From 1142–3 he worked in a team recruited by Peter the Venerable which translated
Arabic texts into
Latin. Their work, the
Corpus Cluniacense, is best remembered for including the first translation of the
Qur'an into a European language. Peter the Venerable's correspondence indicates that Peter of Poitiers was employed in the team because of his command of Latin: there is no evidence that he knew Arabic. Peter of Poitiers and Peter the Venerable visited Spain in 1142. Although the
translation project was not necessarily the primary reason for the abbot's presence in Spain, he took advantage of the fact that the country was an important centre for translations from the Arabic. Several translators based in Spain were recruited: a couple of them were proficient in Latin, including
Robert of Ketton, the principal translator of the Qur'an. One of the translators,
Peter of Toledo, who worked on the
Apology of al-Kindy, is known to have required assistance from Peter of Poitiers because his knowledge of Latin was deficient. Peter of Poitiers may well have polished all the texts. ==References==