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HeMeT – אמת : Hebrew Medieval Translations

Throughout the Middle Ages, Hebrew translations were a connecting link between the Eastern and Western worlds. The Jewish translators faced the need to transform scientific knowledge, philosophical works, historical and poetic legacy in part of their own intellectual baggage. These works come mostly from the Arab world, although we should not forget texts written in languages ​​such as Pahleví, Hindu, etc. At the same time, the Hebrew version served on many occasions as a basis for future translation into Latin and Romance languages. Despite its great importance for a global understanding of medieval literature, to date there is no database that covers all translations in any format. 

The HeMeT - אמת: Hebrew Medieval Translations portal proposes an online database that collects all medieval Hebrew translations in two main sections: 

  • Translations to Hebrew.
  • Translations from Hebrew.

Each section will be subdivided into: 

  • Philosophy and sciences: wisdom literature, medicine, etc.
  • Theology
  • Story telling
  • Poetry
  • Literary theory (ars-poetics).

Logo Hemet

On each translation an external and internal description will be offered, including the data of its composition, the original source, available copies and their location, as well as relevant contents and links. 

In order to facilitate the use to the researchers of other fields or languages, a study will be included on each translation (counting on previous works of investigation along with new analyzes). Subsequently, in a second phase a comparison will be made with the original Arab sources. Finally, each work will have a new translation from Hebrew to Spanish (and later to English). 

It is hoped that this computer tool will become a global window to discover the "missing gear" in more than one research, whether due to lack of language or other technical difficulties linked to access to translations. 

Rachel PELED CUARTAS
Profesora Honorífica Investigadora de la Universidad de Alcalá

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