Joseph Barbatus was an Egyptian Copt named Yusuf ibn Abu Daqn يوسف بن ابو دقن who lived in early 17th century Paris, France, and taught Arabic there.
He is also known as Josephus Barbatus, Abudacnus, which is a latinized version of the Arabic أبو دقن "Abu Dakn" (one with a beard).
The fact that he is from Egypt, and therefore a native speaker of Arabic, made him able to teach this language. However, according to one of his most distinguished students, his knowledge of Arabic was limited, because in his native Egypt, the dialect has drifted away from classical Arabic.
He also wrote a Hebrew lexicon as well.
As a Copt, he also wrote a history of the Coptic Church, which was more about the liturgical rites of that church. This work was familiar to Edward Gibbons in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Among his students are the famous Dutch scholar, Thomas Van Erpe (Erpenius).
His works include the following:
- Historia Jacobitarum seu Coptarium or History of the Jacobites, which is a history of the Coptic Church.
- Speculum Hebraicum, a Hebrew Dictionary.
Resources:
Comments
Hakeem (not verified)
In fact it seems that his
Sun, 2008/04/13 - 23:56In fact it seems that his knowledge of Arabic was limited to the vernacular as attested by Erpenius himself. See An Egyptian Traveller in the Republic of Letters: Josephus Barbatus or Abudacnus the Copt] Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 57. (1994), pp. 123-150. . You can also check the Wikipedia article about him which I wrote myself. You are most welcome to expand and improve it. By the way I couldn't find any reference about the his History of the Coptic Church. Can you refer to where I can get hold of a copy or an online version or anything about it?. Thanks for the post :) hakeem