Romanic Versions of the Holy Scriptures

Romanic Versions Of The Holy Scriptures.

Under this head we mention —

1. The French Versions. — As these versions have already been treated in this Cyclopoedia s.v. FRENCH VERSIONS, we add the following as supplement. Arthur Dinaux has the merit of having pointed towards the first translator of the Bible, viz. Herman de Valenciennes, born about 1100. He was a priest and canon, and his version, free as it is for the greater part, was of the greatest importance for that time. He undertook it under the protection of the empress Mathilde, wife of the German emperor Henry V, and daughter of Henry I of England. His Genesis is preserved in the Harleian Library, MS. 222, and his Livre de la Bible, or Histoire de Ancien et du Nouveau Testament en Vers, in the Imperial Library, MS. 7986. The assertion made by A. Paulin Paris, in his Manuscrits Francais de la Bibliotheque du Roi, that before the year 1170 no translation of any note had been made, and that Etienne de Hansa, or d'Ansa, of Lyons, was the first who undertook a work of this kind, has been proved erroneous by Arthur Dinaux; yet Paulin refers to Le Long and to a letter written by pope Innocent III to the bishop of Metz, published by Baluze, and translated into French by Le Roux de Lincy in his Introduction to the Ancienne Traduction des Quatre Livres de Roi (Paris, 1841). Although Herman de Valenciennes must be regarded as the first translator, the merits of itienne de Hansa, who undertook a translation at the request of Peter Valdo, are not diminished thereby in the least. Stienne's translation, preserved in MS. 7268 2.2, and belonging to the first half of the 13th century, is a work of great value concerning the language and the letters. A. Paulin Paris saw many copies of that MS., which in part must be regarded as a revision. A version of this kind belongs to the beginning of the 14th century, and to judge from its style, it must have been made in England. This version we find in MS. 6701, and the following specimen will best illustrate the difference between the translation of 1170 (7268 2.2.) and the version from the beginning of the 14th century (6701):

MS. 7268 2.2.

Mes li serpenz estoit li plus voiseus de toutes les choses qui ont ame et que Dame Dex* avoir fet. Et il dist a la feme: Por quoi vous a Dex commande que vos ne mengiez pas de tous les fuz de paradis (Ge 3:1).

MS. 6701.

Mes le serpent estoit plus coiut de tottes choses te terre que Dieu fist, lequel dit a la femme: Por quei vous comaunda Dieu que vous ne mengeasses de cheicun fust de paradis.

* Dame Dex means "Lord God." Dame is from the Latin dominus, and Dex (deus) is the ancient form for Dieu.

With regard to the translation of 1170, we only mention that Innocent III, not knowing its source, subjected it about the year 1200 to the censor, and many writers of the 13th century believed it to be a pernicious book. Its language bears the original Romanic stamp, and reminds one of the modern French. But it is striking that the translator, Etienne de Hansa, should be from Lyons. We may suppose that the northern French stamp of the translation of 1170, as we find it in the MS. 7268 2.2., for the greater part belongs to the copyist. A. Paulin Paris conjectures that the language of the MS. is the same as that which was used at Rheims or Sens in the 13th century. The translation of 1170 is known as that of the "Bible des Pauvres." Le Roux de Lincy pronounces the translation of the MS. 7268 2.2. an excellent one, although he believes it to have been made in the 13th century at the request of Louis the Saint. Etienne de Hansa's work is the more remarkable as it can be called with certainty the first which gives a correct and literal translation of the whole Bible. The MS. 6818 2 contains a second literal translation, the author of which, according to the investigations of scholars, especially of Aime Champollion, is said to have been Raoul de Presles. Le Roux de Lincy acquaints us also with translations of single parts of the Bible, the redaction of which he puts in the 12th century, while the MSS. belong to the 13th century. As such he mentions:

1. Les Quatres Litres du Rois; a MS. of which is in the Biblotheque Mazarin.

2. Les Psaumes; MS. 1152 bis Supplement Francais, 278 Latin, 7887 fonds Francais.

3. L'Apocalypse; MS. 7013.

An ancient French translation of single psalms is given by Karl Bartsch in his Chrestomathie de l'Ancient Francais (1872), according to Fr. Michel's Libri Psalmorum Versio Antiqua Gallica.

The catalogue of A. Paulin Paris, Manuscrits Franc. de la Bibl. du Roi, contains also the following list of translations and comments:

1. Histoire de l'Ancien et du Nouveau Testament, en Vers Monorimes; MS. 7268 2.

2. Traduction en Vers de la Bible; MS. 7268 3.3.

3. Histoire de l'Ancien Testament; MS. 7268 4.A.

4. Traduction en Vers du Psaume Latin "Domine, ne in furore."

5. Traduction des Psaumes; MS. 7295 5.5.

6. Commentaires sur les Psaumes, trad. d'un Ancien Texts Latin; MS. 7295 3.

7. Raisons de la Composition de Chacun des Psaumes; par Jehan de Blois:; MS. 7295 5.5.

8. Commentaire Perpetuel sur les Psaumes; MS. 7295 6.6.

9. Exposition du Psaume Latin "Miserere mei Deus." According to Grässe, two Augustinian monks, Julien Macho and Pierre Farget, translated a Latin Bible into the Romanic. A poetical version of the Bible, belonging to the 14th century, was left by Mace of Charite-sur- Loire, and in MS. 6818 3 an original copy of the Bible des Pauvres is preserved.

We give on the following page some specimens of different translations. The MSS. 72682-2- and 68183 are copies of one text, which differ only in non-essentials, while the MS. 6818 2 forms the basis of a separate version. In this supplementary article we have largely depended on Striimpell's Erssten Bibeliibersetzungen der Franzosen (Brunswick, 1872), who also gives the following specimens; for the rest belonging to the French versions we refer to the art. in loco.

In conclusion, we will only mention, from the seven- ty-third annual report of the British and Foreign Bible Society (1877), that "several new versions of the Scriptures in French have been urged on the committee, but they did not see their way to the adoption of any of them; they hope, however, that the present activity in Bible translating and revision may lead to the production of a version more accurate, and more acceptable to the French than any which they now possess."

2. Italian Versions. — See that art. in this Cyclopoedia . We will only add an edition of the Hebrew Pentateuch with an Italian translation by S.D. Luzzatto, Il Pentateucho colle Haftarot volgarizzato (Trieste, 1858-60, 5 vols.): — Job (with an Italian translation) (Livorno, 1844); and Il Profeta Isaia volgarizzato e commentato ad uso degl' Israeliti (Padova, 1855-67).

3. Portuguese Versions (q.v.).

4. Spanish Versions. — It is very difficult to decide at what time the first Spanish version was made. If we may believe tradition, the oldest version would belong to the 13th century, made at the request of Alphonso of Castile and John of Leon. But as there is no confirmation of this statement, we must depend on the different data which we find in the printed editions themselves; and it is a remarkable fact that the versions were made either by Jews or Protestants.

(a) First in chronological order we mention El Nuevo Testamento de nuestro Redemptor y Saluador Jesu Christo, traduzido de Grigo en lengua Castellana por Francisco de Enzinas, dedicado a la Cesarea Magestad (En Anberes [i.e. Antwerp], Anno 1543, 8vo). Of this edition, which is also published by the British and Foreign Bible Society, we have no notice except what we find in Simon's Nouvelles Observations sur le Texte et les Versions du Nouveau Testament, 2, 151, where we are told that, in the dedication, different reasons are given for and against the usefulness of translations of the Bible. "I do not, " says the translator, "condemn those who are of another opinion, but I believe such versions, when made by judicious and conscientious men, to be useful." He then speaks of the cause for this translation. Gamaliel, he says, pronounced that if Christianity be of God, men cannot overthrow it; but if it be of men, it will soon come to naught; and addressing the emperor Charles V, he says, "The controversy about the translations of the Bible has already lasted for about twenty years. All measures to prevent them are in vain; on the contrary, their number has increased among the Christians, and Gamaliel's judgment seems to be fulfilled." The version of Enzinas is made from the Greek. Such words as "gospel, " "scribe," "testament," etc., are retained. For the greater part he follows Erasmus's translation, e.g. Joh 1:1: En el principio era la palabra, y la palabra estava con Dios, y Dios era la palabra. Where a word is ambiguous he puts the Greek in the margin; thus he puts the word λόγος three times to palabra. He has no annotations excepting such as explain measures, coins, etc., thus: Mt 18:24, Diez mille talentos (Note: "Cada talendo vale 600 ducados," i.e. each talent is worth 600 ducats); ibid. ver. 28, cient dineros (Note: "Cada dinero vale casi 30 maravedis," i.e. each denarius is worth 30 maravedis). Very seldom he has an addition, and yet his translation is intelligible even to the unlearned. Sometimes, in spite of all care, he translates rather according to the sense than to the word of the text; e.g. Ro 1:28, παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεός, Vulg. tradidit illos Deus; the translation of παρέδωκεν is "permitio caer, " i.e. he suffered them to fall.

(b) Next in chronological order is Biblia en Lengua Espanola, traduzida palabra por palabra de la verdad Hebrayca, por muy excelentes Letrados. Vista y examinada por el officio de la Inquisicion. Con Privilegio del Illustrissimo Senor Duque de Ferrara (En Ferrara, 5313 [i.e. 1553]). At the end we read, "A gloria y loor de nuestro Sennor se acabo la presente Biblia en lengua Espannola traduzida de la verdadera origen Hebrayca por muy excellentes letrados: con yndustria y diligentia de Abraham Usque, Portugues: Estampata en Ferrara a costa y despesa de Yom Tob Atias, hijo de Levi Atias Espannol: en 14. de Adar de 5313." In some copies we read at the end, "Con yndustria y diligencia de Duarto Pinel, Portugues: estampata en Ferrara a costa y despesa de Geronymo de Vargas, Espannol, en primero de Marzo de 1553." These copies were made for the use of Christians. That the Spanish translation of the Pentateuch is the same as that printed six years before in the so called "Constantinople Polyglot Pentateuch" has been proved beyond a shadow of doubt by Le Long, who also supposes that the Spanish translation, of which the Pentateuch only was printed at Constantinople, while the whole was published at Ferrara, had been in use before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, and that the Jewish exiles brought it to Constantinople. The title is followed by

(1) an index of Haphtarhas;

(2) an index of the order of books among Jews and Christians;

(3) an index and short synopsis of the chapters of the Old Test.;

(4) an index of the judges, prophets, and high priests of the Jewish people, together with a short chronology from Adam to the 452d year after the destruction of the Temple according to the Seder Olam (a Jewish chronology);

(5) a lectionary for each day, in order to read the Old Test. in one year. The translation in the Ferrara edition is in two columns, and the editors or publishers were so conscientious as to indicate passages concerning which they were doubtful as to the correct translation by a star (*). Where the Hebrew reads Jehovah, an .A. with two dots is placed. The verses are not given in the text, but at the end of each book their number is given. The order of the book is, the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea to Malachi, Psalms (divided into five books), Proverbs, Job, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther. The translation, which follows the Hebrew very closely, is in that ancient Spanish which was used at that time in the synagogue.

A reprint of this translation was published at Amsterdam in the year 1611, also in folio, then in 1630, with the only change that the stars of the first edition are omitted in many places. According to the Catalogue des Livres Imprimes de la Bibliotheque du Roi de France, 1, 14, No. 201, this edition was edited by Manasseh ben-Israel, as can also be seen from some copies, where we read, A loor y gloria del Dio fue reformada por Menasseh ben- Israel (a. 15. de Sebath 1630).

Another somewhat revised and altered edition is the Biblia en lengua Espannola. Traduzida palabra por palabra de la verdad Hebrayca, por muy excelentes Letrados. Vista e examinada por el officio de la Inquisicion. Con Privilegio del Illustrissimo Sennor Duque de Ferrara, y aora de nuevo corregida en casa di Joseph Athias, y por su orden impressa (En Amsterdam, Anno 5421 [1661], large 8vo, 1325 pp.). This edition is indeed an improvement upon the former; many corrections are made, obsolete expressions are removed and more intelligible ones introduced; besides, it is more convenient for use than the former editions in folio. The verses are numbered in the margin.

(c) El Testamento Nuevo de Nuestro Senor Salvador Jesu Christo nueva e fielmento traduzido del Original Griego en Romance Castellano. En Venecia, en casa de Juan (Philadelpho. M.D.LVI. 8vo). The anonymous translator follows the original Greek; here and there words are added for the better understanding.

(d) A Spanish Translation of the Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah (Thessalonica, 1569), by Joseph ben-Isaac ben-Joseph Jabetz. From the lengthy title (which we do not give in full) we see that the editor intended to translate the whole of the Old Test., and that he commenced with the later prophets. But only Isaiah and Jeremiah were translated, as can be seen from Wolf (Bibl. Beb. 4, 137), who had a copy of this translation, which mostly follows that of Ferrara.

(e) La Biblia, que es, los Sacros Libros del Viejo y Nuevo Testamento, Trasladada en Espannol. יקי ם לעול דבר אלהי ם La Palabra del Dios nostro permanece para siempre, Isaiah 40. M.D.LXIX. On the last page we read "Anno del Sennor M.D.LXIX. en Septembre, " large 4to. No name of the translator and no place of publication is given. It was probably published at Basle by Thomas Guarinus, which is not only evident from the signs of that printer found in the title page, but also from a written postscript in the copy of this translation preserved in the library of the Basle University. From this notice we also see that Cassiodoro de Reyna, of Seville, was the translator of this Bible, and this is also corroborated by another copy of this translation found in the library at Frankfort-on-the- Main (Clement, Biblioth. Curieuse, 3, 453). The translation is preceded by 30 pages containing the principles which guided the translator — that, although he held the Vulgate in high esteem, yet he could not always follow it, but perused as many translations as he could find, especially that of Pagninus, which he followed for the most part. The Apocryphal books of the Old Test. are also translated: sometimes additions are inserted in the text and put in brackets for a better understanding, and short glosses are found in the margin. The New Test. of this translation was also republished by Hutter in his Polyglot (1599). Another edition with some slight changes was published by Ricardo del Campo (1596, 8vo), and an entirely revised edition of Reyna's translation is La Biblia: que es, los Sacros Libros del Viejo y Nuevo Testamento; segunda edicion, revista y conferida con los Textos Hebreos y Griegos, y con diversas translaciones, per Cypriano de Valera. En Amsterdam, en casa de Lorenco Jacobi (1602, fol.). The title is followed by two prefaces, one of Valera, the other of Reyna. In the first preface the editor tells us that of Reyna's edition 2600 copies were printed, and all were sold. This was the reason for a new revision and edition. Valera's edition is also published by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

The New Test. of Valera's translation was also published separately in the year 1625, with the title, El Nuevo Testamento, que es los Escriptos Evangelicos y Apostolicos, revisto y conferido con el Texto Griego por Cypriano de Valera: en Amsterdam (1625, 8vo).

(f) Humas de Parasioth y Aftharoth, traduzido palabra por palabra de la verdad Hebraica en Espannhol (1627). This is Manasseh ben-Israel's translation of the Pentateuch, of which a second enlarged and revised edition was published in 1655.

(g) קדש הלולי ם Las Alabancas de Santidad. Traducion de los Psalmos de David.... Por el Haham Yahacob Yehuda, Leon Hebreo.... En Amsterdam (1671). This is Judah Leon's translation of the Psalms, with notes and introductions.

(h) Franco Serrano's translation of the Pentateuch, or Los cinco Libros de la sacra Ley, interpretados en Lengua Espannola.... En Amsterdam, en casa de Mosseh ben-Dias (1695, 4to). The translator was Joseph Franco Serrano, teacher of Hebrew at the school of the Spanish Jews in Amsterdam. The translation is made with great diligence and care.

(i) Acosta's translation of the historical books, or Conjecturas sagradas sobre los Prophetas primores, colegidos de los mas celebres expositores. ... En Leyden, en casa de Thomas van Geel (Anno 1711, 4to). This translation contains Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. To each verse a paraphrase is added in place of a commentary.

(k) Biblia en dos Colunas Hebr. y Espan. Amsterdam, en casa y a costa de Joseph Jacob, y Abraham de Salmon Proops (Anno 1762, fol.). This is, according to Le Long, an "editio optima, splendida et aestimata." It was not until the end of the 18th century that a Roman Catholic divine undertook to give his Spanish countrymen a new translation, together with the Latin and a commentary. The author of this Bible work (which was published at Madrid, 1794, in 19 parts) was Phil. Scio de S. Miguel. The translation of Scio has also been adopted by the British and Foreign Bible Society, which prints it since 1828. The latest translation of the New Test. is that by the bishop of Astorga, Fel. de Torres Amat (Madrid, 1837).

5. Besides these translations, we may also mention, under the head of Romanic versions, the New Test., the Pentateuch and Psalms in Catalan, published by the British and Foreign Bible Society for the provinces of Catalonia and Valencia. See Rosenmüller, Handbuch der biblischen Literatur, 4, 268 sq.; Le Long, Bibl. Sac. 1, 180 sq.; Simon [Richard], Hist. Crit. du V.T. 54, 2, ch. 19, p. 311; Wolf, Bibl. Heb. 4, 137; Baumgarten, Nachrichten von merkwurdigen Buchern, 9, 204 sq.; the art. "Romanische Bibelubersetzungen" in Herzog's Real Encyklop.; Reuss, Gesch. der heil. Schriften des N. Test. (5th ed. Brunswick, 1874), p. 217, 229; Biblioth. Bib. (ibid. 1752), p. 161 sq.; Index Bibliorum (Hale), p. 41. (B.P.)