dates. However, we know he was very active in his work between 1133 and 1153.
Translated and Original Works
Because John of Seville used different names, historians sometimes debate which translations were truly his. Most of the books he translated were about astrology. He also translated works on astronomy, philosophy, and medicine.
Scholars can often recognize John of Seville's style. He liked to translate books word for word. He also tried to keep the original language's sentence structure and grammar.
Astrology and Astronomy
John of Seville translated several important books about the stars and planets. In 1135, he translated Al-Farghani's Kitab Usul 'ilm al-nujum into Latin. This book was about the basics of astronomy. He called his translation The Rudiments of Astronomy.
He also translated Albohali's "Book of Birth" in 1153. Another work by Al-Farghani, Kitāb fī Jawāmiʿ ʿIlm al-Nujūm (Elements of astronomy), was also translated by him. John also translated Flowers of Abu Ma'shar by Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi into Latin.
One of his notable translations was De compositione et utilitate astrolabii. This book explained how to build and use an astrolabe. An astrolabe was an old tool used to measure the positions of stars and planets. He also translated a work by Mash’allah that explained how to mark parts of an astrolabe called alidades.
Another important translation was Omar’s Kitâb al-Mawâlid (The Book of Nativities). This book was about interpreting birth horoscopes, which are like astrological charts based on when someone was born.
Medicine and Alchemy
John of Seville also translated some medical texts. These often included ideas from alchemy, which was an ancient practice related to chemistry and turning metals into gold.
One of his earliest known works was a partial translation of the Secretum Secretorum. This book was a collection of advice on many topics, including health and leadership. He also translated a book about gout and another called De differentia spiritus et animae (The Difference Between the Spirit and the Soul) by Qusta ibn Luqa.
He also translated the famous Emerald Tablet. This was an important alchemical text believed to hold many secrets. It was said to be written by Hermes Trismegistus.
Philosophy
John of Seville helped introduce new ideas to Europe. In his Book of Algorithms on Practical Arithmetic, he described Indian positional notation. This is the number system we use today, where the position of a digit (like in 123, the '1' means 100) gives it its value. This was a big step in mathematics.
He also worked with Dominicus Gundissalinus and Abraham ibn Daud to translate Avicenna's De anima. This was a philosophical book about the soul, based on the writings of Aristotle. John even retranslated one of Aristotle’s works, On the Heavens, which Avicenna had originally translated.
Another philosophical work he translated was Al-Ghazali's Maqasid al-falasifa (The Aims of the Philosophers). This book covered basic ideas in philosophy, such as judgment and logic.
Original Works
Besides his many translations, John of Seville also wrote his own book. It was called Epitome artis astrologiae and was written in 1142. This book was a summary of astrology.
Copying Mistakes
In the Middle Ages, people copied books by hand to preserve them. Sometimes, mistakes were made during this copying process. These errors could change John's original text. For example, if a translator's name was copied incorrectly, that mistake would be carried on in future copies. This made it harder to figure out which translations belonged to John.
Abbreviations like "Ioh Hisp" (for Iohannes Hispalensis) were also used. This could add to the confusion about his identity.
Luckily, John often signed his translations with a special phrase: "Cum laude Dei et eius adiutorio" (meaning "With the praise of God and His help"). This helped scholars know for sure which works were his, even if there were other mistakes in the copies.
See also
In Spanish: Juan Hispalense (siglo XII) para niños
