Joseph Labrosse, also known under his religious alias Father Angelus of St. Joseph (French: Père Ange de Saint Joseph; 1636–1697), was a French Carmelite missionary and writer. He played a role in transmitting Persian medical terminology to Europe, and was the first European to make a serious study of Iranian medicine.[1][2] He also compiled a Persian dictionary with translations into Latin, French, and Italian.
Joseph Labrosse | |
|---|---|
Père Ange de Saint Joseph | |
 Manuscript of Labrosse's Gazophylacium linguae persarum, Amsterdam, 1684 | |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1636 |
| Died | 1697 |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Notable work(s) | Pharmacopoea Persica Gazophylacium linguae persarum |
| Known for | Transmitting Persian medical terminology to Europe First European to make a serious study of Iranian medicine Quadrilingual Persian-Latin-French-Italian dictionary |
| Other names | Father Angelus of St. Joseph |
| Organization | |
| Order | Discalced Carmelites |
Biography
editBorn in Toulouse, Labrosse joined the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, and adopted the religious alias "Father Angelus of St. Joseph", which literally translates as "Angel of Saint Joseph".[2][3][4] In 1662, he went to Rome where he stayed for roughly two years and studied Arabic. He then travelled to Isfahan, where he studied Persian.[2][3][5] During his stay in Iran, from 1664 to 1678, Labrosse tried to use medicine to disseminate Christianity in the country.[5][3] In the process, he read many Persian and Arabic books on medicine, and he reportedly interacted with the learned people of Isfahan.[5] He also reportedly paid many visits to the shops of the Isfahani druggists, pharmacists and chemists.[5] In 1678, following his return to France, he published his Pharmacopoea Persica.[5] This work consists of a Latin translation of the Tibb-i shifā'i, a 16th-century Persian work on composite remedies written by Muzaffar ibn Muhammad al-Husayni (died 1556), as well as supplementary commentary by Labrosse himself.[5][6][7]
In 1684, while in the Netherlands, Labrosse published his Gazophylacium linguae persarum. This work is a Persian dictionary with Italian, Latin and French definitions, that pays special attention to medicine and medicinal substances.[5][6] In Safavid Persia: The History and Politics of an Islamic Society, the work is referred to as a "veritable encyclopaedia of Iran, including a few transcriptions that indicate the colloquial pronunciation of the time".[3]
As far as eastern languages are concerned; in addition to Arabic and Persian, Labrosse was proficient in Turkish.[6]
References
edit- ^ Winter, H. J. J. (1986). "Persian science in Safavid times". In Lockhart, Laurence; Jackson, Peter (eds.). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 608. ISBN 0-521-20094-6.
- ^ a b c Elgood, Cyril (2010) [1951]. A Medical History of Persia and the Eastern Caliphate: From the Earliest Times Until the Year A.D. 1932. Cambridge University Press. p. 366.
- ^ a b c d Melville, Charles C., ed. (1996). Safavid Persia: The History and Politics of an Islamic Society. I.B. Tauris. pp. 270–271.
- ^ Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5 ed.). McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 27.
- ^ a b c d e f g Loudon, Irvine, ed. (1997). Western Medicine: An Illustrated History. Oxford University Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-0199248131.
- ^ a b c Mills, Simon (2020). "A rich treasure of manuscripts". A Commerce of Knowledge: Trade, Religion, and Scholarship Between England and the Ottoman Empire, 1600-1760. Oxford University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0192576675.
- ^ Richard, Francis (1990). "CARMELITES IN PERSIA". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume IV/7: Calendars II–Cappadocia. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 832–834. ISBN 978-0-71009-130-7.
