Original scientific paper

Herman's Translation of Sahl Ibn Bishr's Astrological Treatise

Luka Boršić orcid.org/0000-0001-7432-7880 ; Institut za filozofiju
Ivana Skuhala Karasman orcid.org/0000-0001-7769-5259 ; Institut za filozofiju

Abstract

Herman Dalmatin was a 12th-century Croatian philosopher and a translator from Arabic into Latin. His most important translations into Latin were those of the eminent Arabic philosophers and scientists Sahl ibn Bishr and Abu Mashar. Herman’s translations contributed to bringing Arabic science and culture to the West, particularly astrology, whose knowledge in Western Europe at that time still relied on Late Roman sources. The paper deals with Herman’s 1138 translation of a part of Sahl ibn Bishr’s book that Herman called Fatidica (the Soothsayer). There are two reasons why this text was chosen. The first is that it
is Herman’s first translation and his first text overall. The second reason is that the subject matter makes this text one of the first to introduce astrology to the West and demonstrate the necessity of using complex mathematical calculations, with consequent changes in the Western perception of astrology. The influence of this text on Herman’s only original work, De essentiis (1143), is likely. The paper ends with the translation of the first chapter of the Fatidica, which, though
incomplete, is the first translation of this work into Croatian.

Keywords

Herman Dalmatin; Sahl ibn Bishr; Fatidica; astrology; translation

Hrčak ID:

164971

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/164971

Publication date:

15.7.2016.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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