Abraham Abigdor (also rendered as Abraham Avigdor), born 1350, was a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

physician,

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, kabbalist, and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

. He should not be confused with Maestro Abraham Abigdor, who in 1386 was the proprietor of a house at Arles (''" Monatsschrift,"'' 1880, pp. 410, 411). Abraham Abigdor was born in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, probably at

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

. He devoted his early life to the study of medicine and philosophy. At the age of 17 (1367) he wrote ''"Sefer Segullat Melakim"'' (Royal Treasure), a work on logic in rimed prose, in the main a Hebrew imitation of the ''"Tendencies of the Philosophers,"'' by Gazzali, but of independent value in the more purely logical portions of the book. Afterward he went to

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

to study medicine and to be instructed, as he himself writes, by Christian scholars and mystics.

Work

Abigdor translated the following Latin works into Hebrew: * Under the title, ''"Mebo bi-Melakah"'' (Introduction to the Practise of Medicine), the treatise on materia medica of the chancellor or dean of the faculty, Bernard Alberti, which treatise is based on book iv. of the ''"Canon of Avicenna"''. According to

Moritz Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Mo ...

(''"Hebr. Uebers."'' p. 777), the original Latin has been printed under the title ''"Gentilis de Fulgineo"''. * The ''"Medicationis Parabolæ"'' of

Arnau de Vilanova Arnaldus de Villa Nova (also called Arnau de Vilanova, Arnaldus Villanovanus, Arnaud de Ville-Neuve or Arnaldo de Villanueva, c. 1240–1311) was a physician and a religious reformer. He is credited with translating a number of medical texts ...

(1378). * Under the title, ''"Sefer Mebo ha Ne'arim"'' (Introduction for the Young), the elementary treatise on fevers, by Gerard de Solo (1379). * ''"Megillah,"'' the treatise of Arnau de Vilanova on ''"Digestive and Purgative Medicines"'' (1381). * ''" Almanzuri,"'' the abridged commentary of Gerard de Solo on the ninth book of

Razi Razi () or al-Razi () is a name that was historically used to indicate a person coming from Ray, Iran. People It most commonly refers to: * Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865–925), influential physician, alchemist and philosopher, also known b ...

's ''"

Ad Almansorem Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically used ...

."'' The translation is greatly abbreviated, but remarks of his own, derived from personal experience, are added. * ''" Tratato"'' or ''" Higgayon,"'' from the ''" Tractatus Summularum,"'' a treatise on logic, by Pierre d'Espagne. * Explanations of the middle commentary of

Averroes Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and Faqīh, jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astron ...

(Ibn Roshd) on the first three parts of the ''"

Organon The ''Organon'' (, meaning "instrument, tool, organ") is the standard collection of Aristotle's six works on logical analysis and dialectic. The name ''Organon'' was given by Aristotle's followers, the Peripatetics, who maintained against the ...

"'': the ''"

Isagoge The ''Isagoge'' (, ''Eisagōgḗ''; ) or "Introduction" to Aristotle's "Categories", written by Porphyry in Greek and translated into Latin by Boethius, was the standard textbook on logic for at least a millennium after his death. It was compose ...

"'', the ''"

Categories Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) *Category (Vais ...

"'', and ''"

De Interpretatione ''On Interpretation'' (Greek: , ) is the second text from Aristotle's ''Organon'' and is among the earliest surviving philosophical works in the Western tradition to deal with the relationship between language and logic in a comprehensive, explic ...

"''. This is derived not only from Arabic but also from Latin sources. In 1399 Abigdor assisted his son Solomon Abigdor, then only 15 years of age, in the translation of the Latin treatise, ''"De Judiciis Astronomiæ,"'' or ''"Capitula Astrologiæ,"'' of Arnau de Vilanova into Hebrew, under the title ''"Panim ba-Mishpaṭ"''.

References

*'' Les Écrivains Juifs Français'', pp. 717–721; *

Henri Gross Heinrich Gross, written also as Henri Gross (born Szenicz, Hungarian Kingdom, now Senica, Slovakia, 6 November 1835; died 1910), was a German rabbi. He was a pupil in rabbinical literature of . After graduating from the Breslau seminary and from t ...

, ''Gallia Judaica'', pp. 333, 334.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abigdor, Abraham Provençal Jews French translators 1350 births Year of death unknown Medieval Jewish philosophers French logicians French male non-fiction writers Kabbalists