Friday, December 22, 2006

News on the Coptic find?

5
Does anyone know any more news relating to the Coptic manuscript find reported here?

5 comments

  1. One of the manuscripts turned out to be a complete copy of the book of Isaiah. Other texts have been identified too. See here for details.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Roger Pearce has a page on the unfolding of the story in the media

    http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/manuscripts/coptic_codex.htm

    The Polish Centre publishes a newsletter, it details that

    "Two of the books are papyrus codices bound in leather (about 140 and 100 cards respectively). The third is a collection of loose parchment documents in different hands, kept between wooden covers. While the latter remains to be identified, the papyrus books were found to be, one the Canons of Pseudo-Basil in Coptic, the other an Encomion on St Pisenthios, a bishop of Coptos until AD 632, also in Coptic. Both codices were dated to the 7th-8th century, and both represent the oldest known versions of the respective texts. Moreover, until now the Canons had been known only in later Arabic translation." http://www.centrumarcheologii.uw.edu.pl/cas/pliki/nwsl13.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  3. The link to my collection of info is
    here.

    The mss are:

    * A coptic translation of the book of Isaiah; the first copy known. On 50 decorated sheets of parchment. Wooden boards. 9th-10th centuries.

    * The code of ps.Basil - a coptic ecclesiastical lawbook of the 7/8th century. On papyrus. Leather covers.

    * The life of St. Pistentios - a hagiography of a coptic saint, from the 7/8th century. On papyrus. Leather covers.

    Also there are endleaves supporting the wooden binding made of reused parchment; part of the apocryphal "The passion of St. Peter", an unspecified religious text, and some tax bills.

    All the best,

    Roger Pearse

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks to all for this information.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Excellent information. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete