Titus Burckhardt (; ; 24 October 1908 – 15 January 1984) was a
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
writer and a leading member of the
Perennialist or Traditionalist School. He was the author of numerous works on metaphysics,
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
,
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
, esoterism,
alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
,
Sufism
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
, symbolism and
sacred art
Religious art is a visual representation of religious ideologies and their relationship with humans. Sacred art directly relates to religious art in the sense that its purpose is for worship and religious practices. According to one set of definit ...
.
Life
Scion of a patrician family of
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
, Switzerland, Titus Burckhardt was the son of the sculptor
Carl Burckhardt (1878–1923) and the grand-nephew of
Jacob Burckhardt
Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt (; ; 25 May 1818 – 8 August 1897) was a Swiss historian of art and culture and an influential figure in the historiography of both fields. His best known work is '' The Civilization of the Renaissance in ...
(1818–1897), an art historian and
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
specialist. His genealogical tree also includes
John Lewis Burckhardt (1784–1817), the explorer who discovered the
Nabatean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu (present-day Petra ...
city of
Petra
Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...
and the Egyptian temples of
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive Rock-cut architecture, rock-cut Egyptian temple, temples in the village of Abu Simbel (village), Abu Simbel (), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on t ...
. He was born in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, Italy, on October 24, 1908. The following year his family settled in Basel. He attended the same primary school as
Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon ( ; ; 18 June 1907 – 5 May 1998) was a Swiss philosopher and spiritual leader, belonging to the Traditionalist School of Perennial philosophy, Perennialism. He was the author of more than twenty works in French on metaphys ...
, who became a lifelong friend. In 1920, his family left Basel for
Ligornetto in the Swiss canton of Ticino, where his father died three years later.
Around 1927, Burckhardt began studying painting, sculpture and art history in Munich and Paris. Drawn to a traditional lifestyle that the West could not offer him, he took advantage of a break in his studies to visit Morocco (1928 or 1929), where he dedicated himself to drawing and painting. He was captivated by this sojourn, which marked the beginning of his spiritual quest. On his return, he discovered the works of the French metaphysician
René Guénon
René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as Abdalwahid Yahia (; ), was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from esoterici ...
, in whom "he found the key to the world that had entranced him".
In early 1933, Burckhardt returned to Morocco in search of a spiritual master. He converted to Islam and learned Arabic, enabling him to assimilate the Sufi classics in their original language. After some disappointments, his search led him to
Fez, where he met Sheikh Ali al-Darqawi, the grandson and spiritual successor of
Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi
Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (; 1760–1823) was a Moroccan Sufi leader of the Shadhili tariqa and the author of letters concerning the dhikr he preached and instructions for daily life. He stressed noninvolvement in worldly affairs ...
(†1823), the reformer of the
Shadhili
The Shadhili Order () is a tariqah or Sufi order. The Shadhili order was founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") of the Shadhil ...
order. He was initiated by the
Sheikh
Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...
and received into the
Tariqa
A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth".
A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the ...
Darqawiya. In a bid to meet his material needs, he acquired a flock of sheep and pastured them in the countryside of the
Middle Atlas
The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵚ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous regio ...
, but this did little to improve his precarious finances. Parallel with this, he took up an apprenticeship in ''
zellij
Zellij (), also spelled zillij or zellige, is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various patterns on the basis of tessellations, ...
'' tile-making with a master craftsman from Fez, who urged him to memorize the
Alfiyya of Ibn Malik, a didactic poem of a thousand verses which sets out all the rules of Arabic grammar; Burckhardt remained ever grateful to him for this.
In early 1935, he was visited in Fez by Frithjof Schuon, who was on his way back to Europe from the
''zawiya'' of the late
Sheikh al-Alawi of
Mostaganem
Mostaganem () is a port city in and capital of Mostaganem (province), Mostaganem province, in the northwest of Algeria. The city, founded in the 11th century lies on the Gulf of Arzew, Mediterranean Sea and is 72 km ENE of Oran. It is consi ...
. Schuon had received initiation from this Shadhili Sheikh in 1932. Burckhardt soon realized that his predestined guide was none other than his childhood friend. Burckhardt's complete integration into local life made him suspect in the eyes of the French authorities, who ordered him to leave the country. Thus in the spring of 1935, he returned to Basel. This marked the beginning of his correspondence with René Guénon, as well as his affiliation with Schuon's tariqa. Schuon, who was living in France at that time, charged Burckhardt with the spiritual direction of his disciples in Basel.
