Barlaam and Josaphat, also known as Bilawhar and Budhasaf, are

Christian saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

s. Their story tells of the conversion of Josaphat to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. According to tradition, an Indian king persecuted the Christian Church in his realm. After astrologers predicted that his own son would some day become a Christian, the king imprisoned the young prince Josaphat, who nevertheless met the hermit Saint Barlaam and converted to Christianity. After much tribulation the young prince's father accepted the Christian faith, turned over his throne to Josaphat, and retired to the desert to become a hermit. Josaphat himself later abdicated and went into seclusion with his old teacher Barlaam.The Golden Legend: The Story of Barlaam and Josaphat

History

The story of Barlaam and Josaphat is a

Christianized Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

and later version of the story of

Siddhartha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

, who became the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. The tale derives from a second to fourth century

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

text, via a

Manichaean Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

version, then the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

''Kitāb Bilawhar wa-Būd̠āsaf'' (Book of Bilawhar and Budhasaf), current in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in the eighth century, from where it entered into Middle Eastern Christian circles before appearing in European versions. The first Christianized adaptation was the Georgian epic ''Balavariani'' dating back to the 10th century. A Georgian monk,

Euthymius of Athos Euthymius the Athonite ( ka, ექვთიმე ათონელი ''Ekvtime Atoneli''; 955–1024) was a Georgian monk, philosopher and scholar, who is venerated as a saint. His feast day in the Orthodox Church is May 13. Euthymius was ...

, translated the story into

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, some time before he died in an accident while visiting

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1028."St. Euthymius of Athos the translator", Orthodox Church in America
/ref> There the Greek adaptation was translated into

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

in 1048 and soon became well known in Western Europe as ''Barlaam and Josaphat''. The Greek legend of "Barlaam and Ioasaph" is sometimes attributed to the 8th century

John of Damascus John of Damascus or John Damascene, born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn, was an Arab Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and apologist. He was born and raised in Damascus or AD 676; the precise date and place of his death is not know ...

, but F. C. Conybeare argued it was transcribed by Euthymius in the 11th century. The story of Barlaam and Josaphat was popular in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, appearing in such works as the ''

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...

'', and a scene there involving three caskets eventually appeared, via Caxton's English translation of a Latin version, in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's "

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

". The poet

Chardri Chardri (late 12th–early 13th centuries) was an Anglo-Norman poet, probably from western England. His pen name is probably an anagram of Richard. Three of his poems, all in rhyming octosyllabic couplets, have survived: *' presents Barlaam and ...

produced an Anglo-Norman version, ''La vie de seint Josaphaz'', in the 13th century. The story of Josaphat and Barlaam also occupies a great part of book xv of the

Speculum Historiale The or (Latin: "The Greater Mirror") was a major encyclopedia of the Middle Ages written by Vincent of Beauvais in the 13th century. It was a great compendium of all knowledge of the time. The work seems to have consisted of three parts: the (" ...

(Mirror of History) by the 13th century French encyclopedist

Vincent of Beauvais Vincent of Beauvais ( or ; ; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his '' Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work of compilation that was widely read in the Middl ...

. One of the

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

manuscripts notes the remarkable similarity between the tale of "Sakyamuni Burkham" (the name that Polo uses for

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

) and St. Josaphat, apparently unaware of the origins of the Josaphat story. Two

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

versions were produced: one, the "Laubacher ''Barlaam''", by Bishop Otto II of Freising and another, ''Barlaam und Josaphat'', a

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

in verse, by

Rudolf von Ems Rudolf von Ems ( – 1254) was a Middle High German narrative poet. Life Rudolf von Ems was born in the Vorarlberg in Austria. He took his name from the castle of Hohenems near Bregenz, and was a knight in the service of the Counts of Montfor ...

. The latter was described as "perhaps the flower of religious literary creativity in the German Middle Ages" by

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

. In the 16th century, the story of Josaphat was re-told as a defence of monastic life during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and of

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

against

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

doctrines regarding

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...

Legend

According to the legend, King Abenner in India persecuted the Christian Church in his realm, founded by the

Apostle Thomas Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...

. When astrologers predicted that his own son would some day become a Christian, Abenner had the young prince Josaphat isolated from external contact. Despite the imprisonment, Josaphat met the hermit Saint Barlaam and converted to Christianity. Josaphat kept his faith even in the face of his father's anger and persuasion. Eventually Abenner converted, turned over his throne to Josaphat, and retired to the desert to become a hermit. Josaphat himself later abdicated and went into seclusion with his old teacher Barlaam.

