Decline, Renaissance, and the Consolidation of Tradition
[48]
Syriac gradually lost its position as a spoken language
in Syria and Mesopotamia, becoming instead a written Kultursprache.
It may have been used in oral form from time to time, in a liturgical
context or on special occasions. But all those who used the language
also had access to one or more other languages, either Arabic
or Persian. Even those who used one of the Aramaic dialects in
their daily lives became increasingly alienated from the written
language, which was on its way to becoming a leânâ
cattiqâ ("ancient language") or ktobonoyo
("written (language)"). People may have
understood it and may have been able to read and even write it,
but the direct interaction between the spoken and the written
language had been halted; this happened at different moments in
different regions, but the process was irreversible.
Jacob of Edessa may have been the last Syrian
author whose knowledge of Syriac was firmly rooted in the spoken
language,68
which in his day was not yet too far removed from
"Classical" Syriac. However, the evidence at our disposal
does not allow us to sketch this chapter of the history of the
Syriac language in other than very general terms, skipping some
centuries and passing over regional differences.
[49]
This new situation drastically limited the role
and scope of Syriac literature. Most importantly, the preservation
of Syriac was itself no longer a natural fact, but was becoming
increasingly dependent on the teaching carried out in the schools
of monasteries and parish churches. The system of education had
to be built on an ideology that saw the language and literature
as constituent elements of Syrian Christian identity. Moreover,
in societies in which other languages and other patterns of culture
prevailed - and to which Christians were obliged to adapt - Syriac
no longer covered the whole range of intellectual and cultural
activities. At the same time, Syriac heritage had to be trimmed
to a manageable form. That is not to say that Syriac literature
became something slightly artificial - comparable to Yiddish in
present-day New York or Frisian in the Netherlands. This situation
cannot be judged by the yardstick of our Western societies. Indeed,
the Middle East has known periods of truly multicultural and multilingual
activity, allowing different cultures to flourish at the same
time and in the same region, sometimes given expression by the
same individuals. Such phenomena could be witnessed until fairly
recently in Jerusalem, Mosul, Beirut, or Aleppo. Unfortunately
they no longer exist in present-day Europe, where a monoglot
consciousness69
is now becoming the rule.
[50]
These ideas may be of some help in understanding
the Syriac literature of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
a period which has been variously described as
decline70
and revival.71
To some extent both descriptions may be correct. However, when
considering the works of this period, one cannot but be impressed
by the tremendous achievements of Syrian Christians, who were
nourished by their own tradition, but at the same time seized
the opportunities of their new situation.
[51]
Barhebraeus, Syrian-Orthodox mafryono of the thirteenth
century, was a man of an exceptional breadth and open-mindedness, who
wrote in both Syriac and Arabic. As such he is an outstanding
exponent of the Syriac culture of this period. In the case of
Timothy, the East-Syrian Catholicos, we saw openings towards the
Syrian-Orthodox world, but Barhebraeus' view of Syriac literary
culture fully encompasses both the West-Syrian and East-Syrian
traditions, "two illustrious (we would say: official) traditions"
(tartên malmonwon tbibon), as he puts
it in the preface to his Book of Rays, or Syriac
grammar.72
That this is not merely a token veneration may be seen from the grammar
itself. While it is based mainly on West-Syriac, it contains a
great number of references to East-Syriac vocalisation and pronunciation.
Among the authors quoted as examples we find the Syriac translations
of the main Greek authorities, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil, John
Chrysostom, and Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as a number
of Syrians: not only Ephrem, Jacob of Serug, and Jacob of Edessa,
but also Narsai and once even Theodore of Mopsuestia! A similar
incorporation of East-Syrian tradition is to be found in many
of his other works, e.g., the Chronicle and the Ethicon.
[52]
With regard to the latter two works, the Chronicle
and the Ethicon, scholars have in recent years pointed to Barhebraeus'
fairly massive borrowing from Islamic
sources.73
This fact bears witness to the mafryono's conviction that
Syriac culture should not be fostered in isolation; rather, without
giving up its own tradition, it should participate fully in the surrounding
culture. While the idea has found few supporters since the time
of Barhebraeus, the borrowing itself has remained firmly rooted
in Syriac tradition, for precisely these two works have become
tremendously popular.
