Sources

Guillaume Postel’s collection of manuscripts has been subject of scholarly inquiry since Giorgio Levi della Vida’s studies on the collection of Arabic manuscripts housed at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome. Later, François Secret, in a study primarily focused on Postel’s manuscript copies of his own works, listed some of the books and manuscripts Postel purchased throughout his life. In the 1980s, Paul Oskar Kristeller and Jean-Claude Margolin provided a detailed analysis of the annotations and marginalia in a few books that entered Postel’s library. These studies have been pivotal in offering a historically informed reconstruction of Postel’s thought, offering valuable insights into his believes and his stance towards authority. 

Recently, scholarship has emphasized the importance of marginalia in the manuscripts Postel owned, particularly in his Arabic exemplars, stressing the need for an accurate description of Postel’s annotations. The study of Postel’s Arabic manuscripts is crucial for a deeper understanding of his engagement with the Islamicate world.

The project aims to digitally reorder Postel’s collection of manuscripts, focusing on the Arabic exemplars he owned, to provide easier access to his collection for both scholars and a non-specialized audience interested in the circulation of Arabic manuscripts in Europe during the early modern period. By doing so, the project aims to contribute to greater awareness of the critical importance of Arabic knowledge and culture in early modern Europe.