Herman - An Unfinished Life - Life And Times Of Herman De Carinthia (1110 - Ca 1154) Part One

Herman`s work is about Enlightenment, which would give way to light, Renaissance, and pave the way for modern democracy. This article – first of its kind - divided into chapters – books- aims to reconstruct some of the time and places Herman de Carinthia lived and worked.

WHEN KNOWLEDGE KNEW NO BORDERS
Following the fall of the Roman Empire began, what are generally known the Dark Ages, which elapsed from roughly late fifth century to the late fifteen century and the Renaissance or Revival begun. The period is highly obscured. The centuries termed as the "Dark Ages", however, are the missing centuries in history. Science and civilizations, have received little attention. Somehow the picture that comes across, was that Europe went from the brilliance in antiquity straight into ten centuries of darkness and then suddenly, out of nowhere into the Revival. That very Revival, that gave the West the power – and lead it still keeps today. Europe has in fact experienced Revival in the twelfth century, and not in that "magic" period of the so called Renaissance, i.e. late 15th century to early 17th century. History of science shows both the continuity in scientific progress, the crucial importance of the Middle Ages, and also the decisive Muslim contribution – that period of the "Dark Ages" coincides, and exactly, with the Muslim apogee.

Following the death of Prophet Muhammed, (PBUH), Islam spread to neighboring lands. By they year 750, the Muslim lands stretched from Spain to the borders of China. Rising with the speed of Islam was a grandiose multi ethnic civilization. The Muslim scientific revolution took place precisely during the apogee of Islam. It was between 8th to 13th centuries that most decisive scientific inventions were made and the foundations of modern civilizations were laid. Scientists and scientific discoveries in their thousand, artistic creativity, great architecture, huge libraries, hospitals, universities, mapping of the world, the discovery of the sky – and its secrets and much more. It was the time of AlBiruni, AlKhwarizmi, AlIdrissi, AlKindi, Ibn Sina, AlRazi, Ibn Khaldrum, AlKazin, Ibn AlHaytham, AlFarabi, AlGhazali, AlJazari and hundred of scientists who would shape the modern science. Muslims came along with a new outlook with a sense of enquiry into the old – and Europe could take over this thoroughly examined knowledge and endow it with a approach of its own.

With the Spanish re-conquest of former Muslim town and cities, most particular, Toledo (in 1085), the Christians came across vast Muslim learning. Adelard of Bath, Robert of Chester, Plato of Tivoli, HERMAN DE CARINTHIA, Gerard de Cremona, and others, many Jewish intermediaries, translated vast amounts of scientific works from Arabic into Latin and Hebrew and local dialects. These hundreds of works were to serve as foundation of Western learning. The so- called Dark Ages were lighter that we are used to believe and there was a constant interchange of knowledge and ideas between the supposedly hostile worlds of the cross and the crescent. Nearly all Muslim envoys to Christian powers were Jews, and about all Muslim trade was in the hands of Jews too. Moreover, among Muslims, only a number of scientists were Arabs. Most were Turks, Iranians, Spanish Muslims, Berbers, Kurds, thus a myriad of people and origins brought together under the mantle of Islam, which stood for most multiethnic culture and civilization.

The Medieval Western world came to know and appreciate the basic Greek works through the works of Muslim philosophers. The translation of the Arabic versions of the Aristotelian corpus, produced a cultural turning point in the intellectual history of the Western world. It shaped the future of Christianity, and deeply influenced the filed of logic or natural philosophy. In particular in metaphysics, philosophy of religion, ethics, and political philosophy. Muslim philosophers’ analysis of being, for example, their division of being into contingent and necessary, their definitions of universal and other key metaphysical terms had a lasting impact. To talk of the "attributes" of God was almost unknown in the Christian theology. Ibn Sina, for example, showed that "being" is the first intuition of mind.

Unlike Herman De Carinthia, his contemporary, Abu Rayhan Muhammed Bin Ahmed Al-Beyruni (973-1048 CE) this great man stands as a model of the thinker, who was able to harmonize within his own intellectual world various worlds of knowledge, from the science of nature to religion and philosophy. Unlike Herman, AlBeyruni had an extremely clear international outlook. Both worked to remove the misunderstandings between various communities and bring humanity closer in their outlook upon the world. Both were key figures in bringing about real cultural contact between different races and nations. Both had made it clear, that in order to be an honest investigator, one has to free himself from all kinds of prejudices, selfish motivations, and every kind of harmful elements. When Al-Beyruni wanted to know how many grains of wheat were involved in the chessboard, he arrived at the figure 8,446,744,073,709,551,615. AlBeyruni`s accuracy in determining the number of grains of wheat in the chessboard problem is reflected in his historical work. AlBeyruni later accompanied Mahmud of Ghazna on the famous expedition to India in 1001. While there he learned Sanskrit and wrote a History of India based on native sources and his own observations.

Unlike their modern counterparts, Muslim scholars did not specialize. They regarded all fields of knowledge as essentially one. Perhaps the best illustration of this is AlKindi, "Philosopher of the Arabs," the most distinguished man of his time and unrivaled during his period for his knowledge of the ancient sciences as a whole. For example, agriculture was dependent in much of the Middle East on irrigation, and a series of important books were written on soil analysis, water and what kinds of crops were suited to what soils. The passion for new plants, both for nutritive and medicinal purposes, led to widespread plant introductions: cotton, rice, mulberry trees, citrus fruits, cherries, all of which were adapted to new soils and climates in their spread from the East to the West. The technique of grafting was carried to a high art, particularly in North Africa and Spain.

This chain was forged by men of different linguistic, cultural and religious backgrounds. They were alike only in their concern to find answers to the questions: what is the shape of the earth, how big is it, what supports it, where does it stand in relation to the sun, moon and stars, how can we know our true location upon its surface, how can that surface be mapped. Resulting in the Revival of Europe stretching from Italy to Germany, to Holland, manifesting in an outburst of creativity in all forms, science and arts. It was the time of Da Vinci, Copernicus, Gallileo, Kepler, Christopher Columbus, Magellan, and many more. Europe industrialized itself, and was able to conquer new lands, which it industrialized.
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Herman de Carinthia is author of several books, among which "On Substances", "On Precipitates", "On Chemistry", "On Astrolabe". He is credited for translation from Arabic into Latin over twenty works, including "A General Introduction to Astronomy" by Abu Ma’shar, Euclid’s "Elements", and Ptolemy’s "The Planisphere".

The Persian astrologer Abu Ma`ashar (Abu Ma`ashar Ja`far Ibn Muhammed Ibn Umar Al-Balkhi) (787-88) was to the Medieval West the most important representative of Arabic Astrology. His works during twelve century widely circulated in manuscript. Abu Ma`shar exerted a powerful influence on the development of Western Astrology. His writing were held up as models of astrological practice. Once can almost say that Abu Ma`shar established the standard practice for Medieval Astrology. Abu Ma`shar astrological writings also show the Hermetic influence, his works represent a fusion of Sabian Hermeticism, Persian chronology, Islamic religious doctrine, Greek science and Mesopotamian astrology. He, and his teacher AlKindi were instrumental in identifying the Antediluvian Prophet Idris with Enoch and Hermes. Abu Mashar and his Latin translators, among them Herman de Carinthia, played the central role in the transmission of Aristotelian philosophical teaching to the Christian West. His "History of Magic and Experimental Science" were translated by John of Spain and Herman de Carinthia.
Abu Ma`ashar exerted influence on contemporary Muslim culture as well, not only as an astrologer, but also as a philosopher. He and his teacher, AlKindi, were part of a Hermetic cabal, created a philosophical overview of science and human endeavor that suggested that the way to the God lay in studying His footsteps in Nature. This very overview became a cornerstone of Arabic science from the 9th – 11th centuries. The Hermetic astrologer-magicians erected thereby a doctrinal edifice in which all the arts and sciences including ethics, politics and economics, were subordinated to magic, alchemy and astrology, which alone were subordinate to the God Himself. All arts and sciences known to medieval man were portrayed for the public’s edification, as declaration of the Christianisation of the path of knowledge.

Although Herman`s name appears among the translators of the Holy Qur'an, the translation of the Holy Book was a collective work by the famous Cluniac Corpus which occupies an important place in the field of Islamic studies in the West. Robertos Katnansis' translation came to be recognized as a model for the later translations and became the most important sources for the Westerners in the study of Islam. A copy of the manuscript of this translation in Robertos' own writing is currently housed in the Arsenal Library of Paris. Despite the fact that this translation was presented to St. Bernard publishers before the second Crusade and was displayed publicly, it remained in its original manuscript form for a long time. Considering the ban that was placed on the publication of this work in Basle in the year 1542, according to which this book would need to be published elsewhere, it appears likely, that this book was indeed published in Zurich in 1542.

TasãÊÈ al-kura, an Arabic translation of the Planisphere of Ptolemy; the two originals were lost but Maslama's work is preserved in a Latin version made from the Arabic text by Herman de Carinthia (1143) and edited in Basle in 1536 and in Venice in 1558, and in a Hebrew version.

THE BOOK OF CARANTANIA
Carantania, sometimes also Karantania, Carentania, also Korotan or Karantanija, was the first independent state of ancient Slovenes. Founded in 6th century, it lasted almost 300 years. First mentioned in 595 as "Gorostan", mountain homeland of ancient Slovenes, situated north of the Karavanske. Also named Carantanum, which today demarcate the sovereign states of Slovenia, Austria and Northern Italy, and crudely designate the historical interstice of Europe’s Germanic, Romance and Slavic language area.

A largely mountainous region, almost half is covered with forests, pastures, fields, vineyards and orchards. The mountains resounding with the call of cuckoos and a persistent soundtrack to something of a non-event. Carpets of butter-yellow ranunculus giving way to pale blue bellflowers. Network of well-trodden footpaths, and a sublime landscape, suffused with the perfume of jasmine and honeysuckle. Blue silhouettes of mountains in one direction and as a distant glimpse of the Adriatic Sea in another. Each village spotlessly clean. Vegetable patches painstakingly nurtured, and rows of onions forming perfectly straight lines. Sun-dappled woodland and alpine meadows filled with clouds of butterflies. Hay ricks, auburn deer cantering into forest mark of the old-time charm. Quaint-looking houses whose windows glow invitingly and whose balconies are full of flowers. Mountainside overlooking magnificent wooded slopes, mountains peaks and the broad valleys.

People of the mountain and valley depend for local land, forests, and fields for their livelihood. During Herman’s time the Alps, in addition, to imposing physical barriers were also bridges between the communities nestled on the opposite slope. This mountain zone is a separate region in its own right, .a discrete cultural area, a cultural climax. A finely integrated pattern revealed through inter - play of man and environment, resulting in love for their mountains, for quietness and feeling of freedom. How one reaches the mountain top and enjoys from there a broader view of the world. Since pre-historic times also an important thoroughfare between the Northern Adriatic and the Panonian plain, as well as other point to the north and east.

In 952 Carantania became Grand Dutchy (952 - 1180). In the following two centuries the marches advanced to dukedoms. Carantania, originally used to be divided into seven dukedoms, among which the Dukedom of Carinthia. The Carantanian law, the Institutio Sclavenica, were social customs, laid down from generation to generation. According to Institutio Sclavenica, the Carantanian law, the Duke of Carantania was also the archmaster of hunts. None could name a duke, except the freeholders of the land, the free peasants, represented by "homini boni" the good men in a elaborate ceremony in which each action and clothing had a specific meaning

stone throne - durability, eternity, a symbol of the divine character of power.
stick in hand of the new duke the - scepter.
fresh water - life.
bull - agricultural prosperity
horse – army as the base of the state structure.
gray pieces of clothing - the transitory nature of earthly things. Grey is the color of the dust. It also represents the ruler's dignity and the gray cord on the hat the transitory life, so does the gray coat.
red bag - spiritual riches.

Gradually the Franks imposed their supremacy upon the greater part of European nations and Carantania became an integral part of the Holy Roman Empire. In other words men like Herman de Carinthia were forming a freer space for the formation of several issues, such as for greater independence and self-determination among – then - powers. Perhaps this was the basic aim of the Carantanian foreign policy from where Herman off spring, and the secret target may have been the incorporation into a sphere of political influence within which the Carantanians had the upper hand in the sector of trade. Carantania possed a location that used to be o key strategic position to control the trade routes with the Middle East and Western Europe.

The economies of northern Europe were similarly linked – indirectly like a train of interlocking "gears" – to the Indian Ocean monsoon, spices, textile, traveled overland and by internal waterways to the trade fairs of northern Europe. Another set of "gears" driven by the monsoon linked the Indian Ocean economies to China. Venice until the ninth century, had been a part of the Byzanthine Empire. It never lost its half eastern quality. It floats magically on the surface of the lagoon, belonging neither to land nor sea. Venice never seem fully to belong to the European world in which it was tenuously anchored. Here was a city devoted entirely to trade, with full apparatus of money, banks, credit and letters of exchange – all uncanny mysteries to most of northern Europe. As a maritime republic dedicated to international trade, Venice was an anomaly in a feudal Europe that measure wealth by land, not money. The Venetian capacity was to transform products such as salt, grain and cloth into gold resulting that the European markets full of goods from Syria and even from India.

Herman introduces himself as "Hermannus de Carinthia". The name is a reference to Great Duchy of Carantania, a confederation of provinces, in which Carinthia was a march. Another reference to Herman is "Hermannus Sclavus". This name too is a reference to Carantania. During 12th century AD, Bavarians settled in Carinthia, Bavarian German would become the second language in that country. When Herman introduced himself as "Sclavus", it meant a reference to Slovenian speaking people of Carinthia. His other name ‘Hermannus Secundus" likely refers to his political role. Within noble families such his, the House of Spanheim, also Sponheim, it was quite common to designate the First, the Second. His other given name is "Sclavus Dalmata" or "Hermannus Dalmata. Herman, however, did not use this name. It is a reference to his place of birth in Istria, then a Carantanian march. Dalmatia was much better known beyond as his place of birth in Istria.

In written records is Herman († 1088) of the Second House of Spanheim also written Sponheim, of the Dynasty of Carantania, brother of Count Engelbert I († 1096), founder of the of the House of Spanheim. Among Engelbert I`s desecendents are Henry IV († 1123), the Duke of Carinthia (Carantania), and Engelbert II , the Margrave of Istria (1107 - 1123), Duke of Carinthia († 1135). Herman de Carinthia, Engelbert II`s son may have be born around 1107, when his father was appointed as Margrave of Istria. In the introduction to his writing "Liber introductionis in astronomiam" Herman says about his place of birth:

Istrie tres partes: maritime et Montana, in medio patria nostra Carinthia..
The central part of Istria, which at that time pertained to Carinthia

As Engelbert`s son, Herman de Carinthia had several brothers and sisters. One of them was Henry of Carinthia, a Cistercian monk in 1133 already Abbot of Morimond, in France. In 1135. Henry founds a new monastery, in 1145 becomes appointed Bishop of Troyes, Champagne. About 1130, Herman attends the cathedral school of Chartres, founded by Theoderic (Thierry), the youngest brother of Bernard (ca. 1085 - ca. 1150), a Platonist philosopher. Among his disciples is also Johannes de Saresberia Parvus (John of Salisbury). After completing his studies, Herman in 1134, with his classmate and friend. Robert of Ketton, leave for Byzantium. Herman did not hesitate to seek knowledge at its source – however far away that may be.

Robert of Ketton would become known as medieval theologian. He became the Archdeacon of Pamplona. He and Herman would be commissioned by Peter the Venerable, abbot of Cluny, to translate the Holy Quran into Latin.

THE BOOK OF BYZANTIUM
The Byzantine Empire, a successor state to the Roman Empire, also called Eastern Empire and East Roman Empire, although not foreseen at the time, a division into Eastern and Western Empires became permanent. The Byzantine Empire would be subject to important changes and its boundaries. The core of the empire consisted of the Balkan Peninsula, the Greek islands, Illyria and of Asia Minor. The Byzantine Empire would become the closest thing to a military superpower in the early Middle Ages. Economic prosperity was paralleled by a new golden age in science, philosophy and architecture. An empire that became a nation, almost in the modern meaning.

Nature could still be read as a message of hope set down in God`s cursive unflattering hand, remarked Herman to Robert upon arrival in Byzantium. But for a man like Herman, the Byzantium represented just the opposite of nature. It was a place where the mark of human presence appeared everywhere. This new found appreciation of the man-made landscape informed his subsequent writing. That year, only memories still crowded into the harbor of Constantinople. So weighted down with history at the same so new, both in its stones and in its people.

Founded in 667 BC by a Greek named Byzas Megarian, Byzantium is located in the harbor in the Bosporus, the channel that connects the Black sea with the Aegean Sea. Byzantium during Herman`s time was a big hub, Muslim, Christian, Asian, and European traders all flocked to the city. Straddling across the narrow Bosporus Strait, Byzantium would link the great land masses of Europe and Asia. The sparkling channel called the Bosporus was the city's lifeline, a year-round highway carrying people and commerce on its surface. The strong, cold currents of the stormy Black Sea flow down the Bosporus into the smoother Sea of Marmara. The Marmara would lead directly into the twin strait of the Dardanelles, which empties right below Troy into the Aegean Sea and finally into the Mediterranean. The point of the Old City would determine the destinies of the adjacent Thracian bread basket and the opposite fertile coastal plain of Anatolia. Sparkling lights, a melange of oriental mentality and gracious hospitality. Occidental appetites and ambitions, northern pace and energy, southern lassitude and contentment. A Roman aqueduct across a boulevard, a sagging house propped up on Greek columns. Women from the country villages, cocooned in black robes pull aside their veils. Turbaned water sellers and chrome-plated snack bars. Pyramid of silk on cushions of brocade.

From the standpoint of European security, the Byzantine Empire would guard it from would be invaders. Stretching along the southern Mediterranean shores, and blanketing the whole of what we know today as the Middle East, as well as Spain, was a gigantic state administered from the new city of Baghdad by the Abbasid Dynasty of the Islamic Empire. The most single striking effect of this unification - of Anatolia, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, North Africa and Spain - was the opening of formerly closed frontiers - frontiers that had been closed politically, linguistically and intellectually since the death of Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. The Arabic word normally translated as "conquest" has also another meaning, "opening" - futuh — and this was indeed the effect of the Muslim conquests. Major political and cultural frontier had fallen.

Precise observation and an ability to find new mathematical solutions to old problems were the two main strengths of Muslim scientists in the Middle Ages. Muslim scientists were the first to express doubts about many of the details of the Ptolemaic system. Muslim astronomers would come with data that conflicted with Ptolemy. Ibn Haytham argued no matter what Aristotle said, and estimated the height of the earth's atmosphere at 52,000 paces - a pace being roughly one meter, or three feet. At first, contacts between scholars of such different backgrounds were limited - because of the lack of a common language. But by the time Abbasid Caliph Ma'mun conceived the idea of the House of Wisdom, Arabic had already become the language of international scholarship. This was one of the most significant events in the history of ideas. Greek, long the language of philosophical and scientific inquiry, gave way to Arabic, and it was through the lens of Arabic that Western scholars, first looked on the pages of Plato and Aristotles.

Ma'mun wrote to the Byzantine emperor asking his permission to obtain a selection of old scientific manuscripts, stored and treasured in the country of the Byzantines. After first refusing, he finally complied, and Ma'mun sent forth a number of scholars, among them al-Hajjaj ibn Matar, Ibn al-Batrik, Salman, the director of the House of Wisdom and many others. The House of Wisdom was launched. Unlike the Byzantines, Muslims were actively enjoined by the Traditions - Dicta of the Prophet - to "seek learning, though it be in China." Armed with these translations, as well as some Indian works, the great age of Islamic science began. The Arabic versions of Greek texts prepared in ninth-century Baghdad would soon circulate throughout the Islamic world. The translations were revised, commentaries were written upon them, and original works were composed that used the naturalized texts as points of departure.

There is a certain unity in the diversity of food, Herman noted. The ubiquity of rice is one, another is the tomato-onion-garlic-olive-oil culture of the Mediterranean. The kindness of the climate produces the same fruits – oranges, lemons, grapes, apricots, dates, figs – almost everywhere, or at least close by. Quality in simplicity, observed Herman, and even though an array of meze (appetizers) can number 50 different hot and cold delights, simple melon of white cheese or olive can be the best. Further West, stretches the great network of rivers – the Euphrates, Tigris, Orontes, and Jordan – that water valleys and plains of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq. This region would become a vegetarian1s paradise, with a seasonal procession of fruits and vegetables, cereals and fragrant herbs. Here they show respect here for the food, for the ingredients, the preparations, and the act of eating as well, as well as for the eater

PART TWO THE BOOK OF DAMASCUS AND ANDALUS

Herman de Carinthia on a 12th century drawing holding an astrolab