In the 12th century two Western European Christian scholars, Gerard of Cremona and Dominicus Gundissalinus, translated the treatise called “Enumeration of Sciences” (Iḥṣāʾ al-ʿulūm) by the Arabic writing philosopher al-Fārābī into Latin. This treatise includes a chapter about music. Apart from some misunderstandings and a few adaptations the translations are literally well done. Parts of the translation have later been cited in Latin treatises about music theory, but a direct impact on the music of Christian Western Europe cannot be ascertained.

My goal is to work out in which ways these translations contributed to the development of the term musica in the Latin Middle Ages on a higher, philosophical level. Hence, I am comparing the conceptions of music of the two cultures under discussion using methods of the cultural studies. On the one hand, I will figure out how ancient Greek sources have been interpreted and adapted and will identify further influences. On the other hand, I will explore the theoretical and practical music tradition in both cultures. As a result, I will portray the meaning of the term music (mūsīqī/musica) in both cultures in detail and point out the developments in the Latin medieval tradition which are based on the reflection of Arabic texts.

In the Arabic culture there has been a long-standing tradition of teaching music which was based on acts (poíēsis). The translation of ancient Greek treatises about music theory challenged the original tradition. Al-Fārābī's goal was to combine the genuine Arabic with the ancient Greek teachings. Featuring the importance of musical practice in the Arabic tradition, he defined the art of melodies as the object of a theoretical science (epistḗmē). Hereby he widened the epistemological frame set by Aristotle who did not acknowledge a theoretical science of music.

In the Latin Middle Ages, the original tradition of liturgical chant had been cut off and replaced by Gregorian chant. Scholars used ancient Greek theoretical teachings as a tool for analysis and classification and developed notation to teach and to memorize melodies. Later both aspects took up a normative role. For a long time, the scholarly notion of the term music relied on Boethius who defined it as mainly theoretical. Due to the developments in musical practice a need for a modified definition of the term music grew. In his own treatise, “De divisione philosophiae”, Gundissalinus displays a classification where the practice is integrated and upgraded within the discipline of music. It is a consequence of his engagement with Arabic texts.

While al-Fārābī's intention was to take the art of melodies to a more sophisticated level, the Latin scholars needed a new definition of music to integrate musical practice into their teachings. The translation was part of Gundissalinus' reflection of Greek and Arabic music theory which resulted in an original classification that contributed to a changed conception of music in the Latin Middle Ages.