Adelard of Bath (Latin: Adelardus Bathensis) (c. 1080 – c. 1152) was a 12th century English scholar. He is known both for his original works and for translating many important Greek and Arab scientific works of astrology, astronomy, philosophy and mathematics into Latin from Arabic versions, which were then introduced to Western Europe. He is known as one of the first to introduce the Indian number system to Europe. He stands at the convergence of three intellectual schools: the traditional learning of French schools, the Greek culture of Southern Italy, and the Arabic science of the East.[2]
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Though little is known of Adelard's early life, evidence that he is from Bath comes from the introduction to his treatise on the astrolabe.[3] It is believed that he left England toward the end of the 11th century for Tours, likely on the advice of Bishop John de Villula, who had moved the seat of his bishopric from Wells to Bath in 1090. During his studies in Tours, an anonymous "wise man of Tours" inspired Adelard with his interest in astronomy to study the science.[4] Adelard later taught for a time at Laon, leaving Laon for travel no later than 1109.[5] After leaving Laon, he travelled to Southern Italy and Sicily no later than 1116.[2] He then spent seven years travelling in the East, mentioning how he devoted himself entirely to the study of the "wisdom of the Arabs" as he wrote about his long sojourns in places like Tarsus and Antioch.[2] By 1126, Adelard returned to the West with the intention of spreading the knowledge he had gained about Arab astronomy and geometry to the Latin world.[2]
Among Adelard of Bath's original works is a trio of dialogues or correspondence with his nephew. The earliest of these is De Eodem et Diverso (On the Same and the Different). It is written in the style of a protreptic, or an exhortation to the study of philosophy.[6] The work is modelled on Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, evident in Adelard's vocabulary and phraseology.[7] It is believed to have been written near Tours after he had already travelled, though there is no indication that he had travelled past Southern Italy and Sicily at the time of writing.[2] The work takes the form of a dramatic dialogue between Philocosmia, who advocates worldly pleasures, and Philosophia, whose defence of scholarship leads into a summary of the seven liberal arts. Underlining the entire work is the contrast between Philocosmia's res (perceptible reality), and Philosophia's verba (mental concepts).[8] Each section of the liberal arts is divided into two parts. Presented first is a description of the allegorical figure representing the art, in which the importance of that art is indicated, followed by a summary of the doctrines of that art, as told by the allegorical figure who is presented as the founder or main proponent of the particular art.[7]
The second of this trio to be written is Adelard's most substantial work, Questiones Naturales (Natural Questions). It is in this text that Adelard of Bath receives his name, referring to himself as being 'Batoniensis'. It can be dated between 1107 and 1133 as, in the text, Adelard himself mentions that seven years have passed since his lecturing in schools at Laon.[2] Dating is also based on the dedication to Richard, bishop of Bayeux and references to Henry I. He chooses to present this work as a forum for Arabic learning, referring often to his experiences in Antioch.[6] He sets out seventy-six questions, in the form of a Platonic dialogue about meteorology and natural science. The text is broken up into three parts: On Plants and Brute Animals, On Man and On Earth, Water, Air, and Fire.[9] The two major features of the work are his preference for reason over authority in matters of science and nature, and the use of the "teachings of the Arabs" when presenting controversial subjects.[10] One of these controversial subjects comes up in On Plants and Brute Animals when the persona of Adelard's nephew asks the question, "Do brute animals have souls?", which Adelard answers using "something new from the studies of the Arabs".[11] The answer that Adelard claims is "something new" can actually be found in both Plato's Timaeus and Cicero's De Natura Deorum, in which Cicero agrees to use rational arguments rather than tradition, to discuss the nature of the gods.[12] The soul is a large part of the dialogue in this text as On Man discusses a corporeal soul in man, while the final section elaborates on the incorporeal soul of elements and animals.[6] Questiones Naturales appears to have been an immediate success as it was copied on both sides of the English Channel and was even presented in a 'pocket-book' format, suggesting that it was meant to be carried around.[13]
The final section in his trilogy is a treatise on hawking called De Avibus Tractatus (Treatise on Birds).[14] It is a medical text that addresses disease from head-to-toe.[6] While it has been argued that this treatise was not widely distributed, an investigation of later Latin and French treatises reveals a number of excerpts from Adelard's work.[15]
The remainder of Adelard's original works did not involve the persona of his nephew. He wrote a treatise on the use of the abacus called Regulae Abaci,[16] which was likely written very early in his career because it shows no trace of Arab influence.[2] This treatise is believed to be proof that Adelard was connected to the Exchequer table that was used for monetary calculations in the medieval period.[17] Further evidence for this can be found in the Pipe Roll of Henry I, which shows that he had received a discharge from the murder fine (a fine levied on inhabitants of a certain area based on the murder of a Norman that occurred in a generally accessible field in that same area)[18] levied on the community of Wiltshire in 1130,[17] though there is no other proof for this fact. The work that Adelard of Bath is known for in the Latin world is his translation of the astronomical tables of al-Khwarizmi, the first widely accessible Latin translation of the Islamic ideas about algebra.[2] In the Middle Ages he was known for his rediscovery and teaching of geometry, earning his reputation when he made the first full translation of Euclid's "Elements" and began the process of interpreting the text for a Western audience.[4]
Adelard of Bath's influence can be seen in the works of many medieval philosophers, but especially in the works of Roger Bacon who was influenced by the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, whose works Adelard attempted to reconcile in his writing about metaphysics. His influence is also evident in De philosophia mundi by William of Conches, Hugh of Saint Victor, and Isaac of Stella's Letters to Alcher on the Soul.[10] He also attempted to establish a whole program on the Quadrivium[10] in his text Liber ysagogarum Alchorismi in artem astronomicam a magistro A. compositus[2] He introduced algebra to the Latin world and his commentaries in Version III of Euclid's Elements were very influential in the thirteenth century.[10] Adelard also displays original thought of a scientific bent, raising the question of the shape of the Earth (he believed it round) and the question of how it remains stationary in space, and also the interesting question of how far a rock would fall if a hole were drilled through the earth and a rock dropped in it, see center of gravity. He theorised that matter could not be destroyed (see Law of conservation of matter) and was also interested in the question of why water experiences difficulty flowing out of a container that has been turned upside down, see atmospheric pressure and vacuum. Many of the other questions addressed reflect the popular culture of the times. Campanus of Novara probably had access to Adelard's translation of Elements, and it is Campanus' edition that was first published in Venice in 1482 after the invention of the printing press. It became the chief textbook of the mathematical schools of Western Europe until the sixteenth century.[19]