11th Cent Research Articles

The autographs of the Karaite scholar Abu-l-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibn Sulaymān housed in the Second Firkovich collection (Evr.-arab. I part)

Abu-l-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibn Sulaymān al-Muqaddasī was a Karaite grammarian, lexicographer and exegete, who lived and worked in Egypt during the second half of the 11th cent. Several of his autographs / holographs and texts copied by him are preserved in the Second Firkovich collection of the National Library of Russia. This article sheds light on three manuscripts housed in its Evr.-Arab. I part. They contain abridgments of other Karaite scholars’ works made by ‘Alī ibn Sulaymān: 1) Kitа̄b al-anvа̄r va-l-marа̄qib by Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb Qirqisа̄nī (Ms. Evr-arab. I 1986); 2) Tafsīr al-alfа̄ẓ by Abū-l-Faraj Hа̄rūn (Ms. Evr-arab. I 4422); 3) Abridgment of the Yūsuf ibn Nūḥ’s commentary on the Torah by Hа̄rūn (Ms. Evr-arab. I 4423). They have never been fully described before and the ϐirst two have never been mentioned in the lists of his extant works. We summed up the features of his holographs based on their full descriptions, which might be helpful for future identifying of his holographs.

The Origin of the ‘Needle's Eye Gate’ Myth: Theophylact or Anselm?

AbstractJesus’ hyperbolic saying that ‘it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven’, present in the synoptic tradition (Matt 19.24; Mark 10.25; Luke 18.25), has long been subject to the suggestion that the ‘eye of a needle’ does not refer to an actual needle but is the name of a small gate in the Jerusalem wall. Today, most biblical scholars are convinced that this theory is incorrect, but no study identifies the sources of the error and traces the history of this myth. This note focuses on tracking the origins of the flaw and points specifically to the sources of the misconception that the term ‘eye of a needle’ should not be taken literally.The earliest note that mentions a gate called the ‘eye of a needle’ seems to be a gloss attributed to Anselm of Canterbury (11th cent.). This gloss can be found in the thirteenth-century work of Thomas AquinasCatena aurea. What is false, however, is the oft-repeated belief that the source of the information is the eleventh-centuryGospel Commentaryof Theophylact.

El culto a los santos en el monasterio de San Juan de la Peña. Claves de su codificación romana y transmisión en la Baja Edad Media

The Iberian Christian kingdoms adopted the Roman rite at the end of the 11th cent. This had two short-term effects on the liturgy of the saints. On the one hand, it promoted the introduction of many French saints’ cults derived from the use of manuscripts which served as models for the configuration of the Romanum officium. On the other hand, it caused a severe setback in the cult of the Iberian saints as the great majority of them were lacking proper formularies in the newly imported books. The process of romanization of the saints in medieval Iberia is still little understood, despite its great significance for the study of the liturgy at that time. This essay aims to shed light on this lacuna, taking the Benedictine monastery of San Juan de la Peña as a reference point. Fortunately, some extant liturgical witnesses to the Sanctorale are linked to this famous Pyrenean monastery, which also cover a wide chronological arc from the 12th to the 15th cent. The research carried out is divided into two phases. In phase 1, we analyse these sources, correcting the erroneous adscription to San Juan de la Peña of the El Escorial Breviary L.III.4. In phase 2, we contextualise the tradition of the cult of saints at San Juan de la Peña, comparing its calendar to those of other peninsular Benedictine and diocesan churches of Aragon.

How Do the Cārvākas/Lokāyatas Fit into Udayana’s Statement of Universal Worship? On Nyāya-kusumâñjali 17,3: loka-vyavahāra-siddha iti cārvākāḥ

In his influential work concerned with rational argumentation in defence of Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika theism, the Nyāya-kusumâñjali, Udayana (10th–11th cent.) makes a puzzling claim that all seekers of puruṣârtha, theist or not, worship God, albeit under a different form or name. Included in the provided enumeration of different traditions of Indian thought is the irreligious school of the Cārvākas (also known as the Lokāyatas), declared by Udayana to be worshipping God as loka-vyavahāra-siddha (lit. ‘(the) established by common usage’). In this paper, I attempt to shed light on the meaning behind both loka-vyavahāra-siddha and the statement of universal worship as a whole. Specifically, I argue that Udayana imposes on non-theists and atheists the need to resort to (broadly understood) belief, and in the case of the Cārvākas/Lokāyatas this is manifested in their acceptance of everyday inference warranted by mere common usage. I reject the interpretations by Udayana’s commentators and by the modern scholar of Indian materialism, Ramkrishna Bhattacharya.

