From the Cradle to the Grave. Demarcating Communities through Baptism and Burial in the Huddāyē of Barhebraeus (d. 1286)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the legal text called the Huddāyē composed in Syriac by the Syriac Orthodox polymath Barhebraeus (d. 1286) in regard to stipulations about baptism and burial. Stressing the importance of baptism and burial for the community as rites of passage, it examines what demarcation lines are drawn by Barhebraeus regarding outsiders. In this respect, two types of outsiders must be considered: Christians of other denominations (e.g., East Syrians) and Muslims. The earlier normative texts, which Barhebraeus refers to contain similar communal demarcation lines, but are altered, expanded and redacted by Barhebraeus, thus bringing them into a coherent whole.