Herman of Carinthia

Herman of Carinthia (1105/1110 – after 1154), also called Hermannus Dalmata, Hermannus Secundus, Herman Dalmatin, or Sclavus Dalmata, by his own words born in the "heart of Istria", was a philosopher, astronomer, astrologer, mathematician and translator of Arabic works into Latin.

Alongside Adelard of Bath, John of Seville, Gerard of Cremona and Plato of Tivoli, Herman is the most important translator of Arabic astronomical works in 12th century. The influence of his translations on the development of medieval European astronomy was especially large.

Name

Herman (also spelled Hermann) is known by several bynames in English and Latin referring to his land of origin or his ethnicity: Hermann of Carinthia (Hermannus de Carinthia); Hermann of Dalmatia or Hermann the Dalmatian (Hermannus Dalmata); or Hermann the Slav (Hermannus Sclavus). Herman always refers to his homeland as Carinthia or Istria. His own preferred nickname was Hermannus Secundus, that is, the "second Hermann", by way of which he declared himself the successor of Hermannus Contractus, an earlier writer on the astrolabe.

Life

The main sources for Herman's life are the prologues to his own works. These can be supplemented by a few references to him in the writings of his contemporaries. In his own account, he was born in the early 12th century, possibly around 1105 or 1110, in central Istria, then part of the Duchy of Carinthia in the Holy Roman Empire. The location is difficult to pin down given the much broader extent of the March of Istria in the 12th century, which included the Karst Plateau, Trieste, Duino and most of the area of later Inner Carniola, possibly even encompassing the upper Vipava Valley.