La girafe, belle inconnue des bibles médiévales.
Camelopardalis : un animal philologique
Résumé
The giraffe, unknown beauty of the medieval bibles. Camelopardalis: a philological animal.
The Bible, in its Latin version, contributed to call attention to the Christian Occident to the existence of the camelopardalis (camel-panther or camel-leopard), a term referring to the giraffe in Greek and Latin in the Antiquity, and which had been used to translate a misidentified Hebrew zoonym, the zemer. While the giraffe remained unknown in Europe for a long time, only a brief notice by Pliny transmitted to the Middle Ages some information on the camelopardalis, in a lacunar description, omitting for example the height of the animal and the characteristic size of its neck, preventing from recognizing there a “true” giraffe, in particular when some specimens were brought from Egypt to be offered to the king Alfonso X of Spain and to the emperor Frederic II in the XIIIth century. While at that time the modern name for giraffe is formed on the Arab zarâfa, no literary or zoological text, no translation, no exegesis manage to connect this new animal, with the new vernacular name, to the ancient camelopardalis. The giraffe and the “camel-leopard” seem to have became then perfectly distinct animals. The translations in vernacular languages of the Bible from the Latin fail to correctly interpret this obscure animal, dubious, which seems to have only a philological reality.
When giraffes make their return at the end of XVth century in Italy, several humanists then recognize in the giraffa the kamelopardalis recently translated and published from Greek texts. The erudition then makes it possible to reconcile book learning with observation of a “true” animal. The “real” giraffe then makes its return in the biblical exegesis of the XVIth and XVIIth centuries, the question of the translation of the Hebrew zemer also stimulating the scientific investigations on the giraffe of Conrad Gesner, Ulysses Aldrovandi and Samuel Bochart, transforming an exceptional exotic animal into a philological animal par excellence.
The Bible, in its Latin version, contributed to call attention to the Christian Occident to the existence of the camelopardalis (camel-panther or camel-leopard), a term referring to the giraffe in Greek and Latin in the Antiquity, and which had been used to translate a misidentified Hebrew zoonym, the zemer. While the giraffe remained unknown in Europe for a long time, only a brief notice by Pliny transmitted to the Middle Ages some information on the camelopardalis, in a lacunar description, omitting for example the height of the animal and the characteristic size of its neck, preventing from recognizing there a “true” giraffe, in particular when some specimens were brought from Egypt to be offered to the king Alfonso X of Spain and to the emperor Frederic II in the XIIIth century. While at that time the modern name for giraffe is formed on the Arab zarâfa, no literary or zoological text, no translation, no exegesis manage to connect this new animal, with the new vernacular name, to the ancient camelopardalis. The giraffe and the “camel-leopard” seem to have became then perfectly distinct animals. The translations in vernacular languages of the Bible from the Latin fail to correctly interpret this obscure animal, dubious, which seems to have only a philological reality.
When giraffes make their return at the end of XVth century in Italy, several humanists then recognize in the giraffa the kamelopardalis recently translated and published from Greek texts. The erudition then makes it possible to reconcile book learning with observation of a “true” animal. The “real” giraffe then makes its return in the biblical exegesis of the XVIth and XVIIth centuries, the question of the translation of the Hebrew zemer also stimulating the scientific investigations on the giraffe of Conrad Gesner, Ulysses Aldrovandi and Samuel Bochart, transforming an exceptional exotic animal into a philological animal par excellence.
La Bible, dans sa version latine, a contribué à signaler à l'Occident chrétien l'existence de la camelopardalis (chameau-panthère ou chameau-léopard), terme désignant la girafe en grec et en latin dans l'Antiquité, et qui avait servi à traduire un zoonyme hébreu mal identifié, le zemer. Alors que la girafe est restée longtemps inconnue en Europe, seule une brève notice de Pline a transmis au Moyen Âge quelques informations sur la camelopardalis, dans une description lacunaire, omettant par exemple la hauteur de l'animal et la taille caractéristique de son cou, empêchant d'y reconnaître une girafe « vraie », notamment lorsque quelques spécimens furent amenés d'Égypte pour être offerts au roi d'Espagne Alphonse X et à l'empereur Frédéric II au XIIIe siècle. Alors que son nom moderne de girafe se forme sur l'arabe zarâfa à cette époque, aucun texte littéraire ou zoologique, aucune traduction, aucune exégèse ne parvient à relier cet animal inédit, au nom vernaculaire nouveau, à l'antique camelopardalis. Girafe et « chameau-léopard » semblent être alors devenus des animaux parfaitement distincts. Les traductions en langues vernaculaires de la Bible faites sur le latin ne parviennent pas à interpréter correctement cet animal obscur, incertain, qui ne semble avoir qu'une réalité philologique. Lorsque des girafes font leur retour à la fin du XVe siècle en Italie, plusieurs humanistes savent reconnaître dans la giraffa la kamelopardalis des textes grecs récemment traduits et édités. L'érudition permet alors de réconcilier savoir livresque et observation d'un animal « vrai ». La girafe « réelle » fait alors son retour dans l'exégèse biblique des XVIe et XVIIe siècles, la question de la traduction du zemer hébreu stimulant également les enquêtes scientifiques sur la girafe des Conrad Gesner, Ulysse Aldrovandi et Samuel Bochart, transformant un animal exotique exceptionnel en un animal philologique par excellence.
| Origine | Accord explicite pour ce dépôt |
|---|
Loading...