Bayt al-Hikma means "house of wisdom" in Arabic. The term refers to libraries and scriptorium attached to mosques in the Middle Ages. One such house was in the Great Mosque of Toledo. This mosque became the foundation for the current gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria. The Bayt al-Hikma was replaced by the Cathedral's archives. My first two weeks will be spent in these archives, digging through the documents from the early thirteenth century. I am mostly looking for wills appertaining to the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, but will obviously be keeping my eyes open for other items of interest. It is all rather exciting, or intimidating. My Spanish is bad, and talking to priests about their archive contents is going to be a trick.
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