Editing Adelard of Bath (section)

== Main works ==
[[File:woman teaching geometry.jpg|thumb|The frontispiece of an Adelard of Bath Latin translation of Euclid's ''Elements'', British Library manuscript 275, c. 14th century]]
Among Adelard of Bath's original works is a trio of dialogues, written to mimic the Platonic style, or correspondences with his nephew. The earliest of these is ''De Eodem et Diverso (On the Same and the Different)''. It is written in the style of a [[protreptic]], or an exhortation to the study of philosophy.<ref name="burnettxii">{{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=xii}}</ref> The work is modelled on [[Boethius]]' ''[[Consolation of Philosophy]]'', evident in Adelard's vocabulary and phraseology.<ref name="burnettxx"/> It is believed to have been written near Tours after he had already travelled, though there is no indication that he had travelled past Southern Italy and Sicily at the time of writing.<ref name="adelardofbath"/>  The work takes the form of a dramatic dialogue between Philocosmia, who advocates worldly pleasures, and Philosophia, whose defence of scholarship leads into a summary of the [[Liberal arts|seven liberal arts]]. Underlining the entire work is the contrast between Philocosmia's ''res'' (perceptible reality), and Philosophia's ''verba'' (mental concepts).<ref>{{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=xix}}</ref>  Each section of the liberal arts is divided into two parts. Presented first is a description of the allegorical figure representing the art, in which the importance of that art is indicated, followed by a summary of the doctrines of that art, as told by the allegorical figure who is presented as the founder or main proponent of the particular art.<ref name="burnettxx">{{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=xx}}</ref>

The second of this trio, and arguably Adelard's most significant contribution, was his ''Questiones Naturales'' or ''Questions on Natural Science''. It can be dated between 1107 and 1133 as, in the text, Adelard himself mentions that seven years have passed since his lecturing in schools at Laon.<ref name="adelardofbath"/> He chooses to present this work as a forum for Arabic learning, referring often to his experiences in Antioch.<ref name="burnettxii"/>  He sets out seventy-six questions, in the form of a [[Plato|Platonic dialogue]] about meteorology and natural science. It was used heavily in schools into and beyond the 13th century but the teaching on natural things would ultimately be superseded by Aristotle's writing.<ref name="Gracia, Jorge J. E 2003"/> The text is broken up into three parts: ''On Plants and Brute Animals'', ''On Man'' and ''On Earth, Water, Air, and Fire''.<ref>{{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=xxii}}</ref> Two of the more specific features associated with this text are (1) a preference for reason over authority in matters of science and nature (in other words, seeking solutions via reason and logic rather than through faith) and (2) the use of the literary device of invoking Arab teachings when presenting very controversial topics (e.g. that brute animals may possess knowledge and souls)<ref name="hackett">{{cite book |last=Hackett | first=Jeremiah |editor-first=Jorge J. E.| editor-last=Gracia |title=A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages |date=2007 |chapter=Chapter 2. Adelard of Bath |isbn=978-0-631-21672-8 | doi=10.1002/9780470996669.ch10 | page=86 | editor2-first=Timothy B. | editor2-last=Noone}}</ref> Adelard didn't think that the use of reason to seek knowledge was in any way contradictory with Christian faith in God. The soul is a large part of the dialogue in this text as ''On Man'' discusses a corporeal soul in man, while the final section elaborates on the incorporeal soul of elements and animals.<ref name="burnettxii"/>  ''Questiones Naturales'' appears to have been an immediate success as it was copied on both sides of the English Channel and was even presented in a "pocket-book" format, suggesting that it was meant to be carried around.<ref>{{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=xxxivii}}</ref>

The final section in his trilogy is a treatise on [[Falconry|hawking]] called ''De Avibus Tractatus (Treatise on Birds)''.<ref>{{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=xxxiii}}</ref> It is a medical text that addresses disease from head-to-toe.<ref name="burnettxii"/> While it has been argued that this treatise was not widely distributed, an investigation of later Latin and French treatises reveals a number of excerpts from Adelard's work.<ref>{{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=xxxvi}}</ref>

The remainder of Adelard's original works did not involve the persona of his nephew. He wrote a treatise on the use of the [[abacus]] called ''Regulae Abaci'',<ref>{{cite book |title=The Exchequer in the Twelfth Century |last=Poole |first=Reginald |date=1911 |publisher=University of Oxford |page=49 |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> which was likely written very early in his career because it shows no trace of Arab influence.<ref name="adelardofbath"/> This treatise is believed to be proof that Adelard was connected to the [[Exchequer]] table that was used for monetary calculations in the medieval period.<ref name="poole52">{{cite book |title=The Exchequer in the Twelfth Century |last=Poole |first=Reginald |date=1911 |publisher=University of Oxford |page=52 |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> If you read the source quoted, its obvious Adelard of Bath probably knew who worked at the Exchequer and might have met them at Laon, but what is common among them is that their educations are in Laon! Further evidence for this can be found in the [[Pipe rolls|Pipe Roll of Henry I]], which shows that he had received a discharge from the "murder fine" (a fine levied on all inhabitants of a certain area based on the murder of a Norman that occurred in a generally accessible field in the area)<ref>Halsall, Paul. (1998). ''Laws of Henry I: The Murder Fine'', The Medieval Sourcebook. Fordham University. Available at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/12Chenry1-murderfine.html</ref> levied on the community of Wiltshire in 1130,<ref name="poole52"/> though there is no other proof for this fact. There is debate about whether the Adelard who lived in Bath and who was levied with this charge really is the same Adelard of Bath, considering Adelard is a common name. The work that Adelard of Bath is known for in the Latin world is his translation of the astronomical tables of [[al-Khwarizmi]], the first widely accessible Latin translation of the Islamic ideas about algebra.<ref name="adelardofbath"/> In the [[Middle Ages]] he was known for his rediscovery and teaching of geometry, earning his reputation when he made the first full translation of [[Euclid]]'s [[Euclid's Elements|''"Elements"'']] and began the process of interpreting the text for a Western audience.<ref name="Adelard of Bath 1998 xv"/>