Names

In this context, the name Josaphat is derived from the

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

''. The Sanskrit word was changed to ' in

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

texts in the 6th or 7th century, then to ' or ' in an 8th-century Arabic document (Arabic initial "b" changed to "y" by duplication of a dot in handwriting). This became ' in Georgian in the 10th century, and that name was adapted as ''Ioasaph'' () in Greece in the 11th century, and then was assimilated to '' Iosaphat/Josaphat'' in Latin.D.M. Lang, The Life of the Blessed Iodasaph: A New Oriental Christian Version of the Barlaam and Ioasaph Romance (Jerusalem, Greek Patriarchal Library: Georgian MS 140), BSOAS 20.1/3 (1957): The name Barlaam derives from the Arabic name ''Bilawhar'' () borrowed through Georgian ( ) into

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...

( ). The Arabic ''Bilawhar'' has historically been thought to derive from the Sanskrit ''bhagavan'', an

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

of the Buddha, but this derivation is unproven and others have been proposed. Almuth Degener suggests derivation from Sanskrit ''

purohita Purohita (), in the Hindu context, means '' chaplain'' or ''family priest'' within the Vedic priesthood. In Thailand and Cambodia, it refers to the royal chaplains. A ''tīrthapurohit'' is a priest/ritual performer (''purohit'') at a sacred si ...

'' through a hypothetical

intermediate. The name of Josaphat's father, King Abenner, derives from the Greek name ''Abenner'' (), although another Greek version of the legend gives this name as ''Avenir'' (). These Greek names were adapted from the Georgian ''Abeneser'' (; later shortened to , ), which was itself derived from the Arabic version of the legend where he is named King ''Junaysar'' (). According to I.V. Abuladze, during borrowing from Arabic to Georgian, misplaced ''i'jām'' resulted in the misreading of ''Junaysar'' as ''Habeneser'', after which the initial ''H''- was omitted. The origin of the Arabic name is unclear.

Sainthood

Feast days

Barlaam and Josaphat were included in earlier editions of the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...

with a joint feast day on 27 November, however, they were not included in the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal () is the book which contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Roman Rite, the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church. There have been several editions. History Before the Council of Trent (1570) ...

. Since 1960 a different Saint, St. Josephat, Bishop and Martyr, has a celebration on 16 November. Barlaam and Josaphat were entered into the

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

liturgical calendar on 26 August ''Julian'' (

8 September Events Pre-1600 * 70 – After the capture of Herod's Palace the previous day, a Roman army under Titus secures and plunders the city of Jerusalem. * 617 – Battle of Huoyi: Li Yuan defeats a Sui dynasty army, opening the path to h ...

''Gregorian''),Great Synaxaristes :
Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἰωάσαφ γιὸς τοῦ βασιλιὰ τῆς Ἰνδίας Ἄβενιρ
'' 26 Αυγούστου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. and into liturgical calendar of the Slavic tradition of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, on 19 November ''Julian'' (

2 December Events Pre-1600 * 1244 – Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon. *1409 – The University of Leipzig opens. 1601–1900 *1697 – St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren follow ...

''Gregorian'').
November 19/December 2
.'' Orthodox Calendar (Pravoslavie.ru).
Venerable Joasaph the Prince of India
'' OCA – Feasts and Saints.

Texts

There are a large number of different books in various languages, all dealing with the lives of Saints Barlaam and Josaphat in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In this hagiographic tradition, the life and teachings of Josaphat have many parallels with those of

. "But not till the mid-nineteenth century was it recognised that, in Josaphat, the Buddha had been venerated as a Christian saint for about a thousand years." This was ascertained through the researches of Edouard de Laboulaye and Felix Liebrecht in 1859-1860. The authorship of the work is disputed. The origins of the story may be a Central Asian manuscript written in the

tradition. This book was translated into Georgian and

Greek manuscripts

The best-known version in Europe comes from a separate, but not wholly independent, source, written in

, and, although anonymous, attributed to "John the monk". It was first attributed to

in the 12th century. Although this attribution was attacked in the 19th century,

George Ratcliffe Woodward George Ratcliffe Woodward (27 December 1848 – 3 March 1934) was an English Anglicanism, Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditio ...

and

Harold Mattingly Harold Mattingly (24 December 1884 – 26 January 1964) was a British classical scholar, specialising in art history and numismatics. His interests included the history of Ancient Rome, Etruscan and Roman currency, and the Roman historian Taci ...

sum up the arguments in favor of John of Damascus' authorship as follows: The work's doctrine is remarkably similar to St. John's, to the point where "in many passages the resemblance amounts almost to verbal identity"; there are frequent quotations from St. John's favorite authors, such as St. Gregory of Nazianus and St. Basil; "The defence of images, coupled with the denunciation of Idolatry, the enthusiasm for the monastic ideal, and the scant regard shown for the bishops and the secular clergy, almost compel us to place the work in the time of the Iconoclastic Controversy. The position, taken up and defended, is exactly that of the Icon-venerators; and we regard this fact alone as conclusive evidence for an eighth century date."; that St. John was often known as "John the Monk", so the fact that he wasn't specifically named in the earliest manuscripts doesn't rule him out. Nonetheless, many modern scholars do not accept this attribution, citing much evidence pointing to

, a Georgian who died in 1028.Barlaam and Ioasaph, John Damascene
Loeb Classical Library 34, at LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY The modern edition of the Greek text, from the 160 surviving variant manuscripts (2006), with introduction (German, 2009) is published as Volume 6 of the works of John the Damascene by the monks of the Abbey of Scheyern, edited by Robert Volk. It was included in the edition due to the traditional ascription, but marked "spuria" as the translator is the Georgian monk Euthymius the Hagiorite (ca. 955–1028) at

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

and not John the Damascene of the

monastery of Saint Sabas The Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas, known in Arabic and Syriac as Mar Saba (; ; ; ) and historically as the Great Laura of Saint Sabas, is a Greek Orthodox monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley in the Bethlehem Governorate of Palestine, in the ...

in the

Judaean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert (, ) is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that stretches east of the ridge of the Judaean Mountains and in their rain shadow, so east of Jerusalem, and descends to the Dead Sea. Under the name El-Bariyah, ...

. The 2009 introduction includes an overview.

English manuscripts

Among the manuscripts in English, two of the most important are the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

MS Egerton 876 (the basis for Ikegami's book) and ''MS Peterhouse 257'' (the basis for Hirsh's book) at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The book contains a tale similar to The Three Caskets found in the ''

Gesta Romanorum ''Gesta Romanorum'' (; "Deeds of the Romans") is a Latin collection of anecdotes and tales that was probably compiled about the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th. It still possesses a two-fold literary interest, first as one of ...

'' and later in

's ''

''.

Editions

Arabic

* E. Rehatsek – ''The Book of the King's Son and the Ascetic'' – English translation (1888) based on the Halle Arabic manuscript * Gimaret – ''Le livre de Bilawhar et Budasaf'' – French translation of Bombay Arabic manuscript

Georgian

David Marshall Lang David Marshall Lang (6 May 1924 – 20 March 1991), was a Professor of Caucasian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He was one of the most productive British scholars who specialized in Georgian, Armenian and ...

: ''The Balavariani: A Tale from the Christian East'' California University Press: Los Angeles, 1966. Translation of the long version Georgian work that probably served as a basis for the Greek text. Jerusalem MS140 *David Marshall Lang: ''Wisdom of Balahvar'' – the short Georgian version Jerusalem MS36, 1960
The Balavariani (Georgian and Arabic ბალავარიანი, بلوریانی)

Greek

*Robert Volk, Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos VI/1: Historia animae utilis de Barlaam et Ioasaph (spuria). Patristische Texte und Studien Bd. 61. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2009. Pp. xlii, 596. . *Robert Volk, Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos VI/2: Historia animae utilis de Barlaam et Ioasaph (spuria). Text und zehn Appendices. Patristische Texte und Studien Bd. 60. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2006. Pp. xiv, 512. . *Boissonade – older edition of the Greek *G.R. Woodward and H. Mattingly – older English translation of the Gree
Online Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1914
* S. Ioannis Damasceni Iacobo Billio Prunæo, S. Michaëlis in eremo Cœnobiarcha interprete. Coloniae, In Officina Birckmannica, sumptibus Arnoldi Mylij. Anno M. D. XCIII. – Modern Latin translation of the Greek. * ''Vitæ et res gestæ SS. Barlaam eremitæ, et Iosaphat Indiæ regis.'' S. Io. Damasceno avctores, Iac. Billio Prunæo interprete. Antverpiæ, Sumptibus Viduæ & hæredum Ioannis Belleri. 1602. – Modern Latin translation of the Greek. * S. Ioannis Damasceni Iacobo Billio Prvnæo, S. Michaëlis in eremo Cœnobiarcha, interprete. Nune denuò accuratissimè à P. Societate Iesv revisa & correcta. Coloniæ Agrippinæ, Apud Iodocvm Kalcoven, M. DC. XLIII. – Modern Latin translation of the Greek.

Latin

* Codex VIII B10, Naples * ''Reading Medieval Latin with the Legend of Barlaam and Josaphat'', ed. by Donka D. Marcus (2018) (an edition of

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine, OP (13/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the mediev ...

's shortened, Latin version)

Ethiopic

*''Baralâm and Yĕwâsĕf''.

Budge, E.A. Wallis Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (27 July 185723 November 1934) was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East. He made numerous trips t ...

. ''Baralam and Yewasef : the Ethiopic version of a Christianized recension of the Buddhist legend of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva''. Published: London; New York: Kegan Paul; Biggleswade, UK: Distributed by Extenza-Turpin Distribution; New York: Distributed by Columbia University Press, 2004.

Old French

* Jean Sonet, ''Le roman de Barlaam et Josaphat'' (Namur, 1949–52) after Tours MS949 * Leonard Mills, after Vatican MS660 * Zotenberg and Meyer, after Gui de Cambrai MS1153

Catalan

* Gerhard Moldenhauer Vida de Barlan MS174

Provençal

* Ferdinand Heuckenkamp, version in langue d'Oc * Jeanroy, Provençal version, after Heuckenkamp * Nelli, Troubadours, after Heuckenkamp * Occitan, BN1049

Italian

* G.B. Bottari, edition of various old Italian MS. * Georg Maas, old Italian MS3383

Portuguese

*Hilário da Lourinhã. ''Vida do honorado Infante Josaphate, filho del Rey Avenir, versão de frei Hilário da Lourinhã: e a identificação, por Diogo do Couto (1542–1616), de Josaphate com o Buda''. Introduction and notes by Margarida Corrêa de Lacerda. Lisboa: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar, 1963.

Serbian

* "Barlaam and Josaphat" in the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

version comes from

, copied and translated into

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...

by anonymous monk-

scribes A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as secretarial and ...

from the 9th-11th centuries, and in modern Serbian by Ava

Justin Popović Justin Popović ( sr-cyr, Јустин Поповић, , secular name Blagoje Popović, sr-cyr, Благоје Поповић; 6 April 1894 – 7 April 1979) was a Serbian Orthodox theologian, archimandrite of the Ćelije Monastery, Dostoyevs ...

("Lives of the Saints" for November, pp. 563–590), an abridged version of which is given in the Ohrid Prologue of Bishop

Nikolaj Velimirović Nikolaj Velimirović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николај Велимировић; – ) was a Serbian Orthodox prelate who served as Bishop of Ohrid and Žiča from 1920 to 1956. An influential theological writer and a highly gifted orator, h ...

Croatian

Three Croatian versions exist, all translations from Italian. The older

Shtokavian Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige supradialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin stand ...

untitled version originated in the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

and was transcribed to a codex from an earlier source in the 17th century, while the younger

Chakavian Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic supradialect or language spoken by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmatia, Istria, Croatian L ...

translations, one manuscript and one printed, originated in the beginning of the 18th century. The book was published by Petar Maçukat in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

in 1708 and titled ''Xivot S

eto ETO may refer to: Science and technology * Emitter turn off thyristor, a semiconductor device * Ethylene oxide, an organic compound * RUNX1T1, a gene * Efforts to Outcomes, software produced by Social Solutions Sports * ETO-SZESE Győr FKC, a Hung ...

a Giosafata obrachien od Barlaama'' and is currently held in the

National and University Library in Zagreb National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) (, NSK; formerly , NSB) is the national library of Croatia and central library of the University of Zagreb. The Library was established in 1607. Its primary mission is the development and preservat ...

. Both manuscripts were published in 1913 by Czech slavist Josef Karásek and Croatian philologist Franjo Fancev and reprinted in 1996. The

translations had a common source while the older

one used an earlier Italian version as well as the ''

''. *Petar Maçukat (translator). ''Xivot S

a Giosafata obrachien od Barlaama s yednim verscem nadostavglien radi xena bitti osudyen''. Venice: Published by Domenico Lovisa, 1708. *Josip Karásek and Franjo Fancev (editors). ''Dubrovačke legende''. Prague: Published for Hohen Unterrichtsministeriums in Wien and the Hlávka family fond by Edvard Leschinger, 1913. *Branimir Donat (editor). ''Dubrovačke legende''. Zagreb: Published for Zorka Zane by Dora Krupićeva, 1996 (Reprint). *Vesna Badurina Stipčević (editor). ''Hrvatska srednjovjekovna proza''. Zagreb: Published for Igor Zidić by Matica hrvatska, 2013. Hungarian * Translation from the

in the Kazincy-codex between 1526 and 1541

English

*Hirsh, John C. (editor). ''Barlam and Iosaphat: a Middle English life of Buddha''. Edited from MS Peterhouse 257. London; New York: Published for the

