La bibliothèque de l’Escorial, miroir du Maroc saadien (fin XVIe-début XVIIe s.), François Déroche

Lecture (2/2) given at the Collège Belgique in Brussels on April 15, 2026, by François Déroche, Professor at the Collège de France, as part of the Chair ‘The Collège Belgique Hosts the Collège de France’. ⬇️ 🔹In 1612, the Spanish fleet captured a ship off the coast of Morocco carrying the library of the Saadian sultan Mulay Zaydan. His books, now housed in the library of the Escorial monastery north of Madrid, offer us a glimpse into the sultan's interests, sometimes allowing us a glimpse into his private life and, above all, enabling us to understand the changes that marked the country at that time, particularly under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, which had become a formidable neighbor since taking control of Algeria. 🔸 François Déroche is a member of the Institut de France and a professor at the Collège de France, where he has held the Chair of History of the Qur'an, Text and Transmission since 2015. A specialist in Arabic manuscripts, he focuses particularly on the written transmission of the Qur'anic text. A graduate of the École Normale Supérieure, he worked at the Bibliothèque nationale de France on Qur'anic manuscripts. His research and publications concern codicology and the history of early Qur'anic manuscripts. Lecture Part 1/2: The Origins of the Quran in Light of the Oldest Manuscripts:    • Les origines du Coran à la lumière des plu...   ▶️ Find other activities from the Collège Belgique in the Collège Belgique 2026 playlist:    • Collège Belgique 2026   ⏩ Discover the program of upcoming lectures at the Collège Belgique: https://academieroyale.be/fr/le-colle...