Telhis-i Resail??r-r?mat translated and on market

David C. Sterling · Post by **David C. Sterling** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:49 pm

Hi Gokmen,

Thank you for sharing the information on Arthur Lumley Davids' book. I don't, however, think that I have nearly your ability to actually translate Kani's work. Having said that, it is good to be able to access the pages of Davids' book on-line. It may be helpful to me and others at some point.

Your first post noted that Kani's work had been published in today's Turkish. If it is an accurate translation, why couldn't this book be the basis of a translation into English? What is your thought on this possibility?

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 5:44 am

David,
Speaking as someone having some experience with making sense of these types of manuscripts, it is not a simple proposition to translate one. There are so many variables including specialised vocabulary, archaic grammar, scribal errors, misquotations by the original authors, obscure and incomplete description and numerous other issues that it is not a trivial exercise to attempt a modern translation.

It takes time and sometimes experiment to work out what a passage might be describing. I have also found that modern meanings of words have often changed and it takes work to track down when a word stopped meaning one thing and started meaning another.

Even transliterating and translating the Telhis into modern Turkish does not mean it is cut and dried. Our Turkish friends will be working hard to make sense of some of this if my own experiences are anything to go on. Luckily, they have a lot more experience of bows than the previous translators.

David C. Sterling · Post by **David C. Sterling** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:10 pm

Hi Bede, Your points are certainly all valid -- it isn't an easy task. I am just hopeful that the job may be somewhat easier now that a translation into modern Turkish has been made along with the fact that the knowledge base concerning the making of Turkish bows has increased as a result of ATARN as well as the fact that there are more works/sources, such as, Adam Karpowicz's book for scholars to consult to see if they are on the right track.

Bede - I'm just hopeful that someday we will have an English translation considering the importance and influence of this seminal work.

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:40 am

David,
I agree that a good direct English translation would be a valuable contribution to our knowledge of Turkish archery. It is important to realise there are other valuable Turkish treatises on archery, some referenced by Kani himself. I look forward to seeing these published and translated too.

Gokmen · Post by **Gokmen** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 4:24 pm

If you wish you can even say that Mustafa Kani's book is an attempt to revive Turkish archery. So we are not even the first ones

There is another book which came into the market recently, it was written by Kemankesh Mustafa Efendi in 1735.
It is in Turkish again unfortunately.
http://www.kitapturk.com/diger/kavsname-75635k.html

The topics are similar to Kani's book.

G?kmen

amatuccio · Post by **amatuccio** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 10:33 am

Who can fournish exacts indications for the new Turkish transaltion (translator, puplisher, ISBN etc.) ?

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:40 am

G?kmen,
I have ordered a copy of the Telhis and hope to see it soon. Do you have any other details of the other book?