Andre Du Ryer and Oriental Studies in Seventeenth-Century France

Curiosity about Islam and fear of Islam went hand in hand in the seventeenth century. The French, early allies of the Ottoman government, planned crusades and dispatched missionaries to Ottoman territory with the object of crushing the Muslims. The work of Andre Du Ryer reflects these tensions and contradictions. After serving as French vice-consul in Egypt, as interpreter to the French ambassador in Istanbul, and as ambassador extraordinary to the Sultan, Du Ryer compiled one of the first Turkish grammars to be printed (1630); with his French translation of Sa'di's Gulistan (1634) he introduced Persian literature into Europe; and with his translation of the Quran (1647), the first vernacular version made directly from the Arabic ever to be published, he produced a best-seller which would be translated, in its turn, into English, Dutch, German and Russian and would affect the view of Islam all over Europe and even in America.
But how genuine were the reservations about the Muslims expressed by Du Ryer in the introductions to his works? Was there not in fact far more sympathy for Islam than would appear from the rhetorical attacks dictated by centuries of prejudice and by contemporary censorship? These are some of the questions asked by Alastair Hamilton and Francis Richard in this challenging study on an influential but all too neglected French orientalist and his world.

Francis Richard, former Keeper of Persian Manuscripts at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, is now in charge of the Department of Islamic Art at the Musee de Louvre.