Bonaventure Hepburn (born James Hepburn; 14 July 1573,

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

– October 1620 or 1621,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy) was a Scottish Roman Catholic

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and

biblical commentator This is an outline of commentaries and commentators. Discussed are the salient points of Jewish, patristic, medieval, and modern commentaries on the Bible. The article includes discussion of the Targums, Mishna, and Talmuds, which are not regarded ...

. He was a scholar of some renown and rose to the post of Keeper of Oriental Books and Manuscripts at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. In 1591 he published a work on his study of the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and in 1616 his work on other foreign languages was published as ''The Heavenly Golden Rod of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Seventy-two Praises'' (also known as ''Virga Aurea''), a listing of 72 different alphabets. He was also known for translating into the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

the ''Kettar Malcuth of Rabbi Solomon.''

Early life

The son of Thomas Hepburn, the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Oldhamstocks Oldhamstocks or Aldhamstocks ("old dwelling place") is a civil parish and small village in the east of East Lothian, Scotland, adjacent to the Scottish Borders and overlooking the North Sea . It is located south-east of Dunbar and has a populat ...

, James was brought up as a Protestant. After his studied at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

he converted to the Catholic Church, lived in France and Italy, and travelled extensively, through "Turkey, Persia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Ethiopia, and most of the eastern countries". He then joined the Order of Minims at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

References

1573 births 1621 deaths 16th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests 17th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests People from Oldhamstocks Alumni of the University of St Andrews Christian Hebraists Christian scholars Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Grammarians of Arabic Minims (religious order) British biblical scholars Roman Catholic friars Roman Catholic biblical scholars Scottish expatriates in France Scottish expatriates in Italy Scottish explorers Scottish lexicographers Scottish librarians Scottish linguists Scottish orientalists Scottish philologists Scottish translators Vatican City scholars {{Scotland-translator-stub

Early life

See also

References