Manuscript Discoveries Research Articles

Unearthing the Genizah of the Jewish Community in Figuig

Abstract Within the framework of an agreement with the National Institute of Sciences of Archaeology and Heritage (insap) of Morocco and with the Municipality of Figuig, a multidisciplinary team of Moroccan and French researchers, led by Saghir Mabrouk (insap), Laurence Gillot (mcf Paris Cité, umr 8210 anhima), and André Del (Paris Val-de-Seine School of Architecture, evcau) has carried out inventory, research and valorization of the heritage of the oasis of Figuig since 2005. In this context, excavations were conducted in the mellah of the qsar Loudaghir, one of the quarters inhabited by the Jewish community which left in 1970. The discovery of manuscripts in the genizah of the mellah has led archaeologists to refer to palaeographers and epigraphists to inventory, study and preserve these manuscripts. This article accounts for the dialogue established between archaeology and philology.

Forgotten Buddhist Literatures as Revealed by Manuscript Discoveries in India and Beyond

Forgotten Buddhist Literatures as Revealed by Manuscript Discoveries in India and Beyond

An Introduction to the Intellectual Biography of ʿAbd al-Shakūr from the Banten Sultanate

ʿAbd al-Shakūr b. ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Bantanī was a prominent disciple of the renowned scholar Burhān al-Dīn Ibrāhīm b. Ḥasan al-Kūrānī. Despite his importance as a scholar and Sufi shaykh connected to the Shāṭṭārīyah order, ʿAbd al-Shakūr has received relatively little attention compared to other Jāwī students of al-Kūrānī. The research draws on a range of primary sources, including manuscripts copied by ʿAbd al-Shakūr himself or containing references to him, as well as secondary literature. Key findings include the establishment of ʿAbd al-Shakūr’s genealogical ties to the Banten royal family, his role as a scribe and disseminator of his teacher al-Kūrānī’s works, and his participation in the theological discourse of his time, particularly on the concept of waḥdat al-wujūd (the unity of existence). Additionally, the study explores ʿAbd al-Shakūr’s contribution to the spread of the Shāṭṭārīyah Sufi order in the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago, tracing its transmission from al-Kūrānī through ʿAbd al-Shakūr to his son ʿAbd al-Muḥyī al-Dīn and other disciples. The discovery of manuscripts documenting the Shāṭṭārīyah lineage in Jasinga, Bogor, and Mindanao in the Philippines, further highlights ʿAbd al-Shakūr’s significance as a pivotal figure in the dissemination of this Sufi tradition within the region.

Preserving Cultural Heritage Through a Traditional Ritual: A Case of Kabuyutan Ciburuy

The Seba ceremony in Kabuyutan Ciburuy is a tradition of preserving cultural heritage that has been carried out for generations. Currently, Kabuyutan Ciburuy is no longer actively used as an educational institution, nor are the contents of its ancient manuscripts used as a reference for the development of science. For this reason, this research tries to dissect why this happens. This research uses a qualitative research method which is believed to be a scalpel in research, thereby helping to explain the research object factually. The research step is to carry out participant observation, the researcher actively participates in the activities being researched. Also hold interviews with local cultural figures either formally or informally. The result of this research is a descriptive explanation of the Seba Ceremony as an effort to preserve cultural heritage. Because heirlooms refer to educational activities, such as the discovery of many manuscripts, one of which contains advice on old Sundanese character and ethics. This has become a high level of cultural wealth by continuing to carry out the Seba ceremony as a form of preservation so that it remains alive and relevant for future generations. Keywords: Seba Ceremony, Ciburuy District, Preservation, Cultural Heritage

“Hardworking and Tireless” Vasyl Hermanovych — Singer and Servant to Four Generations of Princes of Ostroh