From 1936 to 1938 Burckhardt studied art history and Oriental languages at the University of Basel. 1937 marked the beginning of his collaboration with the Guénonian-inspired journal ''Études Traditionnelles'', in which he published articles on traditional art (in particular Hindu, Christian and Muslim art), alchemy, traditional cosmology and astrology, folklore and various symbolisms. Many of these articles were later collected into two volumes. The journal also published his translations of
Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
treatises by
Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...
,
Ibn Arabi
Ibn Arabi (July 1165–November 1240) was an Andalusian Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest com ...
,
Abd al-Karim al-Jili and al-Arabi al-Darqawî. In the view of the Pakistani professor Muhammed Suheyl Omar, Burckhardt is one of the few authors who has not only expounded, but also assimilated, Ibn Arabi's metaphysics, a view confirmed by the Iranian Islamologist
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...
, who has also said that Burckhardt's ''opus'' has contributed to the West's interest in Ibn Arabi since the second half of the 20th century.
Burckhardt married in 1939. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed artistic director and director of publications by the Swiss German publishing house Urs Graf, headquartered in
Olten
Olten (; High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name.
Olten grew into a town during the Middle Ages at the location of a bridge over the Aare. After a period of de ...
and Basel and specializing in the reproduction of medieval
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s. He remained there until his retirement in 1968. His working languages were German, French, Arabic, Latin, English and Italian. He and his wife settled in
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
, halfway between Olten and
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
, where Schuon resided. The quality of Urs Graf's publications brought it a worldwide reputation in its domain, and in October 1950, in a private audience, Burckhardt presented
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
with a quadrichromic
facsimile
A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...
in three volumes of the celebrated
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells (; ; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illustrated manuscript and Celts, Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing the Gospel, four Gospels of the New Testament togeth ...
(''Evangeliorum quatuor codex Cenannensis''), a
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
in the
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
tradition dating from 800 A.D., published by his company.
In 1952, Burckhardt and his wife moved to Lausanne, where he founded the French-Swiss branch of Urs Graf and created the collection ''Stätten des Geistes'' ("Cities of the Spirit") for which he wrote and illustrated three volumes: ''
Siena
Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...
, City of the Virgin'', ''Fez, City of Islam'', and ''
Chartres
Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...
and the Birth of the Cathedral''. These completed the collection, which already included volumes on
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism.
The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...
,
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...
,
Celtic Ireland,
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
and
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
. In 1951, 1958 and 1960 other publishing houses brought out the original editions of Burckhardt's ''Introduction to Sufi Doctrine'', ''Sacred Art in East and West'' and ''Alchemy, Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul''. Following Guénon,
Coomaraswamy and Schuon, Burckhardt became identified as one of the great 20th century spokesmen of the ''
philosophia perennis'', "that 'uncreated wisdom' expressed in
Platonism
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary Platonists do not necessarily accept all doctrines of Plato. Platonism has had a profound effect on Western thought. At the most fundam ...
, the
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
,
Sufism
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
,
Taoism
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
and other authentic esoteric and
sapiential teachings". According to the philosopher
William Stoddart, Burckhardt — historian and philosopher of art, esoterist initiated in a Sufi path, metaphysician and artist — devoted his work as a writer to expounding "the different aspects of Wisdom and Tradition."
Morocco having recovered its independence in 1956, Burckhardt returned there regularly from 1960. In 1972,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
, together with the Moroccan government, delegated him to Fez to take charge of the plan for restoration and rehabilitation of the
medina
Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
and its religious patrimony, as well as its handcrafts. He remained there for five years, aware that the old city was probably the best preserved model of Islamic urbanism, and that once rehabilitated, Fez "could become a reference for the continuity of a traditional urban model, capable of evolution yet still conserving its intrinsic qualities." For the first two years Burkhardt, with drawing board and camera, singlehandedly made an inventory of the outstanding buildings, religious and secular, from the exterior and the interior, to evaluate their state of conservation. Over the three following years he led an interdisciplinary team tasked with establishing a master plan for the rehabilitation of the monuments and the urban fabric, including handcrafts "whose role is to create an ambiance that allows spiritual values to shine through." The "Master Plan of Urbanism for the City of Fez" was adopted and published by UNESCO in 1980.
During his mission to Fez, Burckhardt edited a general work on Islamic art, ''Art of Islam: Language and Meaning'', at the request of the organisers of the ''Festival of the Islamic World'' (London, 1976), of which he became one of the guiding forces. He was regularly invited as a specialist on traditional art and urbanism to give lectures, in both the Orient and the West, and to host or participate in seminars. The islamologist
Jean-Louis Michon
Jean-Louis Michon (13 April 1924 – 22 February 2013) was a French traditionalist and translator who specialized in Islamic art and Sufism. He worked extensively with the United Nations to preserve the cultural heritage of Morocco.
Biography
Bo ...
, who knew him well, described his qualities as a speaker thus:
For Prof.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...
, Burckhardt is the first Westerner "to seriously expound the inner meaning of Islamic art"
[ Ramin Jahanbegloo (2010), In Search of the Sacred: A Conversation with Seyyed Hossein Nasr on his Life and Thought, Santa Barbara/CA: Praeger, p. 236.] and, according to Nasr, it is in large part due to his influence that European and American universities began offering courses on Islamic art and architecture. His capacities in this domain prompted Saudi Arabia to mandate him as adviser in the development of plans for a university campus in
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. So it was that in 1978 and 1979, together with the Egyptian
Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob vo ...
laureate
Hassan Fathy
Hassan Fathy (; March 23, 1900 – November 30, 1989) was a noted Egyptians, Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to reestablish the use of adobe and traditional mud construction as ...
and Jean-Louis Michon, he oversaw the office of the American architects tasked with these plans, in order that the principles and spirit of traditional Muslim architecture be respected.
Burckhardt's empathy for Native American spirituality led him to the American West in 1979 to visit the medicine man
Thomas Yellowtail; they had met in Paris in 1953 and again in Lausanne in 1954, and had maintained a deep friendship. His interest in the Native Americans was manifested in two published works: the German version of ''
Black Elk Speaks
''Black Elk Speaks'' is a 1932 book by John G. Neihardt, an American poet and writer, who relates the story of Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota medicine man. Black Elk spoke in Lakota and Black Elk's son, Ben Black Elk, who was present during th ...
'' (1955) and, eleven years later, ''Der wilde Westen'' ("The Wild West"), an illustrated compilation of quotes from famous Indian chiefs and 19th century settlers and cowboys.
In 1981, despite a debilitating
neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, refers to damage or disease affecting the nerves. Damage to nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland function, and/or organ function depending on which nerve fibers are affected. Neuropa ...
, Burckhardt went for the last time to Fez as guest of honour at the inauguration by the Director-General of UNESCO of the international campaign for the conservation of the medina.
He died in Lausanne on January 15, 1984.
Works
Books translated into English
*''An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine''. Translated from the French by D. M. Matheson. Lahore, Pakistan: Ashraf, 1959; Wellingborough, England: Thorsons, 1976.
*''Art of Islam: Language and Meaning''. Translated from the French by Peter Hobson. London: Islamic Festival Trust, 1976
*''Siena, City of the Virgin''. Translated from the German by Margaret Brown. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1960.
*''Famous Illuminated Manuscripts''. Partial translation of ''Von wunderbaren Büchern''. Olten & Lausanne, Switzerland: Urs Graf Verlag, 1964.
*''Mirror of the Intellect: Essays on Traditional Science and Sacred Art''. Translated by William Stoddart. Cambridge, England: Quinta Essentia, 1987; Albany/NY, USA: State University of New York Press, 1987.
*''Fez, City of Islam''. Translated from the German by William Stoddart. Cambridge, England:
Islamic Texts Society
The Islamic Texts Society (ITS) is a peer-reviewed, British publishing house which concentrates on academic and general titles on Islam. It is registered as an educational charity in the UK.
History
The Islamic Texts Society was founded in Cam ...
, 1992.
*''Chartres and the Birth of the Cathedral''. Translated by William Stoddart. Ipswich, England: Golgonooza Press, 1995; Bloomington/IN, USA:
World Wisdom
World Wisdom is an independent American publishing company established in 1980 in Bloomington, Indiana. World Wisdom publishes religious and philosophical texts, including the work of authors such as Frithjof Schuon, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Titus ...
Books, 1995.
*''The Universality of Sacred Art''. Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Sri Lanka Institute of Traditional Studies, 1999.
*''Moorish Culture in Spain''. Translated from the German by Alisa Jaffa and William Stoddart. Louisville/KY, USA: Fons Vitae, 1999.
*''Sacred Art in East and West''. Translated from the French by
Lord Northbourne
Baron Northbourne, of Betteshanger in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1884 for Walter James, 1st Baron Northbourne, Sir Walter James, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented Kingston upon H ...
. Bedfont, Middlesex, England: Perennial Books, 1967; Louisville/KY, USA: Fons Vitae, 2001; Bloomington/IN, USA: World Wisdom Books, 2001.
*''Alchemy, Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul''. Translated from the German by William Stoddart. London: Stuart and Watkins, 1967; Baltimore/MD, USA: Penguin Books, 1972; Shaftesbury, Dorset, England: Element Books, 1986; Louisville/KY, USA: Fons Vitae, 2001.
*''Mystical Astrology according to Ibn Arabī''. Translated from the French by Bulent Rauf. Sherbourne, England: Beshara, 1977; Louisville/KY, USA: Fons Vitae, 2002.
Books in German not translated into English
*''Land am Rande der Zeit''. Basel, Switzerland: Urs Graf Verlag, 1941.
*''Schweizer Volkskunst/Art Populaire Suisse''. Basel, Switzerland: Urs Graf Verlag, 1941.
*''Tessin'' (''Das Volkserbe der Schweiz'', Band I). Basel, Switzerland: Urs Graf Verlag, 1943, 1959 (enlarged edition).
*''Von wunderbaren Büchern''. Olten, Switzerland & Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Urs Graf Verlag, 1963.
*''Marokko, Westlicher Orient: ein Reiseführer''. Olten, Switzerland & Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Walter-Verlag, 1972.
As editor
*''Wallis'' by
Charles Ferdinand Ramuz. Basel, Switzerland: Urs Graf Verlag, 1956.
*''Lachen und Weinen''. Olten, Switzerland & Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Urs Graf Verlag, 1964.
*''Die Jagd''. Olten, Switzerland & Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Urs Graf Verlag, 1964.
*''Der wilde Westen''. Olten, Switzerland & Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Urs Graf Verlag, 1966.
*''Scipio und Hannibal: Kampf um das Mittelmeer'' by Friedrich Donauer. Cover design and six illustrations by Titus Burckhardt. Olten, Switzerland & Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Walter-Verlag, 1939.
*''Zeus und Eros: Briefe und Aufzeichnungen des Bildhauers Carl Burckhardt'' (1878–1923). Basel, Switzerland: Urs Graf Verlag, 1956.
*''Athos, der Berg des Schweigens'' by
Philip Sherrard. Translation by Titus Burckhardt of the English original ''Athos, the Mountain of Silence''. Lausanne, Switzerland & Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Urs Graf Verlag, 1959.
Books in French not translated into English
*''Symboles: recueil d'essais''. Milan, Italy: Archè, 1980.
*''Science moderne et sagesse traditionnelle''. Milan, Italy: Archè, 1986.
*''Aperçus sur la connaissance sacrée''. Milan, Italy: Archè, 1987.
Translations from the Arabic
with introduction and commentaries
*Ibn Arabī, ''La sagesse des prophètes'' (''Fusūs al-hikam''). Paris: Albin Michel, 2008.
*Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī, ''De l'homme universel'' (''Al-insān al-kāmil''). Paris: Dervy, 1975.
*Al-Arabî al-Darqāwī, ''Lettres d'un maître soufi''. Milan, Italy: Archè, 1978.
Anthologies of Burckhardt’s writings
*
Stoddart, William (ed.), ''The Essential Titus Burckhardt: Reflections on Sacred Art, Faiths, and Civilizations''. Foreword by
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...
. Bloomington/IN, USA: World Wisdom Books, 2003.
*
Fitzgerald, Michael O. (ed.), ''The Foundations of Christian Art''. Foreword by
Keith Critchlow
Keith Barry Critchlow (16 March 1933 – 8 April 2020) was a British artist, lecturer, author, Sacred geometry, sacred geometer, professor of architecture, and a co-founder of the Temenos Academy in the UK.
Biography
Critchlow was educated at ...
. Bloomington/IN, USA: World Wisdom Books, 2006
*Fitzgerald, Michael O. (ed.), ''Foundations of Oriental Art & Symbolism''. Foreword by
Brian Keeble. Bloomington/IN, USA: World Wisdom Books, 2009
*Chouiref, Tayeb (ed.), ''Titus Burckhardt: Le soufisme entre Orient et Occident'', volume 2 (études et analyses). Wattrelos, France: Tasnîm, 2020.
Bibliography
*
*
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*
*
*
* ♦ English versio
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*
* ♦ English translation:
*
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*
*
*
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*
*
*
*
See also
Notes
References
External links
*
Books by Titus Burckhardt (Fons Vitae publishing)Titus Burckhardt resource page (at World Wisdom): excerpts, detailed biography, photos, extensive bibliography, additional links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burckhardt, Titus
1908 births
1984 deaths
Traditionalist School
Converts to Islam
Swiss Sufis
Sufi writers
Swiss philosophers
20th-century Swiss philosophers
Swiss scholars of Islam
Swiss orientalists
Swiss art historians
Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...
Swiss Muslims
Ibn Arabi scholars