Sculpture liturgique et églises de pèlerinages de l’Est de l’Aquitaine. L’exemple des chancels de l’abbaye Saint-Géraud d’Aurillac au XIe siècle

At the South-Western borders of the Auvergne region, in Aurillac, St-Geraud’s abbey was an important stop on the pilgrim roads to Santiago de Compostela. Many churches in the feudal Aquitaine were named after saints whose relics had generated pilgrimages. Geraud’s grave attracted more and more pilgrims to Aurillac abbey church from the beginning of the second millenium. This important influx forced the monks to find ways to channel traffic and isolate themselves from the faithful crowds. One of the solutions was to put up barriers, such as the chancel screen. Few preserved sculptures make it possible to consider the 11th cent. Choir screen system in Aurillac. Two screen slabs were found in the abbey church, a third fragment belongs to a screen pillar from St-Clement’s parish church. These pieces give some precious clues for better understanding the ornamental and liturgical choices that could be found on the many pilgrimage routes of the Aquitanian territory during the Romanesque period.

THE MODELLING OF THE SETTLEMENTS OF 11th—13th CENTURIES. BASING ON THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES REMAINS OF TEREBOVLYA PRINCEDOM

The purpose of the paper is to construct the model reconstructing the settlement structure inside the border of the Terebovlya princedom. The different types of archaeological sites since 10th till 13th cent. have been analyzed. These 710 sites are the source for researching the region’s settlement structure and the reconstruction of the settlements is based on it. Soil coverings are analyzed and landscape types are reconstructed based on soil types. These tasks were realized by implementing the GIS «The Settlements of The Terebovlya Princedom».
 The analysis of mapped archaeological sites has revealed the several aspects in the terms of existence. In particular the process of construction of new fortified settlements was intensified at the end of the 10th cent. We can reliably associate this process with the inclusion of the region in the area of influence of the Old Rus state. Increase of the number of fortresses in the 11th cent. marks the establishment of the Terebovlya Princedom as an administrative unit of the Galician Land.
 The analysis of the sites existed during the 12th—13th cent. is testified to the tendency of the massive growth of fortified and especially, non-fortified rural settlements. This tendency is common to most regions of Old Rus state during that period. The number of new fortified settlements increased in 1.5 times, the number of new rural settlements — in 7.4 times.
 But what is particularly different is the lacuna in chronology of settlements dating by 10th—13th cent. Mostly, these sites do not contain layers of 11th century. This fact may be the archaeological proof of the conquests of Prince Volodymyr at the end of the 10th century in the region of Middle Dniester.
 Two stages of existence of the settlements reconstructed from archaeological sites are considered. At the early stage of functioning (11th cent.) there is a concentration of settlements in the northern part of the princedom, around the centers of social life traditionally, from the early periods (Krutyliv I, Bohit, Postolivka I). The chronology and the social role of these centers is the question which should be detailed.
 A two-stage cluster analysis, conducted for the ancient settlements revealed such degree of neighborhood: for the settlements of 11th cent. the average nearest neighbor index is about 6.9 km and for the settlements of 12th—13th cent. this number is about 2.7 km.
 The economic aspect of the settlement structure is shown through using of soils and landscapes by ancient society. The reconstructed landscapes based on the soil cover, shows us a dominance of deciduous (leaved) and meadow-steppe areas on this territory. And among the reconstructed deciduous landscapes, the percentage of ancient forests reached 65 % in the Middle Ages. At the first look the ancient settlements were located on the borders of landscapes, in ecotones, which indirectly, can confirm the mixed type of management (farming).
 The necessary baseline and supplementary data were prepared for the reconstruction of the paleo-economy during the process of modeling the settlements structure of the region and will form the basis for further research.

On the Chronology of the 11th-century Russian Metropolitans. An Answer to A. P. Tolochko

The article deals with the amendments made by A. P. Tolochko to the traditional chronology of the Russian metropolitans of the 11th cent., compiled by A. Poppe, and shows the weaknesses of both chronologies. Based on the latest epigraphic finds, a new chronology of the Metropolitans until the last quarter of the 11th cent. is proposed: Theophylact was transferred to Russia from the Metropolitan see of Sebasteia sometime before 1015; Theopempt became the Metropolitan no later than 1039; John ascended the throne after 1039 and reigned until 1051; Hilarion became the Metropolitan in 1051 (probably after July 24) and ceased to be in 1052 (before November 4); Ephraim received the Metropolitan see in 1052 (until November 4) and retained it at least until 1055; George, mentioned under 1072, could have become the Metropolitan as early as 1055.

Charming a Clogged Nose: A Late Coptic Magical Spell from Saqqara

Abstract A reedition and analysis of a late (ca. 10th–11th cent.) Coptic magical charm found at Saqqara. The commentary links the charm to pre-Christian models and discusses the possible modes of transmission of traditional ritual knowledge in Christian Egypt.