Scholars, including music historians, have long been interested in the cultural centers of early modern Ukraine-Rus’. One of these centers located in Ostroh (Volhynian palatinate of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) existed in the last third of the sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth centuries. Ostroh was famous not only for its mighty fortress, a printing house, the intellectuals circle, and the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy but also for its “singing school,” which introduced a co-called “Ostroh tune.” It is not known for certain when the school was founded and by whom, and in general, very little information has been preserved about the musicians and singers who lived in the city during this “classical period.” This article aims to fill in some gaps and introduce new biographical material related to Vasyl Hermanovych († 1626), who was a court singer of the voivode of Kyiv Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi (1526–1608) and served to several generations of his descendants. Until now, information about Vasyl Hermanovych was limited to mentioning him as Vasyl Spivak in a document of 1621. Thanks to the discovery of other manuscripts, including his will, it has become possible to significantly expand our knowledge about the singer. The article considers the origin of Vasyl Hermanovych and reconstructs his family ties, the conditions of his service, and material support. A particular focus is on the last wishes of the singer, who asked to be buried in the Derman Holy Trinity Monastery and bequeathed all his property to his wife and a close relative, whom he specified as a “grandson” in his will. Vasyl Hermanovych’s will is published in the appendix to the article.

Transparency and Discovery: Using a Text-Image Network to Study Manuscripts and Text Transmission

This article describes desired use cases of manuscript-text interactions that could positively influence future scholarship. These examples illustrate the potential for greater transparency between critical editions and their data sources (i.e., manuscript witnesses). Further, these use cases demonstrate how the possibility of a connected environment could facilitate the automated discovery of related manuscripts at granular levels (i.e. identifying connections at precise coordinates regions) through the discovery of related texts. In the second section, the article walks through the data modelling and engineering steps required to achieve these uses cases. Finally, the third section provides examples to illustrate how this future is already a fledging reality.

Wikibase Model for Premodern Manuscript Metadata Harmonization, Linked Data Integration, and Discovery

To facilitate discovery of premodern manuscripts in U.S. memory institutions, Digital Scriptorium, a growing consortium of over 35 institutional members representing American libraries, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions, has developed a digital platform for an online national union catalog. The platform will allow low-barrier and efficient collection, aggregation, and enrichment of member metadata and sustainably publish it as Linked Open Data. This article describes the methods and principles behind the data model development and the decision to use Wikibase. The results of the prototype implementation and testing phase demonstrate the practicality and sustainability of Digital Scriptorium’s approach to building an online national union catalog based on Linked Open Data technologies and practices.

Leah Tether, Laura Chuhan Campbell and Benjamin Pohl (eds and trans). The Bristol Merlin: Revealing the Secrets of a Medieval Fragment

Few recent manuscript discoveries have aroused as much excitement and curiosity, both within academia and among the general public, as the Bristol Merlin fragments (identified for the first time in 2019). Tether, Chuhan-Campbell, and Pohl’s edition presents the seven fragments in a format that is accessible and easy to navigate, introducing the reader both to the fragments themselves and the principles that underlie processes of editing and translation. Through exploring the possible, as well as the probable, Tether, Chuhan-Campbell, and Pohl provide a vivid and compelling narrative that illustrates the importance of interdisciplinary scholarship while remaining aware of its limitations. The approach taken, which draws upon palaeographic, codicological, historical, and linguistic analysis, in combination with the extensive visual apparatus provided, offers a robust introduction to the Bristol Merlin fragments that is suitable for a diverse readership. Chapter one, ‘Codicological and Palaeographic Analysis’, sets the Bristol Merlin fragments in the context of other contemporary manuscripts of the Suite Vulgate du Merlin. Having identified two distinct hands at work, the editors use palaeographical evidence to substantiate their suggested date for the manuscript (1250–1275). The editors describe the differences between the two hands, alongside a comparative table of letters, and images of the junctures between hands. The chapter subsequently explores the fragments’ use first as pastedowns (evidenced by extant glue residue on the manuscript leaves) and then as flyleaves for a four-volume edition of Jean Gerson’s complete works (88-91/SR39). This analysis is supported with diagrams that show the order, orientation, and movement of the fragments, and images of the book clasps. The section closes with one of the chapter’s central ideas, that ‘it is just possible – if unprovable – that the manuscript from which the fragments derive had been intended, or at least was used, as an exemplar for the production of further copies’ (16).

Navigating early Chinese daybook divination manuals

In Early China, ‘daybook’ (rishu 日書) divination manuals were consulted to determine auspicious times for a variety of life events. Recent discoveries of daybook manuscripts written upon bound bamboo strips have revealed much about how these manuals were compiled in the first centuries BC. Multiple different divination systems appear on the same manuscript, resulting in a confusion of running text, lists, and diagrams. In order to navigate these manuscripts efficiently, daybook compilers utilized certain strategies to aid their users. Taking the Han period Zhoujiazhai 周家寨 daybook as a case study, this article surveys the strategies employed in this manuscript to differentiate textual units. Attention is given to the materiality of the writing support, judicious framing with empty space, features of the calligraphy, punctuation usage, indexing, and the presence of both explicit titles and embedded identifiers.

