Adelard of Bath

Adelard of Bath
The frontispiece of an Adelard of Bath Latin translation of Euclid's Elements, c. 1309–1316; the oldest surviving Latin translation of the Elements is a 12th-century translation by Adelard from an Arabic version.
Born	c. 1080 Bath, Somerset
Died	c. 1152 Bath, Somerset

Adelard of Bath (Latin: Adelardus Bathensis; Greek: Άντελαρντ του Μπαθ, Antelarnt tou Bath; c. 1080 – c. 1152 AD) was a 12th-century English natural philosopher. He is known both for his original works and for translating many important arabic and Greek 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 Arabic numeral 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.

Given the period when he was alive, Adelard’s biography is incomplete in places and leaves some aspects open to interpretation. As a result, much of what is ascribed to Adelard is a product of his own testimony. As his name suggests, he was born in the Roman English city of Bath but how he lived is not entirely known. Despite his extensive travels, by the end of his life he had returned to Bath, where he died. Scholars are hesitant to ascribe definitive parents to the philosopher but Fastred, a tenant of the Bishop of Wells, is mostly plausibly identified as this figure. His name (Adelard) is of Anglo-Saxon origin, which would have placed him in the subordinate class, status wise, in 11th-century England. 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. Adelard later taught for a time at Laon, leaving Laon for travel no later than 1109. After leaving Laon, he travelled to Southern Italy and Sicily no later than 1116.