"The foundations of modern knowledge--philosophy, math, astronomy, geography--were laid by the Greeks, whose ideas were written on scrolls and stored in libraries across the Mediterranean and beyond. But as the vast Roman Empire disintegrated, so did appreciation of these precious texts. Christianity cast a shadow over so-called pagan thought, books were burned, and the library of Alexandria, the greatest repository of classical knowledge, was destroyed. Yet some texts did survive and The Map of Knowledge explores the role played by seven cities around the Mediterranean--rare centers of knowledge in a dark world, where scholars supported by enlightened heads of state collected, translated and shared manuscripts. In 8th century Baghdad, Arab discoveries augmented Greek learning. Exchange within the thriving Muslim world brought that knowledge to Cordoba, Spain. Toledo became a famous center of translation from Arabic into Latin, a portal through which Greek and Arab ideas reached Western Europe. Salerno, on the Italian coast, was the great center of medical studies, and Sicily, ancient colony of the Greeks, was one of the few places in the West to retain contact with Greek culture and language. Scholars in these cities helped classical ideas make their way to Venice in the 15th century, where printers thrived and the Renaissance took root. The Map of Knowledge follows three key texts--Euclid's Elements, Ptolemy's The Almagest, and Galen's writings on medicine--on a perilous journey driven by insatiable curiosity about the world"--Pages [2-3] of cover.
About the Author
Dr. Violet Moller is a freelance historian and author whose work focuses on the history of ideas and how knowledge has been transmitted through the centuries. She also hosts the history podcast "Travels Through Time."Moller started her career as a journalist, covering theatre, art, books, going out, music and culture in general. Her work has appeared in The Face, Arena, The Scotsman, Metro Scotland, and The List. She then worked as an editor and translator in Denmark. Her fist book, "The Curious World of Dickens," was published in 2012. Her most recent book, "The Map of Knowledge," was published in 2019 and received the RSL Jerwood Prize for Non-fiction.Moller received her M.A. in Classics and Medieval History and her Ph.D. in Intellectual History from Edinburgh University.
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