The Orient in Utrecht: Adriaan Reland (1676-1718), Arabist, Cartographer, Antiquarian and Scholar of Comparative Religion

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Adriaan Reland (1676-1718), Arabist, Cartographer, Antiquarian and Scholar of Comparative Religion covers the intellectual achievements of a remarkable man: Adriaan Reland, professor of Oriental languages (1701) and Hebrew Antiquities (1713) at the University of Utrecht from 1701 to 1718. Although he never travelled beyond the borders of his home country, he had an astonishingly broad worldview. The contributions in this volume illuminate Reland’s many accomplishments and follow his scholarly trajectory as an Orientalist, a linguist, a cartographer, a poet, and a historian of comparative religions. Reland, although a devout Protestant, believed that religions should be examined objectively on their own terms with the help of reliable and authentic documents, which would dispel the prejudices of the past. Contributors: Lot Brouwer, Ulrich Groetsch,Toon van Hal, Jason Harris, Bart Jaski, Christian Lange, Richard van Leeuwen, Remke Kruk, Anna Pytlowany, Henk J. van Rinsum, Dirk Sacré, Arnoud Vrolijk, Tobias Winnerling and Jan Just Witkam
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Bart Jaski (PhD Trinity College Dublin, 1995) is keeper of manuscripts of the University Library of Utrecht. He has published widely on medieval Irish and manuscript studies, and is the editor of various publications. Christian Lange (PhD Harvard, 2006) is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Utrecht University. He is the author of monographs on medieval Islamic conceptions of justice and punishment (2008), paradise and hell in Islam (2016), and the reception history of the prophet Mohammed (2017). Anna Pytlowany is an independent scholar and media professional. She holds a PhD in History of Linguistics from the University of Amsterdam (2018). Her main research interests are material aspects of manuscripts and Dutch mercantile linguistics. Henk van Rinsum (PhD Utrecht, 2001) is a Utrecht-trained historian and anthropologist. He published about universities and religion in Africa. In February 2018, he organised a symposium in Utrecht on the work and life of Adrianus Reland with Islam scholars, Arabists, linguists and historians.
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors

Introduction: Adriaan Reland (1676–1718): Early Modern Humanist, Philologist and Scholar of Comparative Religion
Bart Jaski, Christian Lange, Anna Pytlowany, and Henk J. van Rinsum

part 1: Reland in His Time


1 Adriaan Reland (1676–1718) and His Formative Years
  A Prelude to De Religione Mohammedica
Henk J. van Rinsum

2 Adriaan Reland’s Legacy as a Scholar of Islam
Lot Brouwer

3 Follow the Light: Adriaan Reland (1676–1718) on Muhammad
Christian Lange

4 Adriaan Reland and Dutch Scholarship on Islam
  Scholarly and Religious Visions of the Muslim Pilgrimage
Richard van Leeuwen

part 2: Reland and the World


5 The First Dutch Translation of Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān, Reland’s Annotated Version and the Mysterious Translator S.D.B.
Remke Kruk and Arnoud Vrolijk

6 Adriaan Reland’s Fascination with the Languages of the World
Toon van Hal

7 Digging without Dirt: Adriaan Reland’s Explorations of the Holy Land
Ulrich Groetsch

8 ‘Geleerdster der Landbeschryveren’? Adriaan Reland Mapping Persia and Japan, 1705–1715
Tobias Winnerling

9 Adriaan Reland, Galatea: An Introduction
Dirk Sacré

10 Adriaan Reland: A Life in Fragments
Anna Pytlowany

Part 3: Collections, Manuscripts, and Seals


11 The Manuscript Collection of Adriaan Reland in the University Library of Utrecht and Beyond
Bart Jaski

12 The Adriaan Reland Collection at Leiden University Library
  Antoine Galland Autographs, Oriental Manuscripts and the Enigmas of the 1761 Auction Catalogue
Arnoud Vrolijk

13 Adriaan Reland on Islamic Gems and Seals
  An Annotated Translation of the Latin Text
Jan Just Witkam

Appendix 1: The Works of Adriaan Reland
Compiled by Henk J. van Rinsum

Appendix 2: The Manuscripts of Adriaan Reland
Compiled by Bart Jaski

Appendix 3: The Letters of Adriaan Reland
Compiled by Tobias Winnerling

Appendix 4: Relandus—Elegies for Galatea, no. 2
Translated from the Latin by Jason Harris

Appendix 5: Heinrich Sike’s 1696 Congratulatory Poem for Adriaan Reland
Translated from the Arabic by Christian Lange

Appendix 6: The Maps of Adriaan Reland
Compiled by Tobias Winnerling

Index of Names
All interested in the history of philology and Oriental studies, study of religions and languages, and those interested in the dialogue between different religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The book, though in places specialized, is suitable for a wide readership, including BA- and MA-students.
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