''Cuneus Prophetarum'' ( sq, Çeta e profetëve, en, The Band of the Prophets) is a philosophical, theological and scientific

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

written by

Pjetër Bogdani Pjetër Bogdani (1627 – 6 December 1689), known in Italian as ''Pietro Bogdano'', was the most original writer of early literature in Albania. He was author of the Cuneus Prophetarum (''The Band of the Prophets''), 1685, the first prose work ...

, an Albanian philosopher, originally published in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

in 1685 in Albanian and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 power of the ...

. It is considered to be the most prominent work of early Albanian literature.

History

Pjetër Bogdani had finished writing ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' by 1675 but was refused the rights to publish it by the

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

that ordered its translation to allow the book's publication. After ten years the book was published with the assistance of

Gregorio Barbarigo Gregorio Giovanni Gaspare Barbarigo (16 September 1625 – 18 June 1697) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal who served as the Bishop of Bergamo and later as the Bishop of Padua. He was a frontrunner in both the 1689 and 1691 papal concla ...

, cardinal of

in 1685 in Padua, Northern Italy. The original Latin title of the treatise is: Cuneus prophetarum de Christo salvatore mundi et eius evangelica veritate, italice et epirotice contexta, et in duas partes diuisa a Petro Bogdano Macedone, Sacr. Congr. de Prop. Fide alumno, Philosophiae & Sacrae Theologiae Doctore, olim Episcopo Scodrensi & Administratore Antibarensi, nunc vero Archiepiscopo Scuporum ac totius regni Serviae Administratore. The English translation of the title is The Band of the Prophets Concerning Christ, Saviour of the World and his Gospel Truth, edited in Italian and Epirotic (Albanian) and divided into two parts by Pjetër Bogdani of Macedonia, student of the Holy Congregation of the Propaganda Fide, doctor of philosophy and holy theology, formerly Bishop of Shkodra and Administrator of Antivari and now Archbishop of Skopje and Administrator of all the Kingdom of Serbia. The treatise was reprinted, in Italian and Albanian, in 1691 and 1702 by the

House of Albizzi The Albizzi family () was a Florentine family originally based in Arezzo, who were rivals of the Medici and Alberti families. They were at the centre of Florentine oligarchy from 1382, in the reaction that followed the Ciompi revolt, to the ris ...

as ''L' infallibile verità della cattolica fede'' ( en, The infallible truth of the Catholic faith)

Content

''Cuneus Prophetarum'' is divided in two volumes of four chapters each, containing two parallel columns, one written in Albanian while the other contains its Latin (in 1685 edition) or its Italian (in 1691 and 1702 edition) translation. The introductory part of the first volume contains dedications and eulogies in Albanian, Italian, Latin and Serbian. It also includes two eight-line poems written in Albanian. The first poem written by Llukë Bogdani, cousin of Pjetër Bogdani is titled ''Pjetër Bogdanit, argjupeshkëpit Skupsë, kushërinit tim dashunit'' ( en, To my dear cousin Pjetër Bogdani, Archbishop of Shkup), while the second one is a philosophical poem written by Llukë Summa, a monk from Shkodër. The main subjects of the first volume derive from the Old Testament and its four chapters are: #How God created man. #The prophets and their metaphors concerning the coming of the Messiah. #The lives of the prophets and their prophecies. #The lives of the ten sibyls. The second volume is entitled De vita Jesu Christi salvatoris mundi ( en, On the life of Jesus Christ, saviour of the world), its main theological subjects derive from the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

, while its chapters include: #The life of Jesus Christ. #The miracles of Jesus Christ. #The suffering and death of Jesus Christ. #The resurrection and the second coming of Christ. The fourth chapter of the second volume includes a translation from the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...

in Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Latin and Syriac. This volume includes also a chapter on the life of Antichrist, an index in Albanian and Italian and a three-page supplementary appendix titled ''Antichita della Casa Bogdana'' ( en, Antiquity of the House of the Bogdanis) regarding Pjetër Bogdani's family and genealogy.

Legacy

''Cuneus Prophetarum'' is considered to be the most prominent work of early

Albanian literature Albanian literature stretches back to the Middle Ages and comprises those literary texts and works written in Albanian. It may also refer to literature written by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo and the Albanian diaspora particularly in Italy. Alb ...

. It covers issues of philosophy, science and theology as well as subjects regarding astronomy, physics, geography and history. Its works of poetry and prose examine motifs of literary theory. ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' is regarded as a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

work of Baroque literature with a philosophical aim of approaching and knowing divinity and examining the problem of existence. The language used by Bogdani is an archaic form of Albanian and its use is regarded as one of the early literary forms of Albanian language. ''Kryshten i shyityruory'' ( en, The Sanctified Christian) written by Anton Santori and published in 1855 in Naples contains parts of ''Cuneus Prophetarum''. Santori included excerpts of ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' in his book to symbolize the continuity of Albanian religious literature.

Bibliography

;Notes ;References * *{{cite book , last=Elsie, first=Robert , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ox3Wx1Nl_2MC&q=cuneus+prophetarum&pg=PA27, title = Albanian literature: a short history, edition=2005, year=2005, publisher = I.B.Tauris, isbn= 978-1-84511-031-4 - Total pages: 291

External links

First volume of Cuneus ProphetarumSecond volume of Cuneus Prophetarum
1685 books 17th-century Christian texts 17th-century Latin books Albanian non-fiction literature Christian theology books