This is Yusuf Estes and I was WRONG!
It was NOT Robert the Monk who translated the Quran to English.
It was Robert of Ketton, in 1143, in Spain!
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First Latin Translation of Quran
1. Peter the Venerable Ordered It!
The first Latin translation of the Qur’an was ordered by Peter the Venerable, abbot of the powerful monastery of Cluny in France, in 1142–1143. He played a central role in assembling scholars to undertake translations of several major Islamic texts into Latin.
Peter was not neutral about Islam; he believed Christians needed to understand Islam’s teachings from its own sources in order to respond to them theologically and intellectually.
This project was part of a broader text collection called the Corpus Cluniacense (or Corpus Islamolatinum), which included translations of:
- the Qur’an
- polemical and theological Arabic writings
- Christian writings about Islam
All intended to help Christians study and respond to Islam.
2. The Translator: Robert of Ketton
The principal translator of this first Latin Quran was Robert of Ketton, an English scholar residing in Christian Spain — a region where Christian and Muslim cultures overlapped and where Arabic texts were accessible.
Robert worked with a small team (including Peter of Toledo, Herman of Carinthia, and others) to produce the Latin text.
His translation — titled Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete (“The Law of Muhammad the False Prophet”) — was completed by 1143 and became the principal Latin version of the Qur’an available in Europe for several centuries.
3. Why This Translation Was Done
Peter the Venerable’s motivations were not neutral or scholarly in the modern sense. Scholars note that:
- Christian polemics were central — Peter believed Christianity should understand and refute Islam based on its own scriptures.
- The translation project aimed to give Christian theologians better access to Islamic teachings so they could respond intellectually and doctrinally rather than rely on hearsay.
- Translators often had limited knowledge of classical Arabic and worked with theological goals rather than strict linguistic fidelity. This resulted in a Latin rendering that sometimes paraphrased, added, or omitted elements of the original.
4. Historical Context
This took place about half a century after the First Crusade was called (1095). That means:
- The Crusades were already underway long before this translation was produced.
- The translation was not used to start the Crusades, but it did influence later Christian scholarship and polemics about Islam.
So while the Crusades were earlier, the Latin Quran translation became an intellectual tool in medieval Christian discussions about Islam. It shaped how many European scholars and theologians interpreted Islamic teachings for generations.
5. Influence and Legacy
Robert of Ketton’s Latin translation:
- Became the standard resource about the Qur’an in Latin Christendom for centuries.
- Was reprinted in the 16th century (Basel 1542–1543) with polemical commentary, including by figures like Martin Luther.
- Influenced many European translations into other languages, because later translators often worked from the Latin rather than directly from Arabic.
However, scholars also recognize that Robert of Ketton’s translation took liberties with the text — paraphrasing or restructuring — which means it was not a precise linguistic rendering but rather a text shaped by theological aims.
Summary — Why It Was Done
Peter the Venerable commissioned the first Latin translation of the Qur’an in 1142–1143 to enable Christian scholars to read Islamic scriptures directly so they could engage with, critique, and refute Islam from a Christian theological perspective.
The work was produced by a team led by Robert of Ketton and became a foundational Latin text that influenced European understanding of Islam for centuries.
