An Aljamiado Translation of the ‘Morisco Qur'an’ and its Arabic Text (c. 1609)

Abstract

For the first time, strong links between three copies of the ‘Morisco Qur'an’ (in Arabic [Aix 1367], Aljamía [BRAH T5], and a bilingual Arabo-Aljamía version [BRAH T19]) have been described. They involve codicological, linguistic, and aesthetic features common to these manuscripts and lead to the identification of a single Aljamiado translation transmitted by the same copyist in two different codices (BRAH T5 and BRAH T19). This result allows us to demonstrate the coherent and systematic nature of the work of the Morisco copyists and provides the possibility of establishing a stemma codicum of some of the Aljamiado translations of the Qur'an. The relationship of these manuscripts with an Arabic copy of the ‘Morisco Qur'an’ makes it possible to conclude that these three copies were produced around 1609 ce, the year in which the Moriscos’ final expulsion from Spain began. These links illuminate our understanding of the production and uses of these Morisco copies of the Qur'an at a very late date, enriching the field of Qur'anic studies in medieval and early modern Spain.