Corsican (Corsu)
Corsican is the native language of Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea between France and Italy. It is closely related to dialects of Italian. It is called Corse in French and Corsu in Corsican. Historically Corsica was ruled by the Republic of Genoa, and was conquered by France in 1769. From 1859 French replaced Italian as the official language of the island, and Corsican has been in decline.
Gospel of Matthew (Matteiu )
The Gospel pf Matthew in Corsican was commissioned by the philologist Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1813-1891), who was nephew of Napoléon Bonaparte, who was born in Corsica in 1769. He moved to London in the early 1850s, setting up home at 6-8 Norfolk Terrace, Bayswater, and became an active member of the Philological Society. He was fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, English and Basque. His particular interest was in minority languages. He would pay for the printing of many translations of portions of the Bible that he commissioned in minority languages and dialects of Europe.
Original Edition
This translation was done by the united efforts of several Corsicans in northern Corsican. It was dedicated to the city of Ajaccio, home of the Bonaparte family by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte. A description was added which read: Cette traduction due eux efforts réunis de plusieurs corses est dediée à la ville d’Ajaccio par Le Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte.
It was published in 1861 as Lu Santu Vanghielu di Ghiesù Cristu Secondu Matteiu (the holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Matthew). It was also published with the Italian title: Il Vangelo di S. Matteo, volgarizzato in dialetto Corso (the Gospel of St Matthew translated into the Corsican dialect). Originally 250 copies were published by Strangeways and Walden of 28 Castle Street, Leicester Square in London in 1861.
Digital Edition
This Gospel of Matthew in Corsican was digitised with the help of MissionAssist in September 2022.
