Eastern Wisedome and Learning: The Study of Arabic in Seventeenth-Century England

Toomer, G. J.

ISBN 10: 0198202911 / ISBN 13: 9780198202912

Published by Clarendon Press, 1996

About this Item

Condition : Good. Hard cover, no jacket. Former university library copy with associated markings. 381pp. No highlighting or annotations. Light marks on cover. Photo on request.

Seller Inventory # 943431

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Eastern Wisedome and Learning: The Study of Arabic in Seventeenth-Century England
• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198202911
• ISBN 13: 9780198202912
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

About this title

Synopsis

This book narrates the extraordinary growth in the study of Arabic in England from the late sixteenth century, when it was almost non-existent, to the end of the seventeenth. By its high point around 1666, England was pre-eminent among European countries in the study of Arabic. Permanent Chairs of Arabic had been established at Oxford and Cambridge, and specialized presses in Oxford and London had produced Arabic works. The Professor at Oxford, Edward Pococke, was recognized as the foremost scholar in the field in Europe, and a great collection of Arabic manuscripts, begun by Archbishop Laud, was being built up at Oxford.

In this masterly and original study, Professor Toomer gives the first detailed account of this process, set against the religious and political background in England and Europe. He shows how trade with the Ottoman Empire and mistrust of Islam influenced the study of Arabic. Finally, he traces the course and causes of the drastic decline in Arabic studies towards the end of the century.

About the Author

G. J. Toomer is Professor Emeritus of the History of Mathematics at Brown University and an associate in the History of Science Department at Harvard.