Constantinus Africanus

Constantinus Africanus kŏnˌstəntīˈnəs ăfrĭkāˈnəs [key], c.1010–1087, medical translator and Benedictine monk. The life of Constantinus before his arrival at Salerno c.1070 is obscure. According to the monk who wrote his biography, Constantinus was born in Carthage, traveled extensively in North Africa and various parts of Asia for four decades, and accumulated everywhere manuscripts on medicine and other sciences. Ejected from Carthage as a magician, he fled to Salerno, where he remained for several years before retiring in 1076 to Monte Cassino. There he spent his remaining years in great activity; among the 30-odd works attributed to him are translations of Hippocrates, Galen, Isaac Judaeus, and Haly Abbas.

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