A Study Of Jewish Medical Translation Activities In Spain From Twelfth To Fifteenth Century

Jewish medical translation in Spain in the 12 th to 15 th centuries was a reproduction and re-creation of Greek,Roman,Arabic and Hebrew medical knowledge led by Spanish Jews.The backwardness of medical science and the outbreak of diseases and plagues in the western European society in the middle Ages had a great demand for medical knowledge.Spain the lack of knowledge workers and jews eager for medical knowledge,into the mainstream society’s own needs prompt Spanish jews in the form of medical translation into the mainstream society,and the rise of western university,school of medicine and the western cultural Renaissance put forward new request to the medieval Western Europe medical context,Spain’s jewish medical translation appeared in the 12 th century.According to the number of medical literature translation with different characteristics,the Spanish jewish medical translation can be roughly divided into three stages,respectively is the budding period of medical translation activity,Toledo school of translation the golden age of jewish medical translation and marked with the black death as the cut-off point decline period of medical translation.The content,depth and characteristics of Spanish Jewish medical translation are different in the three stages.Influenced by The Times,culture and jewish factors,the Medical translation activities of Spanish Jews showed the following three characteristics from the 12 th century to the 15 th century: focusing on the absorption and inheritance of classical Greek and Roman medical knowledge;Focusing on practicability and scientificity,the translation of internal medicine and surgery contents is carried out.In terms of translation,emphasis is placed on the innovation of medical terms and the inheritance and development of Arab medical commentary and annotation.This medical translation activity led by Spanish Jews had an important impact on Jews,Spain and even European society.In the field of medicine,translation not only directly enriched the theoretical framework of Jewish medicine,but also promoted the perfection of the European medical system and the socialization and institutionalization of medicine.In the social aspect,the translation and absorption of classical medical knowledge revived Jewish culture on the one hand,and improved the image and status of Jews in the mainstream society on the other hand.At the ideological and cultural level,medical translation activities not only promoted the development of European rationalism and experimental spirit in the Renaissance of the 12 th century,but also promoted the progress of European social science concepts in the Renaissance of the 14 th century.