🧵 When I heard Entdecktes Judenthum (aka Judaism Unmasked) had...

🧵 When I heard Entdecktes Judenthum (aka Judaism Unmasked) had never been translated into English in its 2000-page entirety, I felt compelled to do it myself. I was able to procure one of the 3000 copies ever produced of the second edition printed in 1711.
x.com/treblewoe/stat…

🧵 This won’t be an easy endeavor, not only due to the breadth of the work but also due to it being in Early New High German and fraktur.

And in general, translating anything requires a certain feeling of words you’re trying to express. Even the title itself directly translates to “Discovered Judaism”, but what Eisenmenger is trying to convey is that he is uncovering it, revealing it, bringing it into the light of day, unmasking it, or better - exposing it. To separate this work from others that may follow, I’ll be calling it “Entdecktes Judenthum - Judaism Exposed”.

🧵 Tentatively, I’ll be using Transkribus to extract the text as it’s specialized in historical documents and trained on old German fraktur, or any other OCR that gets me good results, then @Gab__AI to translate into modern English as its features can allow me to run the text through multiple open source models, though I’m open to other ideas and methods as well. If you’re a German-English speaker, your insight would be much appreciated.

🧵 My goal is to provide the original page, the extracted German text, and the English translation, maybe even in parallel, to make future - and dare I say better - translations more accessible. I’m unsure yet how I’ll be releasing this, as that’s putting the cart before the horse, but rest assured, if you want a copy, it’ll end up in your hands or screens one way or another.

🧵 Just as a sample, here’s the Royal Privilege page in the extracted German:

Wir Friedrich von Gottes Gnaden

König in Preußen, Marggraff zu Brandenburg, des Heil. Röm. Reichs Ertz-Cämmerer und Chur-Fürst, Souverainer Prinz von Oranien, Neufchatel und Valengin, zu Magdeburg, Cleve, Jülich, Berge, Stettin, Pommern, der Cassuben und Wenden, zu Mecklenburg, in Schlesien, zu Crossen Hertzog, Burggraff zu Nürnberg, Fürst zu Halberstadt, Minden, Cammin, Wenden, Schwerin, Ratzeburg und Moers, Graff zu Hohen-Zollern, Ruppinn, der Marck, Ravensberg, Hohenstein, Tecklenburg, Lingen, Schwerin, Bühren und Leerdam, Marquis zu der Vehre und Vlissingen, Herr zu Ravenstein, der Lande Rostock, Stargard, Lauenburg, Bütow, Arlay und Breda etc.

Thun kund und fügen hiermit zu wissen:

Nachdem Wir aus bewegenden Ursachen allergnädigst gut gefunden, des ehemahls gewesenen Professoris Linguarum Orientalium zu Heidelberg, Johann Andreae Eisenmengers Buch von dem Entdeckten Judenthum zu Königsberg in Unserm Königreich Preußen drucken zu lassen und mit einem Privilegio zu versehen;

Als haben Wir selbiges hiermit und in Krafft dieses dergestalt privilegiert, daß solches in Zeit von Zwantzig Jahren weder in Unserm Königreich Preußen, noch Chur-Fürstenthum Brandenburg, noch auch in Unsern übrigen Provincien und Landen, bey Confiscation der Exemplarien und einer Straffe von Einhundert Ducaten, Unserm Fisco zu erlegen, von keinem Drucker nachgedruckt, noch auch, so es anderswo bereits gedruckt worden, oder hinführo gedruckt werden möchte, keine Exemplaria bey itzt erwähnter Straffe in Unsern Landen eingeführet werden sollen.

Gestalt Wir dann allen und jeden Unseren Stadt-Haltern, Regierungen, Hoff- und Cammer-Gerichten, und insgemein allen und jeden Unseren Hohen und Niedern Bedienten, fürnemlich aber denen Officiis Fisci jedes Orts hiermit allergnädigst anbefehlen, sich hiernach gehorsamst zu achten, über dieses Unser Privilegium mit gehörigen Nachdruck zu halten, und wider die Contravenienten mit der darinnen enthaltenen Straffe zu verfahren.

Urkundlich unter Unser eigenhändigen Unterschrift und anhängenden Königlichen Lehns-Siegels.

Gegeben Cölln an der Spree den sechsten Martii im Jahr nach Christi Geburt im Ein Tausend Sieben Hundert und Eilfften Jahre.

Friederich.

M. L. v. Printzen.

🧵 And the Royal Privilege page in English:

We, Friedrich, by the Grace of God

King in Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg, Arch-Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Empire and Elector, Sovereign Prince of Orange, Neuchâtel and Valangin, Duke of Magdeburg, Cleves, Jülich, Berg, Stettin, Pomerania, of the Kashubians and Wends, of Mecklenburg, in Silesia, of Crossen, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Prince of Halberstadt, Minden, Cammin, Wenden, Schwerin, Ratzeburg and Moers, Count of Hohenzollern, Ruppin, the March, Ravensberg, Hohenstein, Tecklenburg, Lingen, Schwerin, Büren and Leerdam, Marquis of Veere and Vlissingen, Lord of Ravenstein, of the lands of Rostock, Stargard, Lauenburg, Bütow, Arlay and Breda, etc.

We hereby make known and proclaim:

Whereas We, for weighty and compelling reasons, have most graciously deemed it good and proper to permit the printing in Königsberg, within Our Kingdom of Prussia, of the book entitled Entdecktes Judenthum (Judaism Exposed) by Johann Andrea Eisenmenger, formerly Professor of Oriental Languages at Heidelberg, and to grant it a privilege;

Therefore We have, by these presents and by virtue hereof, so privileged the said book that for a period of twenty years it shall not be reprinted by any printer in Our Kingdom of Prussia, nor in Our Electorate of Brandenburg, nor in any of Our other provinces and territories, under penalty of confiscation of all copies and a fine of one hundred ducats to be paid into Our treasury.

Nor shall any copies, whether already printed elsewhere or that may hereafter be printed elsewhere, be introduced into Our lands under the same penalty aforesaid.

And to that end We most graciously command all and every one of Our governors of cities, governments, court and chamber courts, and in general all and every one of Our high and low officials, and especially the fiscal officers of every place, to observe this Our command most obediently, to uphold this Our privilege with due strictness and enforcement, and to proceed against all violators with the penalties therein contained.

In witness whereof, under Our own hand and the affixed Royal Seal.

Given at Cölln on the Spree, the sixth day of March, in the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eleven.

Friedrich

M. L. von Printzen

🧵 I’d like to thank @treblewoe and @KarlRadl for bringing Entdecktes Judenthum to my attention, and to @BasedTorba for his assistance and patronage of these kinds of projects.

🧵 Link to the master thread

🧵 It is finished