Exemplario contra los Engaños y Peligros del Mundo

Exemplario contra los Engaños y Peligros del Mundo – Vicent Garcia Editores – Inc. 1994 – Biblioteca Nacional de España (Madrid, Spain)

Zaragosa (Spain) — March 30, 1493

The most frequently translated work from India: the time-honored Sanskrit fables by Bidpai in the enchantingly illustrated and only surviving edition of the first Spanish translation of the text

  1. This Castilian version of the Fables of Bidpai is a source for all subsequent translations into European languages

  2. It was published in 1493 by Pablo Hurus (active 1484–99) in Zaragoza and generously adorned with 117 woodcuts

  3. The fables now appear in 200 versions and 50+ languages ranging from Indonesian to Icelandic

Exemplario contra los Engaños y Peligros del Mundo

  1. Description
  2. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Exemplario contra los Engaños y Peligros del Mundo

This early printed book from Spain is the final result of numerous translations of a work that was written in India ca. 200 BC. This Sanskrit collection of tales has been translated into dozens of languages and appeared in hundreds of versions across the world. More than 1,500 years after it they were first written, a Castillian translation of the stories was printed in Zaragoza, only one specimen of which has survived to the present.

Exemplario contra los Engaños y Peligros del Mundo

Although incomplete, this is the only surviving copy of this incunabula, a book printed before 1501. The Calila e Dimna was published by Pablo Hurus (active 1484–99) in Zaragoza on March 30th, 1493 and is generously adorned with 117 woodcuts. It is a Castilian translation of the Fables of Bidpai, a Sanskrit collection of fables from ancient India originally called the Panchatantra. It is the most frequently translated work from India and now appears in 200 versions and 50+ languages ranging from Indonesian to Icelandic.

The Work of Many Translators

An Arabic translation of the work from ca. 750 by the Persian scholar Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa (d. 756/9) titled Kalīla wa Dimna, it is considered to be the first masterpiece of Arabic literary prose, and helped the fables become part of the body of universal literature. It has been translated into numerous languages, including a Hebrew translation by a certain Rabbi Joel from ca. 1200, when the work was also translated into Persian. A Latin translation titled Directorium Humanae Vitae was created from the Hebrew text by Juan de Capua (active 1262–69), an Italian translator and Jewish convert. This version became the source for all subsequent translations into European languages, although a Latin translation had previously been made directly from the authoritative Arabic version at the behest of King Alphonso X of Castile (1221–84) while he was still a prince.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Directorium Humanae Vitae
Size / Format
200 pages / 28.5 × 21.5 cm
Origin
Spain
Date
March 30, 1493
Language
Script
Gothic
Illustrations
117 Woodcuts
Content
Castilian translation of a Latin version of Calila e Dimna
Artist / School

Available facsimile editions:
Exemplario contra los Engaños y Peligros del Mundo – Vicent Garcia Editores – Inc. 1994 – Biblioteca Nacional de España (Madrid, Spain)
Vicent Garcia Editores – Valencia, 1996
Limited Edition: 3160 copies
Facsimile Editions

#1 Exemplario contra los Engaños y Peligros del Mundo

Vicent Garcia Editores – Valencia, 1996

Publisher: Vicent Garcia Editores – Valencia, 1996
Limited Edition: 3160 copies
Binding: Parchment on wooden board. Comes in a cloth-lined presentation case with gold engraved leather spine.
Commentary: 1 volume by Daniel M. Arguedas
Language: Spanish
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €
(under 1,000€)
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