Translatological Remarks on Rendering the Qur’an into Latin (Robert of Ketton, Mark of Toledo and Egidio da Viterbo): Purposes, Theory, and Techniques
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José Luis Alexis Rivera Luque
Abstract
This paper presents a preliminary approach toward a modern transla tological analysis of the first three full translations of the Qur’an: the ones by Robert of Ketton (1142-1143), Mark of Toledo (1210), and the version translated by Juan Gabriel de Teruel (1518) and corrected by Leo Africanus (1525) for the cardinal Egidio da Viterbo. Our analysis, in accord mostly with functionalist translation theories (see Nord, 2005; 2018), describes and comments on three phases of the translation process: (1) identification of the purpose of the translation and the problems to overcome in order to provide a proper rendering of the text; (2) formulation of a translating theory that serves as a general approach for translating the text; (3) choice and application of translation procedures. This approach toward the analysis of these aspects of the aforementioned translations of the Qur’an is an effort to account for the relative lack of attention that has been paid to the systematic analysis of the actual procedures by which these renderings were produced. A main point of contention of our analysis is that, while it would be misleading to state that the quality of the translations increases over time (for the quality fluctuates from fragment to fragment), nevertheless it is quite possible to assert that the overall zeal for fidelity seems to increase over time, meaning that the more the time passes, the more the translators feel compelled to preserve more features of the text.
Abstract
This paper presents a preliminary approach toward a modern transla tological analysis of the first three full translations of the Qur’an: the ones by Robert of Ketton (1142-1143), Mark of Toledo (1210), and the version translated by Juan Gabriel de Teruel (1518) and corrected by Leo Africanus (1525) for the cardinal Egidio da Viterbo. Our analysis, in accord mostly with functionalist translation theories (see Nord, 2005; 2018), describes and comments on three phases of the translation process: (1) identification of the purpose of the translation and the problems to overcome in order to provide a proper rendering of the text; (2) formulation of a translating theory that serves as a general approach for translating the text; (3) choice and application of translation procedures. This approach toward the analysis of these aspects of the aforementioned translations of the Qur’an is an effort to account for the relative lack of attention that has been paid to the systematic analysis of the actual procedures by which these renderings were produced. A main point of contention of our analysis is that, while it would be misleading to state that the quality of the translations increases over time (for the quality fluctuates from fragment to fragment), nevertheless it is quite possible to assert that the overall zeal for fidelity seems to increase over time, meaning that the more the time passes, the more the translators feel compelled to preserve more features of the text.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Acknowledgements IX
- Introduction 1
- The Four Oldest Latin Quotations of the Qur’an: Eighth/Ninth-Century al-Andalus 11
- On the Genesis and Formation of the Corpus Cluniacense 27
- Dixit apostoli. The Word-by-word Principle in Latin Translations of the Qur’an 57
- Translating from Arabic to Latin in the Twelfth Century: The Examples of Two Englishmen, Robert of Ketton and Adelard of Bath 71
- Corrections to Robert of Ketton’s Translation of the Qur’an in MS Paris Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal 1162 95
- Robert de Ketton, traditore: Manifestations of anti-Islamic Radicalism in the First Latin Translation of the Qur’an 111
- Translatological Remarks on Rendering the Qur’an into Latin (Robert of Ketton, Mark of Toledo and Egidio da Viterbo): Purposes, Theory, and Techniques 123
- The Contribution of the Speculum historiale to the History of the Latin Risālat al-Kindī and the Corpus Cluniacense 139
