Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678) en haar kennis van oud-oosterse talen

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:We know very little about women who studied and excelled in the field of Semiticlanguages in the seventeenth century - it is an unknown territory, terra incognita. In thisthesis I will map Anna Maria van Schurman's (1607-1678) studies in Semitic languages.Of the fourteen languages she knew, seven were Semitic or Near-Eastern languages:Hebrew (Rabbinic Hebrew included), Aramaic, Syriac, Samaritan, Arabic, Persian orEthiopian. The thesis commences with a brief discussion of her life (including some newmaterial), followed by an overview of the knowledge about Semitic languages thatprevailed in the seventeenth century, which at the time underwent a surge of growth.Thereafter the discussion will focus on Van Schurman's mentor, Voetius, and hisknowledge and views of Semitic languages. It will be based on the Sermoen (lecture)delivered at the opening of the University of Utrecht in 1636. His library, which VanSchurman used, also appears to be an invaluable source, full of reference books for thestudy of 'orientaelsche' languages.In order to determine the standard of Van Schurman's work, it was useful to read firstwhat her contemporaries wrote about her, as well as what she wrote in her various works,including her autobiographies, about Semitic languages. Adfontes did I research what hasbeen preserved in these seven languages: letters in Hebrew, a poem, many references - inparticular in Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac and Arabic - in her works such as the Dissertatio,the Opuscula Hebraea Graeca Latina et Gallica, unpublished letters and the texts shewrote in alba amicorum and on polyglottal artworks in Hebrew, Rabbinic Hebrew,Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic, Samaritan and Ethiopian. Her letters in Hebrew (and someletters to her) have only now been translated for the first time. From these it seems thatshe had, in contrast to her work in Latin, Greek, Dutch and French, such a religiousregard for Hebrew that she wrote these letters as a collage of Biblical texts. It was,however, also an intellectual game.Van Schurman designed a grammar for Ethiopian, an outstanding achievement in theerudite Netherlands. Although it is thought to be lost, it is nevertheless possible toascertain, by means of reports and poems by her contemporaries, what constituted thisgrammar. Lastly, Van Schurman's oeuvre is compared to that of the men and women of the educated community in Europe (Res Publica Litterarum ) who were also involved inthe study of 'orientaelsche' languages. She was a source of inspiration for severalwomen, such as Marie du Moulin, who also studied Hebrew and corresponded with VanSchurman in Hebrew. Anna Maria Van Schurman can rightfully be called the onlyfemale christian hebraist who could hold her own in the company of her malecounterparts, despite the fact that, as a woman, she did not have the same opportunities asthey had. She even exceeds them in her knowledge of Ethiopian. With regard to otherwomen, she undoubtedly stood head and shoulders above them, and deserves to beknown as the Babel of her time.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University