The William A. Wilson Digital Folklore Archives

The William A. Wilson Digital Folklore Archives

Echoes of the Great Catastrophe: Re-sounding Anatolian Greekness in Diaspora

Echoes of the Great Catastrophe: Re-sounding Anatolian Greekness in Diaspora

Some observations on the prefaces to two Greek versions of the life of Hilarion by Jerome (BHG 752 and 753)

Composed by Jerome at the end of the 4th century, the Life of the Monk Hilarion (BHL 3879) was translated into Greek in a variety of contexts. The richness and diversity of the Greek dossier of this Latin legend provides an excellent starting point for examining the linguistic and cultural transfers of Latin hagiographical texts to the Greek-speaking world. After a brief literature review of the subject, this article presents a comparative study of the prefaces to the two main Greek versions of the legend of Hilarion (Lives BHG 752 and 753). Life BHG 752 is re-edited here in the light of a new manuscript discovery. By looking closely at the two prefaces, we can explore the ways in which a Latin hagiographical text was translated and rewritten in Greek.

КРИПТОГРАФИЧЕСКОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ МАНУСКРИПТА ВОЙНИЧА

The article analyzes modern approaches to deciphering the text of the Voynich manuscript. The work contains a brief overview in the history of the manuscript discovery and an analysis of the main versions about the authorship and the first owners of the manuscript, the place and time of its creation and its content. The author pays attention to the study of key approaches to the definition of cryptographic methods that could be used by the author or authors of the essay and the analysis of the manuscript text decrypting issues facing modern researchers. The article provides a review of other encrypted manuscripts, the time and place of creation of which allow comparison with the Voynich manuscript according to a number of selected criteria. Particular attention is paid to analyzing the challenges of defining the manuscript language, what involves the choice of one or more natural languages within one or the other language group, an artificial language or “language” consisting of a random set of characters. Difficulties with transliteration of manuscript symbols used to create machine-readable versions of the text are considered. An analysis of the prospects for studying the cryptographic content of the manuscript is carried out. Attention is paid to the content of a number of reports of the international conference on the study of the Voynich manuscript, held by the University of Malta in November–December 2022. The author emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the Voynich manuscript, which requires the combined efforts of cryptologists, mathematicians, historians, philologists, linguists to successfully unravel the content of the manuscript Voynich.

Manuscript Discoveries and Debates over Orthodoxy in Early Christian Studies: The Case of the Syriac Poet-Theologian Jacob of Serugh

AbstractThe uncovering of manuscripts over the last one hundred years has repeatedly changed how early Christian history is told. With no signs of this trend abating, this article seeks to take stock of how scholars respond to manuscript discoveries by focusing on three debates over the orthodoxy of an early Christian figure that extend over two hundred and fifty years. New manuscript evidence sparked no less than three debates over the christological views of the Syriac author Jacob of Serugh (d. 520/521) from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. In the first debate, the arrival of manuscripts in Western Europe led to a conflict between the Maronite scholars who viewed Jacob as a Chalcedonian thinker and certain textual evidence that suggested otherwise. The second debate began in the late nineteenth century after manuscripts from Egypt arrived in London that contained Jacob’s extensive epistolary corpus, which includes clear expressions of non-Chalcedonian, miaphysite christology. A new acquisition by the Vatican Library in the mid-twentieth century featured a previously unknown homily that included two lines that could be interpreted in a Chalcedonian manner. This inspired several Western scholars to dig yet deeper into the manuscripts to resolve this long-standing debate over his christological views. The focused analysis of the pendulum swings initiated by manuscript discoveries in the scholarly discourse surrounding Jacob of Serugh serves as a mirror for self-reflection on the way that scholars discuss a past whose many unknowns still await discovery.

