page.
Upper part: Greek LXX with Latin interlinear; Latin Vulgate; Hebrew; Hebrew roots in margin.
Lower part: Aramaic; Latin translation of Aramaic; Aramaic roots in margin.
Precedents The polyglot Bible was the result of
Spain's long-lasting tradition of translations of texts. Through centuries the intellectual class of the Iberian peninsula had developed a deep understanding of the issues of translation and the difficulty of conveying, or even interpreting meaning correctly across languages. Religious texts were known to be particularly difficult due to their high metaphorical content and how dependent on the context in which they were written they tended to be. This sparked a debate in Spain about the convenience of continuing the translation of religious texts, and the best way to do it, over a century prior to the
Reformation.
Translation process Diego López de Zúñiga was the chief editor, and was fluent in Latin as well as both Aramaic and Arabic. He was given a team of various translators.
Converted translators and academics were favoured and specifically sought since they were fluent in the source languages and the cultures of the texts. Second in command,
Alfonso de Zamora (14761544) was a converted Jewish scholar, an expert in
Talmudic studies, and spoke Hebrew as his first language. Other
conversos working on the project were
Alfonso de Alcalá and
Pablo de Coronel.
Demetrius Ducas (a scholar from Crete),
Hernán Núñez de Toledo ("The Pincian") and
Juan de Vergara were in charge of the translation from Greek manuscripts.
Antonio de Nebrija was specifically called for the translation of the Latin
Vulgate. Hernán Núñez de Toledo was also the chief Latinist. The scholars met in
Alcalá de Henares, a city near Madrid also known by its Latin name
Complutum, at
Complutense University. The
New Testament was completed and printed in 1514, but its publication was delayed while work on the
Old Testament continued, so they could be published together as a complete work.
Delays The Complutensian Old Testament was completed in 1517. Cardinal Cisneros died in July 1517, five months after the Polyglot's completion, and never saw its publication.
Erasmus's four-year exclusive privilege in 1516 (and the papal privilege given to the
First Biblia Rabbinica in 1518) may have also been a delaying factor: Pope
Leo X finally sanctioned it in 1520. At which time the civil war in
Castile, the
Revolt of the Comuneros broke out, causing delays. The
Aldine Press based the Old Testament text in the 1518
Aldine Bible on the Complutensian's Greek
Septuagint, paired with a New Testament based to some extent on Erasmus's version. Erasmus acknowledged using the Complutensian in the 1527 edition of his
Novum Testamentum. The publication was re-edited as the eight volume
Plantin Polyglot (1572), also called the Antwerp Polyglot; it was reprinted with additions as the
Paris Polyglot (1645), and further developed into the
London Polyglot(1654-1657). Other uses of the include
Christian Reineccius's
Leipzig Polyglot(1750) and Gratz's reissue at Tubingen (1821.) == Contents ==