About James of Venice
Lived 1001 – 1147. James of Venice was an Italian linguist, translator, canon law jurist, writer, jurist and cleric.
James of Venice ( or ; ) or James the Venetian (; died ) was a Venetian Catholic cleric who travelled to the Byzantine Empire and was a significant translator of Aristotle during the 12th-Century Renaissance.
James identified as "Jacobus Veneticus Grecus [ sic] philosophus". The epithet "Grecus" could indicate his knowledge of the Greek language, Prior to James, Aristotle was known in Western Europe primarily through the Latin commentaries on his work by Boethius. "The first systematic translator of Aristotle since Boethius", James was active in Constantinople, working directly from Byzantine Greek copies of philosophical texts rather than the Arab translations used by the Christian scholars in Spain around the same time.
James translated the Posterior Analytics from Greek to Latin in the period 1125–1150. For the first time in over 500 years, this made the New Logic of the Organon available in Western Europe. James also translated Aristotle's Physics, On the Soul, and Metaphysics (the oldest known Latin translation of the work).
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped James of Venice's
Frequently asked questions
Who was James of Venice?
Italian linguist and translator
When was James of Venice born?
James of Venice was born in 1001 in Venice.
When did James of Venice die?
James of Venice died in 1147.
What was James of Venice's occupation?
James of Venice was a linguist, translator, canon law jurist, writer, jurist and cleric.
What nationality was James of Venice?
James of Venice was Italian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). James of Venice. https://biography.guide/james-of-venice/
MLA: "James of Venice." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/james-of-venice/.
Chicago: "James of Venice." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/james-of-venice/.
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