Select Narratives of Holy Women: Translation

Abstract

The twin sisters Agnes Lewis (1843–1926) and Margaret Gibson (1843–1920) were pioneering biblical scholars who became experts in a number of ancient languages. Travelling widely in the Middle East, they made several significant discoveries, including one of the earliest manuscripts of the Four Gospels in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language probably spoken by Jesus himself. Their chief discoveries were made in the Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai. This fascicule is the translation of a Syriac manuscript from the monastic library of St Catherine. Translated by Lewis and first published in 1900, the manuscript recounts the tales of a number of saintly women, including Pelagia, a rich courtesan who converted to Christianity and Eugenia, a holy woman who lived as a man and became the abbot of a monastery. An interesting collection of stories with relevance for scholars of Middle Eastern Christianity.