Early English Text Society The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a text publication society founded in 1864 which is dedicated to the editing and publication of early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes contain editions of ...

by the Oxford University Press, 1986. *Ikegami, Keiko. ''Barlaam and Josaphat : a transcription of MS Egerton 876 with notes, glossary, and comparative study of the Middle English and Japanese versions'', New York: AMS Press, 1999. *John Damascene, ''Barlaam and Ioasaph'' (Loeb Classical Library). David M. Lang (introduction), G. R. Woodward (translator), Harold Mattingly (translator)· Publisher: Loeb Classical Library, W. Heinemann; 1967, 1914. *MacDonald, K.S. (editor). ''The story of Barlaam and Joasaph : Buddhism & Christianity''. With philological introduction and notes to the Vernon, Harleian and Bodleian versions, by John Morrison. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink, 1895.

Old Norse

''Barlaams saga ok Jósafats'' is an

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

(specifically

Old Norwegian Old Norwegian ( and ), also called Norwegian Norse, is an early form of the Norwegian language that was spoken between the 11th and 14th century; it is a transitional stage between Old West Norse and Middle Norwegian. Its distinction from O ...

) rendering of the story of ''Barlaam and Josaphat''. This Old Norwegian version is based on a Latin translation from the 12th century; the saga of

Guðmundur Arason Guðmundur Arason (; 1161 – March 16, 1237; ) was an influential 12th and 13th century Icelandic saintly bishop who took part in increasing the powers of the Catholic Church in medieval Iceland. His story is recorded in several manuscrip ...

records that it was translated by King Haakon III Sverresson (died 1204). There are several other Old Norse versions of the same story, translated independently from different sources. There are two

Old Swedish Old Swedish ( Modern Swedish: ) is the name for two distinct stages of the Swedish language that were spoken in the Middle Ages: Early Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1225 until about 1375, and Late Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1375 unti ...

versions, the older of which draws on the ''

'', while the younger uses the ''

Speculum historiale The or (Latin: "The Greater Mirror") was a major encyclopedia of the Middle Ages written by Vincent of Beauvais in the 13th century. It was a great compendium of all knowledge of the time. The work seems to have consisted of three parts: the (" ...

'' as its main source. The early sixteenth-century Icelandic legendary Reykjahólarbók includes a version translated from Low German. *Magnus Rindal (editor). ''Barlaams ok Josaphats saga''. Oslo: Published for Kjeldeskriftfondet by Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-insitutt, 1981. *

Tibetan

* Rgya Tch'er Rol Pa – ou: Développement des jeux,

Philippe Édouard Foucaux Philippe Édouard Foucaux (15 September 1811 – 20 May 1894) was a French tibetologist. He published the first Tibetan grammar in French and occupied the first chair of Tibetan Studies in Europe. He was born in the town of Angers on 15 Septem ...

(1811–1894) 1847. Lalitavistara

Hebrew

* Avraham ben Shmuel ha-Levi Ibn Hasdai, ''Ben hammelekh vehannazir'' (13th century) * Habermann, Avraham Meir (ed.), Avraham ben Hasdai, Ben hammelekh vehannazir, Jerusalem: Mahberot lesifrut – Mossad haRav Kook 1950 (in Hebrew). * Abraham ben Shemuel Halevi ibn Hasdai, ''Ben hamelekh vehanazir'', Ed. by Ayelet Oettinger, Universitat Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv 2011 (in Hebrew).

Notes and references

External links

*
Barlaam and Ioasaph E-book in English
The Project Gutenberg * *
Barlaam and Josaphat
in Jewish Encyclopedia
Barlaam et Josaphat.
Augsburg, Günther Zainer, ca. 1476. From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Barlaam and Josaphat narrative in the Arabic, Georgian, Greek, Latin, and French
at Medieval Literature Across Languages from the Centre for Medieval Literature {{DEFAULTSORT:Barlaam And Josaphat Greek literature Medieval Arabic literature 4th-century Christian martyrs Groups of Christian martyrs Byzantine literature Buddhism and Christianity Indian Christian saints 10th-century literature Literature of Georgia (country) Saints duos Legendary Indian people Cultural depictions of Gautama Buddha Saint Thomas Christians Indian folklore Christianity in India