Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski: Poland’s Influential Translator of the Quran into French
In the 19th century, the expert Polish-French linguist Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski authored a highly significant translation of the Quran into French and a popular French-Arabic dictionary. On request from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he travelled to the Middle East where he met with the Shah of Persia. Today, his Polish translation of the Persian classic ‘Gulistan’ is still available throughout bookstores in Poland.
Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski, also known as Albin de Biberstein or Albert Kazimirski de Biberstein, came into this world on 20th November 1808 in the village of Korczów Pierwszy – today’s south-eastern Poland. He was born into an impoverished noble family bearing the coat of arms of Biberstein. His father, Józef, worked as a clerk for the noble Zamoyski family.
In 1817, after receiving a basic education from private tutors, the young Wojciech began attending a secondary school in Lublin where he became an illustrious student:
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The teachers admired his discipline and perfect demeanour. Already back then he displayed a talent for languages – he grasped antique Latin and Greek as well as contemporary German and French with ease.
Author
From ‘Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski – an Orientalist and Diplomat’, a paper by Abdelhamid Drira and Grzegorz Kubacki, trans. MK
Biberstein-Kazimirski finished school in Lublin in 1824 and went on to study at the University of Warsaw, obtaining a diploma in law three years later. At the said higher education institution, he also attended classes in philology. Following his graduation from the University of Warsaw, Biberstein-Kazimirski briefly worked as an attorney in Lublin and later as a librarian back in Warsaw.
In the latter city, he also began studying Semitic languages and the Talmud under the priest and professor Alojzy Ludwik Chiarini. When Chiarini left Warsaw for Berlin, Biberstein-Kazimirski wanted to follow him in order to continue his schooling but didn’t have the means for it. Fortunately, he became acquainted with the aristocrat Tytus Działyński who was willing to help him out.
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Działyński Palace in Poznań, photo: Marek Maruszak / Forum
Działyński, a collector of books and manuscripts, decided to financially back the talented young linguist. The aristocrat even invited Biberstein-Kazimirski to live at his residence in Poznań for a period of time in 1829. Quite probably, in return for these favours, the growing languages expert worked, for example, as a translator on certain writings from Działyński’s collection (this isn’t known for certain, though).
Eventually, in October 1829, Biberstein-Kazimirski came to Berlin where he continued his studies under Chairini. There he began learning Sanskrit and Bengali from another tutor, Friedrich Wilken. However, the bright Pole wasn’t entirely happy with the level of education he was receiving. As he mentioned in one of his letters written at that time:
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Berlin isn’t famous for orientalism, the announced classes in Syriac, Chaldean and Talmud didn’t take place, Arabic is taught very poorly, I have Persian once a week.
Author
From ‘Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski – an Orientalist and Diplomat’, trans. MK
In 1830, when the November Uprising broke out, Biberstein-Kazimirski decided to go back to Warsaw. At this point it’s vital to recognize that in the late 18th century the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had been partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria, due to which Poland was unable to regain its independence until the year 1918. The uprising was a failed Polish insurgency against Russia.
Although Biberstein-Kazimirski most probably didn’t participate in the uprising’s fights, he remained close with the people involved with the rebellion, such as the noted historian and politician Joachim Lelewel. During the insurgency, he also contributed to the patriotic periodical Nowa Polska (New Poland). After the fall of the November Uprising, in 1831, the Polish linguist left Warsaw and emigrated to Paris.
In the French capital, Biberstein-Kazimirski once more focused on his linguistic interests. He studied Arabic and Persian under the noted tutor Izaak Silvestre de Sacy. Additionally, in 1836 he started authoring entries for the French Encyclopédie Nouvelle. Three years later he published a Polish-French dictionary.
In 1839, Biberstein-Kazimirski also began what would prove to be one of his most significant projects – a French translation of the Quran. Although he was originally commissioned to only review an earlier translation of this book into French, he decided to create an entirely new one. Unfortunately, his work on the sacred Muslim text was prematurely interrupted when he agreed to travel to the Middle East on the request of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In November 1839, the Pole was given the title of dragoman (or interpreter) by the French King Louis Philippe and the following year he was appointed a member of a mission to Persia:
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The envoys travelled from Toulon through Constantinople, the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains and Azerbaijan, arriving in Tehran on 1st March 1840 and in Isfahan on 5th April 1840.
