Jean Gagnier - La Vie de Mahomet - 1732

First Edition

Jean Gagnier

La Vie de Mahomet translated and compiled from Alcoran, from the authentic traditions of sleep and from the best Arab authors

Wetsteins & Smith, Amsterdam, 1732

Copy that belonged to Prince Roland Bonaparte

pp. XLII,(6),460; (4),413,(33)

Two engravings on the frontispiece and folded plate on p. 125. (See photo).

The French scholar Jean Gagnier (Paris 1670-Oxford 1740) was professor of Oriental languages at Oxford and predecessor of Edward Pocock. In 1723, he had already published Ismail Abu al-'Aqsa's life of the Prophet.
Fida [Balanga p. 142] in Arabic and Latin. Since most of his contemporaries could not read either Arabic or Latin, Gagnier decided to publish a French-language version of the description of the Prophet's life. This truly excellent historical biography describes the Prophet's life with all its fables and wonders.
For the first time, the author used source material (the Quran), albeit more recent, and quotes Arabic authors mostly word for word. His translations are brilliant, and for many years his book was considered the best biography of the Prophet. Many subsequent authors referred to it.
His work influenced the French Orientalist movement and Islamic studies in the 18th century.

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