TWO NEW CATALOGUES OF MANUSCRIPTS have just been published. The first, from Peeters:
Catalogue of the Syriac Manuscripts and Fragments in the Library of Deir al-Surian, Wadi al-Natrun (Egypt)
Series:
Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 227
Authors: Brock S., Van Rompay L.
Year: 2014
ISBN: 978-90-429-2962-3
Pages: XXII-834 p.
Price: 105 EURO
Summary: Deir al-Surian, the famous Monastery of the Syrians in Egypt, has long been known for its unique collection of Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, and Ethiopic manuscripts. This catalogue provides detailed descriptions of 48 Syriac manuscripts (many of them composite) and the more than 180 fragments that are preserved in the Monastery today. Ranging in date from the 5th to the 18th century and with a majority of them being earlier than the 10th century, the manuscripts present us with major authors and works of the Syriac literary tradition. They include biblical texts (among them the earliest dated Gospel manuscript in any language), original Syriac compositions, and translations from Greek and (occasionally) Coptic. Several works were previously unattested. Connections with manuscripts from Deir al-Surian that are preserved in European collections (primarily the British Library) are indicated wherever relevant. Colophons and various kinds of notes by scribes, readers, owners, and occasional visitors also receive attention, thus allowing interesting glimpses into the history not only of individual manuscripts, but also of the Monastery and its library. Accompanying the catalogue is an album containing more than 300 pages of images.
Follow the link for TOC and ordering information. Past posts on the Monastery of Deir al-Surian and its library are here and links. And Liv Ingeborg Lied has recently located Syriac quotations of 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra through this catalogue.
The second, from Franz Steiner:
Alessandro Bausi (Hrsg.), Paola Buzi (Bearb.)
Coptic Manuscripts
Part 7: The Manuscripts of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Part 4: Homilectic and Liturgical Manuscripts from the White Monastery. With two documents from Thebes and two Old-Nubian manuscripts
Band 21.7
Verzeichnis der Orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland (VOHD)
2014.
274 p.
7 Tafeln, cloth bound
ISBN 978-3-515-10711-2
Again, for more information, follow the link. Past posts pertaining to the White Monastery are here, here, and here. And Alin Suciu comments on the catalogue in this post: Catalogue of the Coptic Manuscripts in the Collection of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
