Abstract
As an expert in Arabic documents in the “Republic of Letters”, Abraham Ecchellensis devoted himself in his work to an attempt at synthesis that was characteristic of his time: he tried to reconcile contemporary scholars’ expectations of specialised knowledge both with his Catholic and controversialist commitments and with his status, in his role as a Maronite, as a spokesman for Arabic and even Muslim culture. Ecchellensis provided the public with translations of Arabic Muslim philosophical and scientific texts which he deemed to have drawn on universal “wisdom”. However, a disinterested curiosity concerning Islam could not be publicly advertised and had to be cloaked in the form of anti-Protestant controversy or Catholic apology. In the work of Ecchellensis this stance was accompanied by an expurgation of all Islamic terminology from the Arabic language and by a recourse to the Christian Arabic literature writen during the first centuries of the Hijra.
Highlights
Mots clé : langue arabe ; histoire des Arabes ; science ; islamologie ; controverse catholiquesprotestants ; controverse chrétiens-musulmans ; maronites ; littérature arabe chrétienne
As an expert in Arabic documents in the “Reppublic of Letters”, Abraham Ecchellensis de-v voted himself in his work to an attempt at synthesis that was characteristic of his time: he tried to reconcile contemporary scholars’ exppectations of specialised knowledge both with his Catholic and controversialist commitments and with his status, in his role as a Maronite, as a spokesman for Arabic and even Muslim culture
Ecchellensis provided the public with translations of Arabic Muslim philosophical and scientific texts which he deemed to have drawn on universal “wisdom”
Summary
Expert en documents arabes dans la « Répubblique des Lettres », Abraham Ecchellensis se livre dans son œuvre à un essai de synthèse carractéristique de son temps : il tente de conci-l lier l’attente de connaissances des savants de son temps avec son engagement catholique et controversiste, et avec son identification, en tant que maronite, comme porte-parole de la culture arabe, y compris musulmane. Mots clé : langue arabe ; histoire des Arabes ; science ; islamologie ; controverse catholiquesprotestants ; controverse chrétiens-musulmans ; maronites ; littérature arabe chrétienne. As an expert in Arabic documents in the “Reppublic of Letters”, Abraham Ecchellensis de-v voted himself in his work to an attempt at synthesis that was characteristic of his time: he tried to reconcile contemporary scholars’ exppectations of specialised knowledge both with his Catholic and controversialist commitments and with his status, in his role as a Maronite, as a spokesman for Arabic and even Muslim culture. Key words : Arabic language; History of Arabs; Science; Islamology; Catholic-Protestant controversy; Christian-Muslim controversy; Maronites; Christian Arabic literature
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