1. <A Study on the development of Images about the Muslim World in the Works of Western Orientalists: Focused on the Translation Movement of Andalusia in the Medieval Ages>
The twelfth century, to the Europeans, was the great period of translation an ...
1. <A Study on the development of Images about the Muslim World in the Works of Western Orientalists: Focused on the Translation Movement of Andalusia in the Medieval Ages>
The twelfth century, to the Europeans, was the great period of translation and absorption from the Muslim world. Much of the knowledge available in Europe during the 1100-1150 was obtained by translations form foreign languages, chiefly Arabic. The center of translation for most of the period was in Andalusia, mostly in Cordova, Toledo, and Seville. Perhaps the most important work in this period was the Latin translation of the Quran (1147) by Robert of Ketton. Besides it, Medieval Christian thought owed a great debt to Muslim theologians and philosophers, especially Avicenna(Ibn Sina) and Averroes(Ibn Rushd) who were respected as the transmitters of Aristotle. By dint of the many translations of Arabic manuscripts, Europeans could have chances to discuss the Muslim world from scholarly points of view. In 12-13th centuries European orientalists were divided into two groups. First, negative orientalists, such as Franciscans and Dominicans, who regarded Muslims as the followers of a false prophet. They thought that it was their duty to deliver true messages of Christianity to the Muslim world. Second, positive orientalists, such as Latin Averroists, who respected Muslim scholars as the transmitters of Greek science and philosophy. They thought that the Muslim world was the land of their teachers where they should go to learn new knowledges.
2. <Arabian Nights and Romantic Orientalism in Modern Europe>
Throughout the eighteenth century and subsequent generations, the most important book, which has influenced on European attitudes toward Arabs and the Middle East in general, was the Arabian Nights. Antoine Galland(1646-1715), a French orientalist, was the first European translator of the Arabian Nights. He published the first two volumes of Les Mille et une nuits in 1704 and the twelfth and final volume in 1717. The Arabian Nights appeared in the English language in England in 1712, having been translated from Galland’s French version. After its publications, the book made a deep and lasting impression on European literature and sensibilities. The fantasy world of the Arabian Tales, with its genies, magic, flying horses and supernatural birds changed the Europeans’ images toward Muslim world. Thus, in the eighteenth century, the image of Arabs in Europe began to acquire new themes of exotic and erotic qualities. Especially, many sexual themes found in the Arabian Nights, such as incest, adultery, sadism, and so on, made Europeans think that the Muslim world is the "free region of adultery."