Author
From ‘Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski - an Orientalist and Diplomat’, trans. MK
After reaching his destination, Biberstein-Kazimirski met with Mohammad Shah Qajar, the Shah of Persia, who appreciated him as evidenced by the fact that the Polish linguist was given an important Persian decoration – the Order of the Lion and the Sun. Also, the Pole was tasked with presenting a gift (it’s unclear exactly what it was) from the Shah to the king of France. When the French mission concluded its business in Persia, it returned to Toulon via Mesopotamia, Syria and Cyprus.
Long-lasting significance
Rather surprisingly, Biberstein-Kazimirski’s preliminary translation of the Quran, which he stopped working on when he went to Persia, was issued in France in 1840 by a somewhat inconsiderate publisher. This edition of the Pole’s French Quran is basically a work in progress and isn’t considered particularly noteworthy. However, after the Polish linguist returned from the Middle East, he decided to perfect his translation of the famed holy book. He did this over the course of many years and eventually published a number of revisions. The ones that appeared in 1842 and 1852 are seen as especially valuable.
Biberstein-Kazimirski’s revised French translations of the Quran went on to become vastly influential in France, but also in other places:
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[…] Kazimirski’s translations served as the basis for five Spanish versions as well as a Russian one (in 1880) and a Dutch one (in 1860). […] For over 150 years, his renditions were the most popular translations not only in France but also in all of North Africa.
Author
From ‘Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski – an Orientalist and Diplomat’, trans. MK
A testimony to the longevity of Biberstein-Kazimirski’s work on the Quran is the fact that one of his French translations of this book was reissued as recently as in 2014.
Another noted work by the Pole, a French-Arabic dictionary, was first published in 1845. Apparently, this book became a vital educational resource in Arabic language schools across many countries.
In 1851 Biberstein-Kazimirski found steady employment at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he worked for the next thirty-five years. Officially he was an interpreter, but he may have had other responsibilities as well. It has been speculated that he could’ve acted as an informal connection between the ministry and the Polish émigré circles in Paris.
In his official ministerial capacity, the Polish linguist performed significant duties:
[..] He served, for example, as an interpreter during the Persian ambassador Farrokh Khan’s visit to Paris in 1857, when the latter negotiated the end of the Anglo-Persian War on neutral French soil.
From ‘Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski – an Orientalist and Diplomat’, trans. MK
The Polish languages expert was also the personal interpreter to the Persian Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar during his visit to France in 1873. All in all, throughout his career at the ministry, Biberstein-Kazimirski maintained close relations with the Persian Embassy in Paris. For his contributions to France, he was decorated with the Legion of Honour and in 1864 given French citizenship.
Even though Biberstein-Kazimirski was an essential employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he managed to remain active as a translator and author. In 1876, he published Specimen du Divan, a book containing his French translations of poems by the 11th-century Persian author Manuchehri Dāmghānī. The same year, he put out a Polish translation of Gulistan, a classic work of Persian literature written by Saadi Shirazi in the 13th century. Interestingly, Biberstein-Kazimirski worked on this rendition in collaboration with Jan Działyński, the son of his old benefactor Tytus Działyński. Today this translation, titled Gulistan, to Jest Ogród Różany (The Gulistan or Rose Garden), is still being sold inside Polish bookstores.
In 1883, Biberstein-Kazimirski issued Dialogue Français-Persans, a well-received Persian phrase book written in French containing a preface on Persian grammar and vocabulary. Three years later, he retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and published his final work Menoutchehri, Poète Persan du XIe Siècle de Notre Ère. This book includes the Polish-French linguist’s French translations of works by the aforementioned Manuchehri Dāmghānī as well as an extensive historical introduction centred around this Persian author.
On 22nd June 1887, Wojciech Kazimirski-Biberstein passed away. Today he remains a rather obscure translator and author (he would have probably used the presently inappropriate term ‘orientalist’ to describe himself). Nevertheless, he’s well worth remembering due to his meaningful contributions to international culture.
Written by Marek Kępa, Mar 22
Based on ‘Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski – an Orientalist and Diplomat’, a 2020 paper by Abdelhamid Drira and Grzegorz Kubacki.
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