DOI article:
Gaselee, Stephen: Progress of Egyptology: christian Egypt
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12419#0075
Christian Egypt.
55
many martyrdoms.2 Chabot gives3 further details as to the contents of
the patristic part of the collection, ffine or ten of the volumes are in
their original bindings, and there are a fair number of illuminations, of
which some specimens have been given in the public press, such as an
Annunciation and Shenoute in converse with the Saviour. This is, of
course, from almost all points of view—biblical criticism, palaeography,
art, and hagiographical literature—by far the most important event of
recent years, and the publication of the MSS. will be awaited with the
utmost excitement.4 They are in good hands, being under the charge of
Hyvebnat (to whose articles most of the above description is due), and it
appears that to him and Chassinat we owe the rescue of the collection as a
whole just as it was about to be broken up and sold in pieces.5 Many
rumours have been put about as to the unimportant question of the price
paid for the MSS., and it has even been declared by the Tribunals Brindisi
correspondent that the whole is a forgery.6 All thanks must be given to
Mr. Morgan for his public-spirited act in acquiring the collection, and for
his intention to make it accessible to the learned world as soon as possible.
1. Biblical.—The two parts of Schleifer's Sa'. texts from the British
Museum (v. Report, 1909-10, 55, and last Report, 61) are reviewed7 together
by Mallon, who mentions Hebbelynck's work, referred to below, as the
scientific method of dealing with the scattered biblical leaves in the
various libraries of Europe; a review 8 by Maspeko has also appeared.
An elaborate and important review9 of Sir Herbert Thompson's
publication of the British Museum Palimpsest (v. last Report, 61), by
Ckum, calls attention in turn to the system of superlineation employed
in the palimpsest, to the character of the translation from the Greek, to
the Coptic vocabulary employed (especially to the new words found in it),
and finally suggests a few emendations of the text. Bahlfs10 expresses
surprise that the MS. volume seems to have begun with Joshua, as the
ordinary first section of the Bible was not the Pentateuch, but the
Octateuch. He would have desired a photograph of a page of the MS.,
but a glance at it (or at Hyvernat's two plates from it) would show him
the extraordinary difficulty of getting a satisfactory result from so faint a
palimpsest. M. Sprexglixg 11 would have liked a collation (though this
was outside the editor's intention) and indexes. He devotes some attention
to the curious order of the books. Boesch makesua some suggestions,
valuable owing to his knowledge of ancient Egyptian, as to some of the
new or unfamiliar Coptic words appearing in the text, e.g. the difficult
periperoi - "palace," mentioned in last year's Report. Maspero has also
reviewed12 this text.
55
many martyrdoms.2 Chabot gives3 further details as to the contents of
the patristic part of the collection, ffine or ten of the volumes are in
their original bindings, and there are a fair number of illuminations, of
which some specimens have been given in the public press, such as an
Annunciation and Shenoute in converse with the Saviour. This is, of
course, from almost all points of view—biblical criticism, palaeography,
art, and hagiographical literature—by far the most important event of
recent years, and the publication of the MSS. will be awaited with the
utmost excitement.4 They are in good hands, being under the charge of
Hyvebnat (to whose articles most of the above description is due), and it
appears that to him and Chassinat we owe the rescue of the collection as a
whole just as it was about to be broken up and sold in pieces.5 Many
rumours have been put about as to the unimportant question of the price
paid for the MSS., and it has even been declared by the Tribunals Brindisi
correspondent that the whole is a forgery.6 All thanks must be given to
Mr. Morgan for his public-spirited act in acquiring the collection, and for
his intention to make it accessible to the learned world as soon as possible.
1. Biblical.—The two parts of Schleifer's Sa'. texts from the British
Museum (v. Report, 1909-10, 55, and last Report, 61) are reviewed7 together
by Mallon, who mentions Hebbelynck's work, referred to below, as the
scientific method of dealing with the scattered biblical leaves in the
various libraries of Europe; a review 8 by Maspeko has also appeared.
An elaborate and important review9 of Sir Herbert Thompson's
publication of the British Museum Palimpsest (v. last Report, 61), by
Ckum, calls attention in turn to the system of superlineation employed
in the palimpsest, to the character of the translation from the Greek, to
the Coptic vocabulary employed (especially to the new words found in it),
and finally suggests a few emendations of the text. Bahlfs10 expresses
surprise that the MS. volume seems to have begun with Joshua, as the
ordinary first section of the Bible was not the Pentateuch, but the
Octateuch. He would have desired a photograph of a page of the MS.,
but a glance at it (or at Hyvernat's two plates from it) would show him
the extraordinary difficulty of getting a satisfactory result from so faint a
palimpsest. M. Sprexglixg 11 would have liked a collation (though this
was outside the editor's intention) and indexes. He devotes some attention
to the curious order of the books. Boesch makesua some suggestions,
valuable owing to his knowledge of ancient Egyptian, as to some of the
new or unfamiliar Coptic words appearing in the text, e.g. the difficult
periperoi - "palace," mentioned in last year's Report. Maspero has also
reviewed12 this text.