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Romanese (Romonsch, or Upper and Lower Engadine) Version of the Scriptures.

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Romanese (Romonsch, Or Upper And Lower Engadine) Version Of The Scriptures.

This version is used in the Grisons, anciently a part of Rhaetia, and constituting the southeastern angle of Switzerland. The mountainous parts of this canton are inhabited by the little Romanese nation. The Engadine, or valley of the Inn, on the borders of the Tyrol, is inhabited by a section of this people, to whom a Romanese dialect called Churwelsche is the vernacular. The other Romanese dialect is called Ladiniche, and is spoken in the valley of the Rhine, on the confines of Italy. Both these dialects being derived from the Latin tongue, they preserve to this day the most striking characteristics of the Romance languages. The New Testament was printed in the former of these dialects in 1560 in the translation of Jacob Biffrun, and the whole Bible in 1679, prepared by Jac. Ant.Vulpio and others. In the latter, the Bible was published in 1718 under the title La S. Bibla quei ei: Tut la Soinchia Scartira, ner tuts ils Cudischs d' ilg Veder a Nief Testament, cum ils Cudischs Apocryphs Messa giu Ent ilg Languaig Rumonsch da la Ligia Grischa Tras Anschins survients d' ilg Plaid da Deus d' ils venerands Colloquis sua-a sut il Guault. cum Privilegio (illustrissimorum D.D. Rhaetorum. Asquitschada en Coira tras Andrea Pfeffer, stampadur, En ilg On da Christi MDCCXVIII, fol. Coire, 1718).

These editions, including an earlier one, by J. Gritti, of 1640, were all printed in the Grisons; but they were soon exhausted, and at the beginning of the present century a copy was scarcely attainable. A company of Christians at Basle, therefore, projected an edition for the use of these mountaineers, and under the auspices of the Basle Bible Society, and with the aid of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the New Testament in Churwelsche left the press in 1810. But when the poor Ladins heard what a treasure their neighbors on the Tyrolese frontier had got, they expressed a very strong desire to have the same in their dialect. The Bible societies of London and Basle promptly consented to grant them this boon, and in 1812 an edition of two thousand copies of the New Testament in Ladiniche had left the press under the title Il Nouf Testament da nos Segner Jesu Christo (tradut in Rumansch d' Engadina Bassa. Stampa in Basel da F. Schneider, 1812). Several subsequent editions of the New and Old Testament have been issued by the Basle Society, aided by the English Society, in both dialects. Thus, Biblia o vero la Soinchia Scritura del velg Testament (Sun cuosti dellas beneficentas Societas Biblicas da London et Basel e tras Directiun della Societa Biblica in Coira promovuda all stampa. Coira, 1815. Stampa da Bernard Otto); Ilg nieo Testament. Editiun nova, revedida a corregida, tont esco pusseivel, suenter ilg original Grec (da Otto Carisch, a squitschada a cust da las Societads Biblicas da Quera a da Basel. Qera, Stamparia da Pargatzi a Felix. 1856); Il nouv Testamaint, tradut nel dialect Roumauntsch d'Engiadina (ota tres J. Menni. Coira, 1861). See Reuss, in Herzog's Real-Encyklop. s.v. "Romanische Bibelubersetzungen;" id. Geschichte der Heiligen Schriften Neuen Testaments (Brunswick, 1874), 489; Theologisches Universal Lexikon, s.v. "Romanische Bibelubersetzungen;" The Bible of Every Land, p. 287 sq.; Bibliotheca Biblica (Braunschw. 1752), p. 174; Zuchold, Bibliotheca Theologica, 1, 139; 2, 1310, 1315. (B.P.)