Ludovico Marracci

P. Ludovico Marracci OMD

Ludovico Marracci (born October 6, 1612 in Torcigliano di Camaiore (near Lucca ), † February 5, 1700 in Rome ) was a Catholic priest , theologian and translator who, from 1691 to 1698, was an authoritative translation and commentary for centuries in Europe because of its accuracy of the Koran published in Latin.

biography

Marracci entered the Order of the Regular Clerics of the Mother of God ( Ordo Clericorum Regularium Matris Dei - OMD) in Lucca at the age of 15 in 1627 and studied philosophy and theology in Rome , as well as Greek , Syriac , Chaldean (by which contemporaries meant Biblical Aramaic ) and Hebrew . In the Prodromus ad refutationem Alcorani , he reports the following about his encounter with Arabic :

»Infatti, avendo trovato in una biblioteca una pagina con strani caratteri, mentre camminavo tenendola spianata davanti a me, incontrai un Maronita che mi disse quei caratteri essere arabi. Lo stesso poi si mise a magnificare la lingua araba, la sua eccellenza, dignità e utilità, esortandomi a dedicarmici. E benché conoscessi già il detto “la lingua araba è molto difficile”, tuttavia per occulta predisposizione astrale o piuttosto proveniente dal Creatore degli astri che mi spingeva imparare le lingue, decisi di aggiungere agliche study'altui ero obbligato,. Incominciai ad apprendere senza troppo sforzo dagli orientalisti che erano a Roma, la forma delle lettere arabe, il nome, la quantità, la pronuncia. Il resto cercai di ottenerlo dallo studio privato, senza altri maestri che le grammatiche ei lessici dei dottissimi Guadagnoli, Martellotto, Giggei, Erpenio, Rafeleng, Golius. "

(When I once found a sheet of strange characters in the library, as I was smoothing it out in front of me, I met a Maronite who told me it was Arabic. This man revealed to me the size, dignity and usefulness of the Arabic language. Everyone knows the word that “Arabic is a difficult language” - nevertheless, whether it was written in my stars or whether it was caused by the creator of these stars: I felt compelled to go to my studies, to which I was obliged, I began to learn the letters, the names, the pronunciation from the Orientalists in Rome without difficulty. The rest I acquired in my own study, and the grammar from scholars such as Guadagnoli, Martellotto, Giggei, Erpenio, Rafeleng, Golius .)

In 1645 he participated in the translation of the Bible into Arabic . In 1656, by direct order of the Pope, he was given the chair of the Arabic language at the La Sapienza University in Rome and worked as an advisor in various cardinal congregations , including as confessor of Pope Innocent XI. and a member of the Roman Curia , he was valued as influential as we were. In addition, he also held important offices in his order, for example he was first master of novices , later superior general or general procurator of his religious community. In 1699 he gave up his chair for reasons of age and died shortly afterwards on February 5, 1700.

Works

Marracci's main work, the Latin translation of the Koran, was the third translation of this writing into Latin (the first, in 1143, was by Robert von Ketton and Hermann von Carinthia , followed by the translation of Marcus of Toledo , 1209/10). The first volume, Prodromus ad refutationem Alcorani , was published by Propaganda Fide in 1691 and contains a description of the life of the Prophet Mohammed and a summary of the basic teachings of Islam with numerous references to Islamic theologians and scholars. In its presentations, Marracci represents u. a. the strange view for today's readers that the teachings of Muhammad and Luther were not too different from one another. The second volume, Refutatio alcorani , was published in Padua in 1698 and is dedicated to Emperor Leopold I , the liberator of Vienna from the Turkish siege . This volume contains the Arabic text of the Koran, its Latin translation, with text annotations and refutationes , i.e. apologetic refutations of the Islamic doctrines. This work has been reprinted several times (e.g. under the title Al-Coranus ex idiomate Arabico quo primum a Mohammede conscriptus est, Latine versus per Ludovicum Marraccium. Lipsiae , Sumtibus Lanckisianis 1721).

Marracci also contributed to the Arabic translation of the Bible and translated the Officium Beatae Mariae Virginis (cf. Marientiden ), popular among the Christian people, into Arabic. There are also a large number of smaller writings, such as the biography of its founder, Johannes Leonardi ( canonized in 1938 ) ( Vita del Ven. P. Giovanni Leonardi, lucchese . 1673).

literature

• M. Borrmans: Ludovico Marracci et sa traduction latine du Coran. In: Islamochristiana. No. 28, 2002, pp. 73-86 ISSN  0392-7288 .
• CA Nallino: Le fonti arabe manoscritte dell'opera di Ludovico Marracci sul Corano. In: Raccolta di scriti editi e inediti. vol. 2 L'Islam: Dogmatica –´Sufismo - Confraternite. Rome 1940, pp. 90-134.

Web links

• Omar A Sheikh Al-Shabab: The Place of Marracci's Latin Translation. In: Journal of King Saud University. Languages ​​& Translation. Vol. 13, No. 1, (2001/1421). ( digital.library.ksu.edu.sa ( Memento from March 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ))