Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Alexander Treiger on Arabic Translations of Greek Church Fathers

Read or download the entire article here.

Christian Graeco-Arabica: 
Prolegomena to a History of the Arabic Translations of the Greek Church Fathers

Abstract

Whereas Graeco-Arabic Translations of philosophical and scientific literature, centered in Baghdad, have been the focus of sufficient scholarly effort for over a century and a half, Arabic translations of the Greek Church Fathers, carried out by Arabic-speaking Christians for their ecclesiastical needs, have received very limited attention. This contribution attempts to chart a history of the Arabic versions of the Greek Church Fathers from the eighth century to the present, with emphasis on the translations produced in the monasteries of Palestine in the eighth, ninth, and early tenth centuries and in Antioch during the period of Byzantine rule. It shows how philological methods of Graeco-Arabic Studies can be successfully applied to these unduly neglected Arabic translations of Patristic works.

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