Robert of Ketton

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert von Ketton ( Latinized : Robertus Ketenensis; * 1110?; † 1160?) Was an English medieval theologian, astronomer and Arabist.

Life

Ketton , where Robert was either born or made his first vows, is a small village in Rutland a few miles from Stamford.

It is believed that Robert was trained in the cathedral school in Paris.

In 1134 he traveled to the Middle East with his friend and fellow student Hermann von Carinthia , also known as Herman Dalmatin. They visited the Byzantine Empire, the Crusader States in Palestine and Damascus. That was the basis for her later fame as Arabists.

In 1141 Robert was in Spain, the division of which into a Christian and a Muslim part made it a natural base for translators. Some sources identify him with Robert von Chester , who was working as a translator in Spain at the same time.

Although supported by the Church - he became Archdeacon of Pamplona - Robert devoted himself to translating scientific and mathematical rather than theological texts. It is known that he also studied the Euclid and translated works by Al-Battānī .

He became famous for his translation of the Koran , which the Cluniac abbot Petrus Venerabilis suggested when he personally came to Spain in 1142. The translation was completed in 1143 and appeared under the title Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete ("The Law of the Lying Prophet Mohammed"). It remained the main reference point for occidental Islamic studies until the 16th century.

The last mention of Roberts concerns his appointment as canon in Tudela in 1157.

See also

Web links

literature

  • Charles Burnett: Ketton, Robert of (fl. 1141–1157) , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • Thomas E. Burman: Tafsir and Translation: Traditional Arabic Quran Exegesis and the Latin Qurans of Robert of Ketton and Mark of Toledo , in: Speculum 73 (1998) 703-732.
personal data
SURNAME Robert of Ketton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ketenensis, Robertus (Latin)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English medieval theologian, astronomer and arabist
DATE OF BIRTH around 1110
DATE OF DEATH around 1160