- Context and the Use of Quotes from Robert of Ketton’s Translation of the Qur’an in the Itinerarium Symonis Semeonis 159
- Interpretatio iuxta traditionem: The Transmission of Latin Anti-Islamic Texts 177
- Qur’an at the Council. Manuscripts and Use of the Ketton Translation of the Qur’an at the Council of Basel (1431–1449) 185
- An Indirect Usage of the Qur’an in the XVth century. Jean Germain’s Débat du chrétien et du sarrasin 205
- The Extracta ex Alcorano and Giacomo della Marca’s Glosses in MS Falconara 3 225
- The Glosses on Mark of Toledo’s Alchoranus Latinus 283
- Dhul-Qarnayn, The One of the Two Horns, in the Latin Glosses to the Qur’an 299
- Qur’an Quotations in the Liber de Doctrina Mahumet 317
- Using Muslim Exegesis in Europe in the 12th and 18th Centuries: A Comparative Study of Robert of Ketton’s and George Sale’s Approaches 349
- Riccoldo da Monte di Croce and the Origins of the Qur’an as a Deviation from Christian Salvation History 363
- Riccoldo the Florentine’s Reprobacion del Alcoran: A Manual for Preaching to the ‘Moors’ 395
- Sicut Euangelia sunt quatuor, distribuerunt continentiam eius in quatuor libros: On the Division of Iberian Qur’ans and Their Translations into Four Parts 425
- The Bellús Qur’an, Martín García, and Martín de Figuerola: The Study of the Qur’an and Its Use in the Sermones de la Fe and the Disputes with Muslims in the Crown of Aragon in the Sixteenth Century 455
- Conclusion: Robert of Ketton’s Translation and its Legacy 475
- List of Contributors 481
- Index of Manuscript 485
- Index 489
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Acknowledgements IX
- Introduction 1
- The Four Oldest Latin Quotations of the Qur’an: Eighth/Ninth-Century al-Andalus 11
- On the Genesis and Formation of the Corpus Cluniacense 27
- Dixit apostoli. The Word-by-word Principle in Latin Translations of the Qur’an 57
- Translating from Arabic to Latin in the Twelfth Century: The Examples of Two Englishmen, Robert of Ketton and Adelard of Bath 71
- Corrections to Robert of Ketton’s Translation of the Qur’an in MS Paris Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal 1162 95
- Robert de Ketton, traditore: Manifestations of anti-Islamic Radicalism in the First Latin Translation of the Qur’an 111
- Translatological Remarks on Rendering the Qur’an into Latin (Robert of Ketton, Mark of Toledo and Egidio da Viterbo): Purposes, Theory, and Techniques 123
- The Contribution of the Speculum historiale to the History of the Latin Risālat al-Kindī and the Corpus Cluniacense 139
- Context and the Use of Quotes from Robert of Ketton’s Translation of the Qur’an in the Itinerarium Symonis Semeonis 159
- Interpretatio iuxta traditionem: The Transmission of Latin Anti-Islamic Texts 177
- Qur’an at the Council. Manuscripts and Use of the Ketton Translation of the Qur’an at the Council of Basel (1431–1449) 185
- An Indirect Usage of the Qur’an in the XVth century. Jean Germain’s Débat du chrétien et du sarrasin 205
- The Extracta ex Alcorano and Giacomo della Marca’s Glosses in MS Falconara 3 225
- The Glosses on Mark of Toledo’s Alchoranus Latinus 283
- Dhul-Qarnayn, The One of the Two Horns, in the Latin Glosses to the Qur’an 299
- Qur’an Quotations in the Liber de Doctrina Mahumet 317
- Using Muslim Exegesis in Europe in the 12th and 18th Centuries: A Comparative Study of Robert of Ketton’s and George Sale’s Approaches 349
- Riccoldo da Monte di Croce and the Origins of the Qur’an as a Deviation from Christian Salvation History 363
- Riccoldo the Florentine’s Reprobacion del Alcoran: A Manual for Preaching to the ‘Moors’ 395
- Sicut Euangelia sunt quatuor, distribuerunt continentiam eius in quatuor libros: On the Division of Iberian Qur’ans and Their Translations into Four Parts 425
- The Bellús Qur’an, Martín García, and Martín de Figuerola: The Study of the Qur’an and Its Use in the Sermones de la Fe and the Disputes with Muslims in the Crown of Aragon in the Sixteenth Century 455
- Conclusion: Robert of Ketton’s Translation and its Legacy 475
- List of Contributors 481
- Index of Manuscript 485
- Index 489
