Riccoldo da Monte di Croce and the Origins of the Qur’an as a Deviation from Christian Salvation History
-
Davide Scotto
Abstract
Despite what has been disclosed so far about Riccoldo’s familiarity with the (Arabic and Latin) Qur’an and the variety of religious groups spread across the Near East, scholars have largely underestimated the value of his theological and exegetical thinking. As a consequence, Riccoldo’s reflection on the soteriological opposition between Christianity and Islam, which is at the core of both his Epistole ad Ecclesiam Triumphantem and his Liber contra legem Sarracenorum, has been substantially overlooked. It is, however, his very interpretation of the Qur’an based on Christian salvation history that explains the considerable effort he put into the study of Arabic and confutation of Islamic doctrine. This essay tackles one aspect of Christian salvation history - the role of the devil in attempting to orient the revelation of the divine word - which helps clarify the main concerns behind Riccoldo’s polemic against the Qur’an, suggesting a different way to think about the reasons for its wide dissemination in Europe and beyond.
Abstract
Despite what has been disclosed so far about Riccoldo’s familiarity with the (Arabic and Latin) Qur’an and the variety of religious groups spread across the Near East, scholars have largely underestimated the value of his theological and exegetical thinking. As a consequence, Riccoldo’s reflection on the soteriological opposition between Christianity and Islam, which is at the core of both his Epistole ad Ecclesiam Triumphantem and his Liber contra legem Sarracenorum, has been substantially overlooked. It is, however, his very interpretation of the Qur’an based on Christian salvation history that explains the considerable effort he put into the study of Arabic and confutation of Islamic doctrine. This essay tackles one aspect of Christian salvation history - the role of the devil in attempting to orient the revelation of the divine word - which helps clarify the main concerns behind Riccoldo’s polemic against the Qur’an, suggesting a different way to think about the reasons for its wide dissemination in Europe and beyond.
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
