The Book in Medieval Toledo presented by Humanities West

Thursday, January 27, 2011 - 6:00pm
Admission: Free to MI members & Humanities West donors; Public $12
Location: 4th Floor Cafe & Meeting Room

When Alfonso VI conquered Muslim Toledo in 1085, he found vast libraries of books: philosophic, scientific and medical treatises from Ancient Greece as well as important works by Avicenna, Averroes and Maimonides-- all in Arabic. Soon a group of scholars: Jews, Muslims and Christians engaged in the complicated process of translating them into Latin. Art Historian Kerrin Meis will discuss and show illustrations of these and other translations from the Qur'ans, Bibles, Haggadot, Psalters and Commentaries on the Bible being commissioned at the time. Alfonso X (El Sabio) continued to promote translations, made Castilian the official language and added his Book of Games and the profusely illustrated and often provocative Cantigas de Santa Maria to the literature.


Kerrin Meis