Breton Gospels (BREBRB)

Overview

The 1827 Breton Gospels represent the first translation of Scripture into Breton, the Celtic language of Brittany in northwestern France. The translation was produced by Jean-Francois Le Gonidec (1775-1838), a distinguished Breton grammarian who had previously published a landmark Breton grammar (1807) and a Breton-Celtic dictionary (1821). [1] Le Gonidec was contracted by the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) in 1824 to translate the New Testament from the Latin Vulgate into Breton, after the BFBS first discussed the absence of Breton Scriptures in 1814. [2] The text was checked against the Greek and revised by two Welsh scholars, Rev. Thomas Price (1787-1848) of Crickhowell and Rev. David Jones of Swansea, who had lobbied the BFBS to support the project. [2] The Catholic Church refused to authorize publication, and the resulting edition, published in 1827 by the BFBS, was placed on the Index of Banned Books. [1] Later missionaries found that Le Gonidec's scholarly Breton was not easily understood by ordinary speakers, leading Rev. John Jenkins of Morlaix to produce a revised, more accessible New Testament published in 1847. [3]

Translation History

In 1814, the BFBS committee first noted that no translation of the Scriptures existed in Breton. [2] Le Gonidec, a Roman Catholic who knew French, Breton, and Latin, began his translation work in 1824. [2] The New Testament (Testamant Nevez) was completed and published at Angouleme in 1827. [3] Le Gonidec also prepared an Old Testament manuscript before his death in 1838; portions of this work, including the Psalms, were later edited by Rev. J. Williams and published by the BFBS in 1873. [3]

Language and People

Breton (ISO 639-3: bre) is a Brythonic Celtic language closely related to Welsh and Cornish, spoken in the Brittany peninsula of northwestern France. It is spoken by approximately 206,000 people. [Glottolog: bret1244]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by British and Foreign Bible Society. Translation type: First. Thomas Price ("Carnhuanawc"), a Welsh clergyman and champion of Celtic language publishing, played a key role in securing BFBS support for Le Gonidec's work. [1]

References