Scientific Language in the Latin Qur'ans of Robert of Ketton and Mark of Toledo

Abstract

This paper centres on the Latin translations of the Qur'an by Robert of Ketton (d. 1142–1143) and Mark of Toledo (d. 1209), as viewed within the context of their earlier translations of scientific works. In previous scholarship, the Latin Qur'ans of Robert of Ketton and Mark of Toledo have been studied with respect to linguistic features and considered separately from their translations of astrological and medical texts. This paper proposes to reunite these strands of translation activity by examining the ways in which scientific discourse influenced these Latin translations of the Qur'an. The paper demonstrates that the translators incorporated their scientific expertise into their translations of the Qur'an by employing terminology specific to their respective fields of astrology and medicine. On the basis of this new evidence, it is argued that Robert of Ketton sought to promote the study of astrology and astronomy, while Mark of Toledo's use of medical jargon formed part of a calculated polemical strategy in which he portrayed the spread of Islam as a disease to be treated by a physician.