French Literature Reviews - 2026

X.-L. Salvador, Semantic Archaeology and Etymology: The Translation of the Book of Exodus in the Bible Historiale (1295)
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

SALVADOR, Xavier-Laurent

Semantic Archaeology and Etymology: The Translation of the Book of Exodus in the Bible Historiale (1295)

Zeta Books, collection "Medievalia", 2017.

EAN13 : 9786066970440, 15/24€.

Christianity is the only religion to have established translation by abandoning the concept of a sacred language. To quote Henri Meschonnic, it is essentially a "religion of the secondary original." It has continually questioned the status of language and has unceasingly shifted the focus of interpretation from form and language to parable and hidden meaning. In this respect, Guyart des Moulins’s Bible Historiale (1295) stands as a precious witness to the transmission of meaning—first concealed, then revealed through translation into the vernacular. Medieval readers found within it all the encyclopedic knowledge of their time: what needed to be known about animals, plants, the calendar, the lives of the Patriarchs; the life of Alexander the Great; the tale of the sun and moon trees that foretell the future; translations of Pliny’s Natural History; and several versions of the books of the prophets. After examining the definition of history staged by Guyart des Moulins and addressing whether history constituted a science in the Middle Ages, this volume explores the translation challenges of the Bible Historiale. It analyzes the linguistic sites of mystery and revelation, focusing particularly on the Book of Exodus, for which this work provides the only complete, accessible edition in Old French. According to Guyart des Moulins, one must translate the literal meaning while simultaneously translating the same passage from a different source to teach the Christian meaning of Old Testament anecdotes—that is, translating not to slavishly reproduce the ancient and archaeological sense of the Hebrews, but rather to extract from the source its modern, etymological, and Christian significance.

Guyart des Moulins’s Bible Historiale occupies a distinctive place in medieval vernacular literature, serving as both a scriptural translation and a vast compendium of the encyclopedic knowledge available at the end of the thirteenth century. Such vernacular compilations reflect how medieval scholars and translators engaged with ancient sources, natural history, and prophetic texts, filtering them through contemporary frameworks of interpretation. Xavier-Laurent Salvador examines the theoretical underpinnings of this tradition, focusing on the ways historical narrative and linguistic transfer intersect in medieval religious writing, while this volume explores the translation challenges present in the text and analyzes linguistic sites of mystery and revelation.

By examining how medieval translation balanced literal meaning with etymological and Christian significance, the study provides insight into vernacular biblical transmission. Readers interested in medieval translation practices and the reception of scripture in Old French may find this volume relevant to their inquiries.