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Michael Scot

c.1175–1234 · Scotland/Toledo
Michael Scot

Description

Michael Scot was a Scottish mathematician and scholar in the Middle Ages. He was educated at Durham, Oxford and Paris, and worked in Bologna and Toledo, where he learned Arabic. His patron was Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire and Scot served as science adviser and court astrologer to him. Scot translated Averroes and was the greatest public intellectual of his day.

Facts

BornMichael Scot, 1175
Diedc. 1232
FieldsMathematics, astrology, alchemy

Life & work in brief

Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.

Work / contributionSignificance
Early life and educationScot was born somewhere in the border regions of Scotland.
CareerScot was a typical example of the polyglot wandering scholar of the Middle Ages—a churchman who knew Latin, Greek, Arabic and Hebrew.
DeathThe date of Scot's death remains uncertain.
In legendThe legendary Michael Scot used to feast his friends with dishes brought by spirits from the royal kitchens of France and Spain and other lands.