Robert of Chester (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Robertus Castrensis'') was an English Arabist of the 12th century. He translated several historically important books from

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, such as: * '' The Book of the Composition of Alchemy'' (''Liber de compositione alchemiae''): translated in 1144, this was the first book on

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

to become available in EuropeThe Arabic Origin of Liber de compositione alchimiae
*''

The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing ''The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing'' ( ar, كتاب المختصر في حساب الجبر والمقابلة, ; la, Liber Algebræ et Almucabola), also known as ''Al-Jabr'' (), is an Arabic mathematical treati ...

'' (''Liber algebrae et almucabola''):

Al-Khwārizmī Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī ( ar, محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي, Muḥammad ibn Musā al-Khwārazmi; ), or al-Khwarizmi, was a Persian polymath from Khwarazm, who produced vastly influential works in mathematics, astronom ...

's book about

algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary ...

, translated in 1145 In the 1140s Robert worked in Spain, where the division of the country between Muslim and Christian rulers resulted in opportunities for interchange between the different cultures. However, by the end of the decade he had returned to England. Some sources identify him with

Robert of Ketton Robert of Ketton, known in Latin as Rodbertus Ketenensis ( 1141–1157), was an English astronomer, translator, priest and diplomat active in Spain. He translated several works of Arabic into Latin, including the first translation of the Quran int ...

( la, Robertus Ketenensis) who was also active as an Arabic-Latin translator in the 1140s. However,

Ketton Ketton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is about east of Oakham and west of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population ...

and Chester, while both places in England, are a long way apart. Also, when in Spain, Robert of Ketton was based in the Kingdom of Navarre, whereas Robert of Chester is known to have worked in

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...

Notes

References

* * Charles Burnett, ‘Ketton, Robert of ( fl. 1141–1157)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004. (This is, in effect, a double biography covering both Robert of Ketton and Robert of Chester.)

External links

complete text online. Translation of Robert of Chester, or Robert of Ketton. __NOTOC__ Arabic–Latin translators Translators from Arabic 12th-century English people Medieval English mathematicians Translators of the Quran into Latin Medieval Arabists Medieval orientalists Medieval linguists Medieval English scientists 12th-century translators 12th-century English mathematicians 12th-century Latin writers {{Sci-hist-stub

See also

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External links