The manuscript Π of the Greek Physiologus

One of the most important manuscripts of the Greek Physiologus, discovered by A. Karneev in 1894, manuscript Π (11th cent.), has been erroneously called «Sin. gr. 432 » (Vladimir 317) by Karneev and in all subsequent publications until now. In fact, manuscript Π is, without any doubt, MS Moskva, GIM, Sin. gr. 467 (Vladimir 318).

Due sticheri inediti in onore di Sant’Acacio, martire di Bisanzio

Critical edition of some anonymous stichera found in MS Athos, Lavra Γ 74 (ff. 63v-64, 11th cent.) and composed in honour of S. Acacius, martyr at Byzantium in 303.

La Passion grecque (BHG 2245) inédite de Mamelchta, mystérieuse martyre en Perse

Folia 31v-32v of MS. Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Hagh. Taph. 22 (11th cent.) contain the story of Mamelchta, a priestess of Artemis / Diana, who converted to Christianity and was martyred in Persia at some uncertain time. The Greek text, edited here for the first time, has no parallel in any other literature of the Christian East. This raises the question as to whether the account is nothing more than a literary fiction.

BEJA LEXICOSTATISTICS

Abstract The Beja (Beḍawye) language is the only representative of the North Cushitic branch of the Cushitic languages. Although there are several dialects, e.g. Amar’ar, Arteiga, Beni Amer, Bishari, Hadendowa, Halenga etc., scholars collecting the lexical data of the Beja language usually do not distinguish between individual dialects and frequently summarize material of two or more dialects (e.g. Reinisch: Beni Amer, Bishari, Hadendowa), or they determine only the area, where their data were collected (e.g. Wedekinds: Eritrea; Hudson: Port Soudan and Tokar). Roper indicated the dialect Hadendowa, but according to MORIN (1995: 22) it was a transitional interdialect of the Sinkat area. In this case it is impossible to separate specific lexicons of individual dialects and the only solution is to compare the lexical materials in dependence, who has collected them. Although there is only one distinctive phonetic isogloss dividing the Beja dialect continuum with typical u in the north vs. i in the south (VANHOVE 2006), the result of the present study demonstrates a relatively high internal diversity of the Beja lexicon. Two most incomplete or deviant sources, namely Munzinger and Bender, indicate the disintegration of common Beja to the 9th and 11th cent. respectively. The common share between the remaining idioms is c. 95% or higher, corresponding to the beginning of their disintegration around AD 1200. This younger dating better agrees with at least partial intelligibility between the tribal dialects of Beja.

La lettera (e gli apoftegmi) di abba Doulas

A letter from the monk Hermaeus to a certain abba Doulas and the latter's reply are usually dated to the middle Byzantine period 11th cent.). Abba Doulas, the author of the reply, is in reality the homonymous disciple of abbot Bessarione of Egypt in c. 400. Doula's letter was used in the compilation of the apophthegm in the alphabetic and systematic collections. The article ends with a critical edition of the letters of Hermaeus and Doulas.

The Desert as locus Dei in Barlaam and Josaphat?

In the Greek Byzantine “edifying story” of Barlaam and Josaphat (11th cent.) as well as in its Latin translations (11th and 12th cent.), the desert plays a major role, not only as a natural space, but also as the space par excellence where it is possible to be close to God. A re-writing of this desert took place in the European High Middle Ages involving a good number of variations, none of which, however, prevented authors from maintaining the desert-like character of the space, which they define mainly in terms of solitude, the vita contemplativa, asceticism and sexual abstinence. At the same time there seems to be at least in some of the vernacular texts a significant effort to present the court as dystopian in character. This article offers a close reading of selected passages from three vernacular versions of the 13th and 14th centuries.

The Introduction to Kartlis Tskhovreba and its Historical - Territorial Conception

The Karthlis Tskhovreba, a corpus of writings of historiographic character, occupies a central place in medieval Georgian historiographic tradition reflecting the history of Georgia from the beginning to the 17th century inclusive. The corpus comprises historical writings of different periods, among which most controversial in modern scholarship is its opening part, in which, traditionally, historical narrative is identified as from the beginning to the 5th century, and from the 5th to the 8th century inclusive. Both these parts are also referred to in the specialist literature as the opening part of the Karthlis Tskhovreba . The first work is entitled The Life of the Kings and Forefathers and Descendants (in brief: The Life of the Kings). According to the view accepted in Georgian scholarly circles, its author is Leonti Mroveli (11th cent.), while the other _ entitled The Life of Vakhtang Gorgasali _ is attributed to Ilarion Juansheri, an author of the same century. Notwithstanding the established view, both the composition of the opening part of the KTs, the dates of its writing and editing, as well as the attribution of the text is still the subject of debate among scholars. Some researchers date it to the 8th century (Manana Sanadze, Giorgi Anchabadze, Edisher Khoshtaria-Brosset), but there are attempts to date individual sections of this source to a still earlier period (Vakhtang Goiladze, Manana Sanadze). I believe that such divergence of opinions is due to the lack of consideration of the genre specificity of the KTs as an integral and continuous historiographic tradition and inadequate research into the ideological and world view aspects of its individual sections.

