COMUNICACIÓN Y PRENSA

The work we have selected this month is an extensive dictionary, which sets out to define and explain the etymological roots of words and expressions of Arabic origin in various languages.  Its author, Diego de Guadix, was interested above all in the Arabisms used in Spain, but he also looked at those which appear in Latin and any language about which he had information at the time he drew up this monumental compilation.
We do not know the author’s date of birth but we do know that he was from the town from which he took his surname, Guadix (Granada). We also know that he belonged to the Franciscan Order, because he studied at the Convent of St Francis in Granada and was later sent to the Convent of St Francis in Úbeda (Jaén).  In 1587 he was appointed as the interpreter of Arabic at the Court of the Inquisition in Granada and its Kingdom. His work in this position led to him being called to the Eternal City of Rome in 1590, where he remained for several years. It was in Rome that he wrote the book we have selected this month.
The Recopilación includes place-names, the names of rivers and lakes, historic texts, hagiographic texts and etymological analyses. In total 4336 entries with words such as: alambique, chanca, guadaña, Ronda or Locubín.
The manuscript version of the book is currently stored at the Chapterhouse Library of the Columbus Foundation in Seville.
Rosa García Blanco