Trilingual psalter

This manuscript is part of a group of five multilingual liturgical manuscripts attributed to southern Italy and dating from the 11^th – 12^th centuries. It is a trilingual psalter juxtaposing a Greek version on the left, a Latin version in the centre and an Arabic version on the right. It is dated by a mention which appears on the last folio, which today has for the last part been erased, but which specified the date 1153. Aside this particularity, it has drawn attention because the psalms are numbered in each language: with letters used for their numerical value in Greek, Roman numerals in Latin, and more astonishing for the period, by Indian numerals in Arabic.

It thus bears witness to three distinct phenomena: the presence of Arab-speaking Christians in southern Italy in the 12^th century, the use of three liturgical languages with the same religious community in this period, and the precocious use of Indian numbers in the propitious milieu of contemporary Sicily.

The first point is not a discovery, without us knowing if the existence of these groups relates to the maintenance of Christian communities during the Islamic domination of the island (evidence nonetheless), to the conversion of Muslims after the conquest, or to the immigration of Arabic-speaking Christian groups from other regions of the dâr al-islâm. It is possible however that all three are true.

The second point could help to locate the composition and the use of the psalter, as far as the oriental style of the Arab script recalls the one in the Norman chancellery in Sicily, even if it displays some strokes of western calligraphy (Burnett, p. 47). This clue and the quality of the manuscript point towards the psalter having been used in the Palatine Chapel in Palermo. These elements are reinforced by the fact that we know from other sources that homilies in Greek were pronounced in the royal chapel and that the palace was frequented by many Arabic-speakers. It is of note that the Arabic version of the text is Melkite, which suggests the existence of relations between island Christians and oriental Christians, at least from the circulation of manuscripts or by the immigration of representatives of these groups. George d’Antioch, main advisor of Roger II who was a Syrian native having spent a period of his life in Ifriqiya before his arrival in Sicily is a good example.

This hypothesis is reinforced by the presence of Indian numerals. If they were already known at this date in the East as in the West, there use in this precise context is surpriseing because it was extremely limited and more scientific. However, it has been shown at least once in another manuscript, a Greco-Latin version of Ptolemy’s Almagest attributed to Sicily (Vatican, Pal. lat. 1371), uses very similar numerals (Western forms of 6 and 8). In addition, we know of two coins dating from the period of Roger II which carries a Hijra date in numerals — this is in evidence in no other place at this time either in the West or in the East — the form of which recalls the psalter (in particular the 5). Apart from the fact that this demonstrates the interest that the court of Palermo had for knowledge in general and mathematics in particular, it equally suggests that the composition of the manuscript probably took place in the court milieu, proud of its knowledge.