Biography
Aafke van Oppenraay studied Classical Language and Literature, with Arabic and Medieval Latin, at the University of Amsterdam, where she gained her PhD in 1998 with a thesis on the first book of Michael Scotus’s Arabic-Latin translation of Aristotle’s De generatione animalium. From 1976 to 1993 she worked for NWO as a scientific member of staff.
Since 1994 she has been working at Huygens Institute, where she is responsible for text-critical editions of two Arabic-Latin translations by Michael Scotus: the Libri de animalibus by Aristotle, consisting of 19 volumes, and the Libri de animalibus by Avicenna, also consisting of 19 books. The translations of both works, which deal with general biology and veterinary studies, were produced by Scotus in Spain and Italy between 1215 and 1230. These projects were implemented under the auspices of the Union Académique Internationale (UAI). In addition to studying the translation technique of Michael Scotus, she is interested in the development of anatomic terminology in the Middle Ages.
Research projects
Publications
- contribution to journal (article)
- contribution to edited volume
- contribution to conference
- book (author)
- book (editor)
- conference participation
- other contribution
2017
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2017). Avicenna's 'Liber de animalibus' ('Abbreviatio Avicennae'). Preliminaries and state of affairs. Documenti e Studi sulla Tradizione Filosofica Medievale, XXVIII, 401-416.
2015
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2015). Michael Scot's Translation of Aristotle's 'Books on Animals' and the Pleasures of Knowledge. Quaestio. Yearbook of the History of Metaphysics, 15(ISBN 978-2-503-56596-5), 413-422.
2012
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2012). The Critical Edition of Aristotle's 'De animalibus' in the Arabic-Latin Translation of Michael Scot. Its Purpose and Its Significance for the History of Science. Aristoteles Semitico-Latinus (ASL), 22, 331-344.
2010
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2010). Fonkelend juweel. Textualscholarship.nl. http://www.textualscholarship.nl/?p=287
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2010). The Letter before the Spirit:the Importance of Text Editions for the Study of the Reception of Aristotle. Bulletin de Philosophie Médiévale, 51 (2009), 263-280.
2009
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. Corti, E. & Ricciardi, R. (2009). Conrad Gessner, l'attegiamento dei galli 'sine gallinis', Alberto Magno e la regione di 'Leylychynie'. Atti Accademia Pontaniana, LVII ('08), 59-68.
2014
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2014). 'Ego' en andere raadsels in middeleeuwse margeteksten. In M. Hogenbirk, & R. Zemel (Eds.), Want hi verkende dien name wale. Opstellen voor Willem Kuiper. (Vol. USN VU nr. 73, pp. 125-128). (Uitgaven Stichting Neerlandistiek VU/Nodus Publikationen). Stichting Neerlandistiek VU / Nodus Publikationen.
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2014). Vertrouwelijkheid in de dierkundeboeken van Aristoteles. In J. G. Ronald Sluijter (Ed.), In vriendschap en vertrouwen: Cultuurhistorische essays over confidentialiteit (pp. 257-264). Verloren.
2008
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2008). Zur Überlieferung von Aristoteles PA IV 9. 684b22 'hoosper ei tis noèseien ep' eutheias'. In A.. W. Akasoy and Raven (Ed.), Islamic Thought in the Middle Ages: Studies in Text, Transmission and Translation, in Honour of Hans Daiber (Vol. Volume LXXV, pp. 403-411). (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies.). Brill.
2007
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2007). Some Recent Findings in Michael Scot's Arabic-Latin Translation of Aristotle's 'History of Animals'. In A. Vrolijk and Hogendijk, & J. P. Hogendijk (Eds.), O ye Gentlemen: Arabic Studies on Science and Literary Culture. In Honour of Remke Kruk. (Vol. Volume LXXIV, pp. 35-38). (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies.). Brill.
2011
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (2011). An Editorial Problem Concerning the First Two Books of Aristotle's 'Historia animalium' in the Translation by Michael Scot. In P. De Leemans, & C. Steel (Eds.), The "Aristoteles Latinus': Past, Present, Future (29-30 April 2005) (pp. 59-65). Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van Belgie voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten (KVAB).
2012
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. (Ed.) (2012). The Letter before the Spirit: The Importance of Text Editions for the Study of the Reception of Aristotle. (Aristoteles Semitico-Latinus (ASL)). Brill.
2018
A.M.I. van Oppenraay (2018). The Edition of Michael Scot's Arabo-Latin translation of Aristotle's De animalibus. 09-11-2018. (Symposium "Observing and Interpreting Nature: Aristotle's Biology in the Arabic and Latin Tradition" - Leiden University, LUCIS)
2015
A.M.I. van Oppenraay (2015). The "Liber de animalibus" of Avicenna ('Abbreviatio Avicennae'). Preliminaries and state of affairs. 03-07-2015. (A Crossroad between East and West. The Latin Medieval Translations of the Kitab al-Shifa (Book of the Cure) of Ibn Sina (Avicenna))
2012
A.M.I. van Oppenraay (2012). Michael Scot's Translation of Aristotle's 'Books on Animals' and the Pleasures of Knowledge. 23-08-2012. (International Congress of Medieval Philosophy, S.I.E.P.M. Freising 20-25 August 2012: Pleasures of Knowledge, Freising)
2010
A.M.I. van Oppenraay (2010). Editing an Arabic-Latin Text: Present-Day Practice and Wishes for the Future. 26-10-2010. (ESF/COMSt Workshop "Textual Criticism and Oriental Manuscripts" (25-26 oktober 2010), BE-Leuven)
2009
A.M.I. van Oppenraay (2009). The critical edition of Aristotle's De animalibus in the Arabic-Latin translation of Michael Scot: Its purpose and its significance for the history of science.. 04-06-2009. (Congres 'The Letter before the Spirit: The Importance of Text Editions for the Study of the Reception of Aristotle', Huygens Instituut KNAW, Den Haag)
2019
van Oppenraay, A. M. I. & Kwakkel, E. (2020). Aristotle De Animalibus. Michael Scot's Arabic-Latin Translation, Part One: Books i-iii: History of Animals: A Critical Edition with an Introduction, Notes and Indices, With a Description of the Base Manuscript by Erik Kwakkel. (Aristoteles Semitico-Latinus; Vol. 5.1A). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004411333