A captivating study of translation, adaptation, and intellectual cross-pollination that situates the Castilian Hermes in the center of medieval Mediterranean cultural exchange Hermes Trismegistus, a Hellenistic conflation of the Greek Hermes (god of interpretative wisdom) and the Egyptian Thoth (god of wisdom) was considered by many in the medieval world as the father of culture. Between c. 300 BCE - c. 1200 CE various treatises were attributed to the legendary sage, becoming known as the Hermetica - a combination of diverse philosophical and spiritual systems, addressing subjects such as alchemy, magic, and astrology. The Hermetica circulated widely, with premodern translations in Latin, Hebrew, Syriac, Persian, Arabic, and other Eastern languages. Whilst these iterations have been thoroughly researched, little attention has been paid to the Castilian Hermes, the first rendition of the wisdom traditions of Hermes Trismegistus in a Romance language. This book follows the ways in which Hermetic knowledge was brought to the Iberian Peninsula, showing how Hermes became the philosophical and spiritual inspiration for Christian, Arabic, and Jewish scholars there. Udaondo Alegre unveils the pivotal role of King Alfonso X ("the Learned") of Castile (1252-84) in creating this Spanish Hermes. Through the meticulous tracing of source texts and literary influences, the author explores the myriad ways in which Hermes crossed religious and linguistic boundaries to embody a composite intellectual identity, emblematic of medieval Spain's multicultural ethos. Alfonso's court is revealed as the site for a unique convergence of translation and interpretation that shaped a distinctly "Hispanic" Hermes.

A major contribution to our understanding of intellectual exchanges between Britain and Spain in the early twentieth century

Sufism and Theology are two major currents in Islamic thought and religious culture, and over the centuries they have displayed immense diversity and intellectual richness. This book takes a flexible and inclusive approach to these trends, revealing both how Sufis approached theological traditions and themes and practised theology themselves, and how theologians approached different aspects of Sufism. Comprising chapters by leading specialists in the field, this volume is the first to explore the historically complex interface between these two major currents, highlighting key points of tension and interaction. Taking us through an array of subjects, including hermeneutics, psychology and metaphysics, light is shed on major intellectual trends and figures from the 12th century up to the modern period. These range from al-Hallaj, Ibn 'Arabi and Ibn Sab'in, to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Ibn Taymiyya, Haydar Amuli and Ibn Kemal Pasha, from the Ottoman context to the Safavid, and from Sunnism to Shi'ism

A groundbreaking, revisionist account of the importance of the history of philosophy to intellectual change - scientific, philosophical and religious - in seventeenth-century England.

The essays in this interdisciplinary volume examine the social and cultural interaction of Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Spain during the medieval and early modern periods. Together, the essays provide a unique comparative perspective on compelling problems of ethnoreligious relations. Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Medieval and Early Modern Spain considers how certain social and political conditions fostered fruitful cultural interchange, while others promoted mutual hostility and aversion. The volume examines the factors that enabled one religious minority to maintain its cultural integrity and identity more effectively than another in the same sociopolitical setting. This volume provides an enriched understanding of how Christians, Muslims, and Jews encountered ideological antagonism and negotiated the theological and social boundaries that separated them.

This introduction to the Western esoteric traditions offers a concise overview of their historical development. The author explores these traditions, from their roots in Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, and Gnosticism in the early Christian era up to their reverberations in modern day's scientific paradigms.

A collection of essays on magic and occultism. The essays and articles collected in this volume sum up the first not-quite-decade of John Michael Greer's career. While they cover a range of subjects, all of them share a common theme, and were shaped by certain experiences that remade his spiritual life just before the first of them was written. They record a remarkable period in the life of a scholar, and will provide inspiration and entertainment to students of the occult as well as anyone interested in magic or writing.