La versio Syra minor della vita di Giovanni il Misericordioso

Abstract

This article seeks to bring to the attention of scholars an unedited Syriac version of the Life of John the Merciful. The text (preserved in the single manuscript Paris, BnF, Syr. 234) represents a shorter recensio of the Syriac translation recently published in CSCO 679. The metaphrasis, which is characterised by a short form and a high number of variants, has been drawn from a model that was very similar to Paris, BnF, Syr. 235. However, an unknown witness preserving an ancient form of the Syriac translation has contributed to the development of this text. It is for this reason that this versio minor retains a lot of original details of the Greek which are unknown to other Syriac sources. The work is interesting because it provides us with a better understanding of the original text of the Syriac Life, but also because it contains some peculiar characteristics due to the creative pen of its author.