page_title: Toledo School of Translators
section_title: Alfonso X and the establishment of the School
hierarchical_section_title: Toledo School of Translators / History / Alfonso X and the establishment of the School
caption_attribution_description: Lapidario de Alfonso X el Sabio
context_page_description: The Toledo School of Translators is the group of scholars who worked together in the city of Toledo during the 12th and 13th centuries, to translate many of the philosophical and scientific works from Classical Arabic.
  The School went through two distinct periods separated by a transitional phase. The first was led by Archbishop Raymond of Toledo in the 12th century, who promoted the translation of philosophical and religious works, mainly from classical Arabic into Latin. Under King Alfonso X of Castile during the 13th century, the translators no longer worked with Latin as the final language, but translated into a revised version of Castilian. This resulted in establishing the foundations of the modern Spanish language.
context_section_description: Under King Alfonso X of Castile (known as the Wise), Toledo rose even higher in importance as a translation center, as well as for the writing of original scholarly works. The Crown did not officially recognize the School, but the team of scholars and translators shared their communal knowledge and taught newcomers new languages and translation methods. There were usually several persons involved in the same translation. The Castilian Crown paid for most of their work, and sometimes hired the most able translators from other parts of Spain and Europe to join the school at Toledo.
  King Alfonso's decision to abandon Latin as the target language for the translations and use a revised vernacular version of Castilian, had very significant consequences on the development of the first foundations of the Spanish language. By his insisting that the texts translated be "llanos de entender" ("easy to understand"), he ensured that the texts would reach a much wider audience, both within Spain and in other European countries.  The scholars from such nations as Italy, Germany, England or the Netherlands, who had moved to Toledo in order to translate medical, religious, classical and philosophical texts, returned to their countries with the acquired knowledge from classical Arabic, classical Greek, and ancient Hebrew. The King also commissioned the translation into Castilian of several "oriental" fables and tales which, although written in Arabic, were originally in Sanskrit, such as the Kalila wa-Dimna (Panchatantra) and the Sendebar.
  Translation methods evolved under the direction of Alfonso X. Previously, a native speaker would verbally communicate the contents of the books to a scholar, who would dictate its Latin equivalent to a scribe, who wrote down the translated text. Under the new methodology, a translator, with expertise in several languages, dictated from the base language, translating into Castilian for the scribe, who wrote down the Castilian version.  The scribe's work was later reviewed by one or several editors. Among those editors was the King, who had a keen interest in many disciplines, such as science, history, law, and literature. He effectively managed and selected each of the translators, and reviewed some of their work, encouraging intellectual debate.
  Under Alfonso's leadership, Sephardic Jewish scientists and translators acquired a prominent role in the School. They were highly valued by the King because of their intellectual skills and mastery of the two languages most used in the translations: Arabic and Castilian. The King kept some of the Jewish scholars as his personal physicians, and recognized their services with splendid favors and praises. Alfonso's nephew Juan Manuel wrote that the King was so impressed with the intellectual level of the Jewish scholars that he commissioned the translation of the Talmud, the law of the Jews, as well as the Kabbalah.  He intended to prove that the texts were a reflection of Christian doctrine, and that the Jews put their souls in peril by not acknowledging that. Such translations have been lost, although there could be a link with the later development of the Christian Kabbalah.
  The first known translation of this period, the Lapidario, a book about the medical properties of various rocks and gems, was done by Yehuda ben Moshe Cohen assisted by Garci Pérez, when Alfonso was still infante. Alfonso obtained the book from a Jew who had kept it hidden, and commanded Yehuda to translate it from Arabic into the Castilian language.
  Yehuda ben Moshe was one of the most notable Jewish translators during this period and also worked as the King's physician, even before Alfonso was crowned. Among his most notable translations besides the Lapidario are the Picatrix, a composite work of ancient treatises on magic and astrology, or the Tratado de la açafeha that was translated into Latin from an Arabic text by Al-Zarqali with the help of Guillelmus Anglicus. He also did the Tetrabiblon or Quatriparito (Ptolemy), 15 treatises on astrology (effects of stars on man and properties of 3
caption: An illustrated page of the "Lapidario".
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