Editing Adelard of Bath (section)

== Background ==
Adelard's biography was incomplete in places, and leaves some aspects open to interpretation. Consequently, much of what is ascribed to Adelard is a product of his own testimony.<ref>Burnett, Charles. Adelard of Bath, Conversations with His Nephew. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.</ref>

Adelard claims to come from the Roman English city of [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]. How he lived is not entirely known. Despite his extensive travels, by the end of his life he is thought to have returned to Bath where he died around 1160 CE.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Witherbee |first=Amy |date=2007 |title=Adelard of Bath |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=25181458&site=ehost-live |access-date=September 12, 2023 |website=EBSCOhost}}</ref>

The parents of the philosopher are not known for sure, but Fastred, a tenant of the Bishop of Wells, is noted by scholars as a possible father.<ref>Kraye, Jill, and W. F. Ryan, eds. Adelard of Bath. London: Warburg Institute, 1987. Print.</ref> The name Adelard is of Anglo-Saxon origin, which would make him to be of low status in 11th-century England.<ref>Witherbee, Amy. "Adelard of Bath." MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO 2007. Web. 29 February 2012</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haskins |first1=Charles H. |date=1913 |title=Adelard of Bath and Henry Plantagenet |journal=The English Historical Review |volume=XXVIII |issue=CXI |pages=515–516 |publisher=Oxford Journals |doi=10.1093/ehr/XXVIII.CXI.515 }}</ref> It is believed that he left England toward the end of the 11th century for [[Tours]],<ref name=":0" /> likely on the advice of Bishop [[John of Tours|John de Villula]], who had moved the seat of his bishopric from [[Wells, Somerset|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.<ref name="Adelard of Bath 1998 xv">{{cite book |title=Adelard of Bath, Conversations with his Nephew: On the Same and the Different, Questions on Natural Science, and On Birds |author=Adelard of Bath |editor1-first=Charles |editor1-last=Burnett |date=1998 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-39471-0 |page=xv}}</ref> Adelard later taught for a time at [[Laon]], leaving no later than 1109 for travel.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Exchequer in the Twelfth Century |last=Poole |first=Reginald |date=1911 |publisher=[[University of Oxford]] |page=51 |url=http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/poole/exchequer12c.pdf |access-date=30 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184141/http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/poole/exchequer12c.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013 }}</ref>

After leaving Laon, Adelard describes himself as travelling to Southern Italy and [[Sicily]] no later than 1116.<ref name="adelardofbath"/> Adelard also reports extensive travel throughout the "lands of the Crusades": Greece, West Asia, Sicily, possibly Spain, [[Tarsus, Mersin|Tarsus]], [[Antioch]], and potentially Palestine.<ref name="Gracia, Jorge J. E 2003">Gracia, Jorge J. E. and Timothy B. Noone (eds.). A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003).</ref> Historians believe that Adelard learned Arabic in Sicily or in Spain during his travels.<ref name=":0"/> The time spent in these areas would help explain his fascination with mathematics and his access to [[Mathematics in the medieval Islamic world|Arabic scholars]]. His travels are contested by scholars, some of whom speculate that he used references to "travel" and claims of discourse with "Arabs" as a cover for original ideas.<ref>Cochrane, Louise. Adelard of Bath: The First English Scientist.</ref>

By 1126, Adelard returned to the West with the intention of spreading the knowledge he had gained about Arab astronomy and geometry to the Latin world.<ref name="adelardofbath"/> This time of remarkable transition and crusade marked an opportunity for someone to gain valuable influence over the evolution of human history. While the Crusades offered little in the way of a victor, Adelard's non-discriminatory scholarly work inspired him to bring back to England many ancient texts and new questions that would later give rise to an English Renaissance.<ref name="Witherbee, Amy 2007">Witherbee, Amy. "Adelard of Bath." MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO 2007. Web. 29 February 2012.</ref> During Adelard's lifetime in the 11th century it was understandably difficult for him to have achieved his educational pursuits. As printing had not been introduced and the literacy rate was very low, books were rare in medieval Europe, usually held only by royal courts or Catholic monastic communities (Kraye, ''et al.'' 1987). Fittingly, Adelard studied with monks at the Benedictine Monastery at [[Bath Cathedral]].<ref name="Witherbee, Amy 2007"/>