L'association de la niche et de l'archère dans les fortifications élevées en Syrie entre le VIe et le XIIe siècle

Like the Theodosian walls of Constantinople, several 6th cent. Syrian fortifications (Halabiyyé, Zalabiyyé, Rusàfa and Antakya) are provided, in the upper floors of their towers, with arched recesses serving arrow-slits in the thickness of the walls. This architectural combination will be found afterwards in the late lOh or early 11th cent. Byzantine fortress of Sahyun, in the bourid fortification of Palmyra, in the Islamic towers built around Bosrâ theatre, in the Frankish keep of El Bâra, and in the majority of the following buildings.

The oriental reception of Greek novels: A survey with some preliminary considerations

Under three headings: (1) Translations, (2) Adaptations, and (3) Creative borrowing, the possible influence of the ideal Greek novel on Oriental narrative literature is considered. The emphasis is on Arabic literature, Muslim or Christian, but attention is also paid to Syriac, Persian, and Coptic literature, in their own right or as intermediaries between Greek and Arabic. Unsuri's verse romance of Vāmiq and ‘Adhrā (11th cent. AD), based on the Greek novel of Metiochus and Parthenope, is pointed out as an actual example of translation; and there is a discussion of what intermediaries (Arabic, Syriac, and/or Pahlavī?) it may have had on its passage from Greek to New Persian. The Christian Martyrdom of St. Parthenope, transmitted in a Coptic fragment and a complete Arabic version, is chosen as an instance of adaptation, whereas creative borrowing is exemplified by stories in the Arabian Nights, in which some narrative patterns, motifs, and points of narrative technique may go back to the Greek novels.

The Peoples and their Religions of the Central Asia before the 9th Century

After the 10th century (abbr. cent.) the Uigurians were pervaded all over in the southern roads of the Taklamakan desert as well as in the northern, and after the 11th cent. they became almost all the Islams.1. Before the 9th cent., at least since the middle of the 1st cent. A.D. the people in the northern roads had been mostly Romans of European race, whose language was a kind of the Italo-Celtic.They lived from the westward to the eastward, in (1) Kuma (now Aksu), in (2) Kucha, in (3) Wu-lei, in (4) Karashar, in (5) Turfan (Kara-khoja). Among them, Kucha was the largest country, around its capital there remain some 500 Buddhist cave temples, decorated with the frescos and the ceiling paintings of gorgeous colour, and their main subjects are the legend and the former birth stories of the Buddha Šakyamuni; the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas and the other deities of the Mahayana Buddhism are not found until the beginning of the 8th cent. Therefore, we may regard that the main current of the Buddhism in Kucha and the environs had been the Hinayana, especially the sarvastivada, though even in the earlier time the Mahayana Buddhism had been somewhat prevalent at Kucha, considering the facts that some priests with the surname Po (the Chinese surname for the natives of Kucha who belonged to the white coloured race) had come to China during the time of the 3rd and the 4th cent. and initiated the Mahayana Buddhism, and moreover, the renowned Kumarajlva from Kucha translated several principal Mahayana texts at Ch'ang-an during in 402-413.2. As for the southern roads the countries or oasis-sites were from the westward to the eastward, (1) Guma (the ancient P'i-shan), next (2) Khotan, within the country, we find three important sites, i.e. (3) Uzuntati, (4) Rawak (including Dandan-uiliq), (5) Khadalik; then (6) Niya, (7) Endere, (8) Cherchen, (9) Charklik (shan-shan, the last capital of Lou-lan), (10) Miran (perhaps the 2nd capital of Lou-Ian), (11) Kuhani (the first capital of Lou-lan, situated on the northern bank of the ancient Lob-nor). The people of the southern roads, at least since the 3rd cent. B.C., had been mostly the Eastern Iranians of the Indo-European race, speaking the Eastern Iranian language. The Tibetans had lived a little since the ancient times, but they had scarcely effected on the development of the culture. Since the 8th cent., the Tibetans became somewhat powerful, but after the 11th cent. the Uigurians overthrew the formers. The religion of the Eastern Iranians and Tibetans in the southern roads was the Buddhism, especially after the 2nd cent., the Mahayana. Khotan had been a centre of the Mahayana Buddhism, from where the principal texts of the middle and the later Mahayana had been introduced into China and translated. And moreover, many Skt. Buddhist texts had been translated into Khotanese (i.e. Eastern Iranian) and remain now.According to the Chinese historical documents there lived some of the Zoroastrians and also of the Nestrians during those times in the southern roads, but afterwards they had all gone out.