John Belfour facts for kids

John Belfour (born 1768, died 1842) was an English writer and scholar. He was interested in the cultures and languages of the East, which is what an orientalist studies. Not much is known about his life. We do know he was a member of the Royal Society of Literature. This is a group that supports writers and literature. John Belfour passed away in London when he was 74 years old.

John Belfour's Writings

John Belfour wrote several books and poems during his lifetime. He often translated or was inspired by Spanish works.

Early Works

• Literary Fables imitated from the Spanish of Yriarte (1806): This book contained fables, which are short stories with a moral lesson. He based them on the works of a Spanish writer named Yriarte.
• Spanish Heroism, or the Battle of Roncesvalles; a metrical romance (1809): This was a long poem, or "metrical romance," about the famous Battle of Roncesvalles. This battle was a big event in Spanish history.
• "Music; a didactic poem from the Spanish of Yriarte" (1811): This was another poem inspired by Yriarte. A "didactic poem" aims to teach a lesson or explain something.

Later Publications

• Odes in honour of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent; with other poems (1812): An ode is a type of poem written to praise someone or something. These poems honored the Prince Regent, who later became King George IV. Only 25 copies of this book were printed, making it very rare.
• "Remarks on certain Alphabets in use among the Jews of Morocco" (1836): This was an article Belfour wrote. It discussed different writing systems used by Jewish communities in Morocco. It was published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature.

Unpublished Work

• "The Psalms of David, according to the Coptic version..." (1831): This was a large manuscript that was never fully published. It included a translation of the Psalms from the Coptic language (an ancient Egyptian language). It also compared the Coptic text to the Latin Vulgate and Hebrew versions. This manuscript is now kept in the British Museum.

Other Contributions

Belfour also helped to update a famous book called English Proverbs by John Ray. He revised, corrected, and added to the fifth edition of this book in 1813.