The historical influence of translation : with a focus on the House of Wisdom & the Toledo school of translators

Abstract

Translation is the one of the main paths for the transmission of knowledge between cultures which have different languages. It unlocks the doors to foreign literature which would otherwise have remained inaccessible. Despite the undoubted vital role it has played in the advancements made by humanity, historically, this role has been invisible. The importance and appreciation were traditionally always reserved for the original text and author. The last decades, have seen a change in this trend. Translation is finally, widely accepted as a discipline and there have been countless studies. However, the historical role played in conveying knowledge is still rather invisible to most people. This study aims to explore the historical influence that translation has had. Two main translation centres were chosen as the basis for this study. These are the House of Wisdom during the Islamic Golden Age and the Toledo School of Translators, particularly during the 12th century. These are but two, of the many eras and centres that could have been taken as examples. The choice for this was based on the fact that during the Middle Ages the House of Wisdom was the largest centre of learning in the Muslim world. The translations in Toledo, on the other hand, reached a degree of organisation which was unprecedented in Europe. These two centres are also largely connected, as much of the knowledge accumulated by the Arabs was later transmitted to Europe through Toledo (although it was not the only route). Apart from analysing the impact that translations have on the target cultures, this study also explores the translation strategies employed by translators. Of course, the strategy of choice has a huge impact not only as it determines the end result, but also as depending on how a translation is done, the translator can either be invisible (where he limits his own influence on the text) or quite visible (such as when translating based on sense). The research is backed by references and quotations from works by various respectable historians and translation theorists. This study culminates in the final chapter, where the difficulties of translation as well as the translation strategies used are explored through the translation of the Quran into Latin by Mark of Toledo and Robert of Ketton.