Complutensian Polyglot Bible
The Complutensian Polyglot Bible is the name given to the first printed
History
Precedents
The polyglot bible was the result of Spain's long-lasting tradition of translations of texts. Through centuries the intellectual class of the Iberian peninsula had developed a deep understanding of the issues of translation and the difficulty of conveying, or even interpreting meaning correctly across languages. Religious texts were known to be particularly difficult due to their high metaphorical content and how dependent on the context in which they were written they tended to be. This sparked a debate in Spain about the convenience of continuing the translation of religious texts and the best way to do it over a century prior to the reformation.[1]
The customary answer to this debate was to ask religious authorities to examine the translation and cross-check different translations to Castillian, but that in turn created a debate about the qualifications of the religious authority itself to properly translate from the original sources. One of the answers to this debate was the polyglot bible, which Cisneros hoped would end the issue forever.[1]
Translation process
The New Testament was completed and printed in 1514, but its publication was delayed while work on the Old Testament continued, so they could be published together as a complete work.[4]
Delays
The Complutensian Old Testament was completed in 1517. Cardinal Cisneros died in July 1517, five months after the Polyglot's completion, and never saw its publication.[4] Further delays happened when, following the death of Cadinal Cisneros, the text was confiscated by Charles V.[5]: 62
Erasmus' exclusive privilege (and the papal privilege given to the First Biblia Rabbinica in c. 1517) may have also been a delaying factor: Pope Leo X finally sanctioned it in 1520. At which time the civil war in Castille, the Revolt of the Comuneros broke out, causing delay.[5]: 62
Influence
The direct influence of the Complutensian Polyglot was attenuated because, according to a much later letter of Philip II of Spain, a significant number of copies were lost in a shipwreck in transit to Italy around 1521.[6]
The Aldine Press based the Old Testament text in the 1518 Aldine Bible on the Complutensian's Septuagint, paired with a New Testament based to some extent on Erasmus'.
Contents
The Complutensian Polyglot Bible was published as a six-volume set. The first four volumes contain the
See also
References
- ^ a b García Oro, José (2005). Cisneros: un cardenal reformista en el trono de España (1436–1517). Esfera de los Libros. ISBN
- ^ Mendoza, J. Carlos Vizuete; Llamazares, Fernando; Sánchez, Julio Martín; Mancha, Universidad de Castilla-La (2002). Los arzobispos de Toledo y la universidad española: 5 de marzo-3 de junio, Iglesia de San Pedro Mártir, Toledo. Univ de Castilla La Mancha'
- ^ The new Cambridge modern history, page 124, R. B. (Richard Bruce) Wernham (1906-): "... he and his fellow convert, Pablo de Coronel, were also engaged on the Hebrew and Aramaic sections of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible."
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-16-154522-1.
- ^ Garcia Pinilla, Ignacio (2017). Reconsidering the Relationship between the Complutensian Polyglot Bible and Erasmus’ Novum Testamentum in Erasmus’ Edition of the New Testament. Basel: Mohr Siebeck. p. 62. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ Garcia Pinilla, Ignacio (2017). Reconsidering the Relationship between the Complutensian Polyglot Bible and Erasmus’ Novum Testamentum in Erasmus’ Edition of the New Testament. Basel: Mohr Siebeck. p. 70. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ Ehrman, 76
- ^ Rummel, Erika (2008). Biblical Humanism and Scholasticism in the Age of Erasmus. Leiden, Ned.: Brill. pp. 4-5.
Further reading
- Lyell, James P. R. (1917), Cardinal Ximenes, Statesman, Ecclesiastic, Soldier, and Man of Letters: with an Account of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible. London: Coptic House, 1917.
- Rummel, Erika. Jiménez de Cisneros, On the Threshold of Spain’s Golden Age. Tempe, Arizona: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 1999.
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Editions of the Bible
- Catholic Encyclopedia "Polyglot Bibles"
- GFS Complutensian Greek
- Robert Proctor's announcement of his Otter Greek font: A New Fount of Greek Type, Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 2, No. 6 (Aug., 1903), pp. 358-360
External links
Scanned copies
- Complutensian Polyglot Bible WDL
- Biblia Políglota Complutense. Volúmenes I-V. Biblioteca digital de Castilla-La Mancha. Archived 2018-05-21 at the Wayback Machine
- "Vetus testamentū multiplici lingua nūc primo impressum ... adiūcta vnicuique sua latina interpretatione", 1514, volúmenes II-VI, digitalizada en la Spanish National Library(In Spanish)