As Though “Wit” Never Were: The Dual Pronoun as Interpretive Crux in The Wife's Lament

As Though “Wit” Never Were: The Dual Pronoun as Interpretive Crux in <i>The Wife's Lament</i>

Apokrifni Psalmi 152-155 - uvod i prevod

Apocryphal Psalms 152-155 are preserved in the Syriac language. They have been known in the Western world since the 18th century, when the Syriac text was published for the first time. They have been translated into English in the 19th century, and in German and French in the 20th century. Since the middle of the 20th century - since the discovery of manuscripts in the Qumran caves, more attention has been paid to them because Psalm 154-155 were found in Hebrew. This discovery leads to additional comparisons and analyzes of those psalms preserved in Syriac and those newly found in Hebrew. An attention is also focused on Psalms 152-153 with the aim of examining whether they also have the basis on a Hebrew Vorlage. In this paper, the author presents the hypotheses presented by researchers of Psalms 152-155 concerning their origin, as well as how they are viewed today and points to possible topic that researchers could deal with in the future. At the end of the paper, the author brings a translation of the psalms into Serbian from the Syriac language.

A Fragment of a Menologium in a Lectionary Gospel from the National Library of Poland

This article analyses a fragment of a menologium in the lectionary Gospel BOZ 154, a fourteenth-century Cyrillic work preserved in ten parchment sheets in the collection of the Zamojski Family Estate Library of the National Library in Warsaw. Until now, the monument has been cited only in catalogues of Cyrillic manuscripts kept in Polish archives and libraries. The authors of the article aim to introduce the document into scholarly circulation and disseminate knowledge about it. The discovery and examination of Cyrillic manuscripts found both in Russia and other countries has long been the task of researchers representing various scholarly disciplines. The article aims to provide a palaeographic description of a calendar fragment and characterise its contents. The research aims to reveal the Typicon that influenced the appearance of the menologium. The observations made reveal traces of the traditions of the Great Orthodox Church Typicon and the Studite Typicon. The article seek to place this fragment among calendars of this type, define a group of Gospels that, as regards holidays included there, are closest to it, and thus prepare a starting point for further research aimed at revealing a possible “relationship” with other works. This aim is achieved by comparing the contents of the fragment with the content of calendars discussed by O. V. Loseva in her extensive work Russian Menologia of the 11th–14th Centuries, which includes information about almost two hundred copies of Gospels, lectionaries, and liturgical collections. Comparative analysis makes it possible to select a group of calendars with a set of holidays which are similar to that included in the menologium under analysis. The article is accompanied by a list of holidays included in BOZ 154, together with data on evangelical pericopes for particular days.

Reception and transformation of the Huiji Jin’gang shuo shentong daman tuoluoni fashu Lingyao men: the discovery and significance of medieval Japanese scripture manuscripts

ABSTRACT Investigative research of the Buddhist manuscripts in Japan are garnering the attention of the international community, but these achievements are all oriented toward problems associated with the traditional methods of research into Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures. In other words, they are demonstrating the dangers of relying too much on printed editions of texts. This suggests both the importance of a relatively strict revision of Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures based on the discovery and application of medieval Japanese scripture manuscripts, as well as the possibility of grasping more correctly the historical process of change of textual content, via the work of revision. Moreover, this situation will help promote the potential for a relatively flexible understanding of the reception and transformation of Buddhist scriptures in East Asia. To concretely present the validity and potential of this type of research methodology, this paper takes as a topic the Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures associated with Huiji Jin’gang, first introducing the various transmitted editions of this scripture. It points out problems contained in the genealogy and content of the printed texts, and further clarify the process of transformation of this scripture, based on the medieval manuscript editions from Dunhuang and Japan.

Voltaire’s Incomplete Works (and Why They Will Stay that Way)

The Complete works of Voltaire published by the Voltaire Foundation were begun in 1968 and will be completed in 203 volumes in 2021. In so far as discoveries of manuscripts and editions will continue to be made, this monumental edition is necessarily incomplete. But it is also incomplete in another more profound sense. Eighteenth-century editions of Voltaire present an often unstable version of the text; Voltaire cultivates an open and fluid style, making frequent use of self-quotation, and blurring traditional generic boundaries; Voltaire's characteristically slippery authorial posture, making frequent use of anonymity and pseudonymity, adds further instability to the œuvre. For all these reasons, Voltaire's works present a particular challenge to the critical editor of a print edition – a challenge that perhaps can only be fully met in a digital critical edition.

Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire"

Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire"