The Constabulus manuscript in Durham Cathedral Library: a Forgotten Treasure?

Abstract

Johannes Hispalensis (John of Seville), working from Limia in Portugal and then Toledo in twelfth century Spain, translated mostly mathematical treatises from Arabic into Latin. His early work began in Limia with three medical translations c. 1118. One, the De differentia spiritus et animae originally bore the signature 'Johannes Hispalensis et Limiensis'. Not all scholars agree that this translator was Johannes Hispalensis. However, evidence supporting the theory that there was only one translator is provided by the De differentia, which resurfaced years later in a revised version dedicated to Raymond, Archbishop of Toledo from 1125 to 1152. It bore the shortened name: Johannes Hispalensis. An unknown copy of this revised version has been discovered in Durham Cathedral where it has lain dormant for 800 years. It contains a plethora of scribal mistakes, helping to prove that many of the inconsistencies between different copies of the same Latin manuscripts are due to human error rather than multiple identities working on the same translation.