[53]
One could say that in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries Syriac literature, especially the West-Syrian tradition,
underwent a process of updating by such authors as Dionysius bar
Salibi (d. 1171), Michael the Patriarch (d. 1199), Jacob bar akko
(d. 1241) and Gregory Barhebraeus (d. 1286). Together these men,
all prominent personalities within their churches and societies,
covered the whole range of Syriac literature. In their day, the
intellectual and cultural infrastructure of Syriac Christianity
was still largely intact. Their works of an encyclopaedic nature
incorporate, summarise and complement earlier works, taking into
account contemporary developments and allowing for borrowings
from neighbouring cultures, as we have seen in the case of Barhebraeus.
Through their achievements, Syriac literary tradition was remoulded
into the shape in which it would be further transmitted in the
centuries to follow. In terms of the fixation and consolidation
of the tradition, these authors' works are of paramount importance.
The operation was a success, for their works enjoyed great popularity
and were frequently copied. Unfortunately, due to the subsequent
destruction throughout the Middle East and the decimation of the
Christian population, many of the older works on which the twelfth-
and thirteenth-century writings were based disappeared forever.
[54]
The general profile of Syriac literature as perceived
around the year 1300 in East-Syrian circles is somewhat different
from what we find when we look at Jacob of Edessa and Timothy
Catholicos. This is clear from the Catalogue of Books by cAbdioc of Nisibis (d.
1318).74
The list of "early and modern"
writers (qadmâyê wa-'hrâyê)
has 198 entries, and although it starts with the books of the
Old and New Testaments (nos. 1-2), followed by the "Greek
Fathers" (nos. 3-48), by far the largest share (nos. 49-198)
is for the "Syrian Fathers". Many of the authors are
no longer known to us, and one wonders whether cAbdioc
himself was actually familiar with all the authors and books he
was listing or whether he sometimes just quoted from memory or
copied some vague
reference.75
From the earliest period, emcon
bar Sabbace, Acacius, Miles, and the Letters
to Papa are referred to, alongside Ephrem, "the prophet of
the Syrians" and Aphrahat. A number of East-Syrian authors
are also mentioned. The lemma on Babai (fl. c. 600), which refers
to 83 books, puts this theologian on nearly the same level as
Theodore of Mopsuestia in the Greek
section.76
This list of authors who "spoke through the spirit"
(mallel(w) b-yad
ruhâ)77
also includes contemporaries; in the last section cAbdioc
lists his own Syriac and Arabic works. And finally, there are
also a few Syrian-Orthodox authors, including Jacob of Edessa,
whose Chronicle is quoted.
[55]
Not only are contemporary authors included in cAbdioc's
Catalogue, they also appear in manuscripts preserved in the monastic
libraries. In the case of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,
our evidence is scanty, being limited to a few particulars on
the libraries of the Monastery of Rabban Hormizd near Alqo
and the Monastery of Bet Qoqa (or Baquqa). We are better informed
about the later collections of Siirt and Alqo. Religious
poetry, in particular, was a very popular genre. After Giwargis
Warda and Khamis bar Qardahe (both from Erbil and working in the
thirteenth century), monks associated with Bet Qoqa practised
this genre - Gabriel Qamsa (end of the thirteenth century) and
Brikhioc bar Ekape (fourteenth century)
- before passing the tradition on to poets in Gazarta and Alqo
in the sixteenth
century.78
These writings were immediately incorporated
into the manuscript collections of "Classical" Syriac,
which proves that the tradition of "Classical" Syriac
was still seen as very much
alive.79
[56]
Another interesting aspect of these late East-Syrian
manuscript collections is the presence of a number of Syrian-Orthodox
authors: Jacob bar akko (first half of the thirteenth century),
with his Book of Dialogues and above all Barhebraeus, whose works
appear in various collections. It is tempting to see here a positive
response of the East-Syrians to the mafryono's open-mindedness.
[57]
As is well-known, from the end of the sixteenth
century onwards copying activities intensified in the village
of Alqo, where a number of priest-copyists were active,
and to a lesser extent in several other places in Northern Iraq.
This points in the direction of a new operation aimed at updating
the tradition, comparable to that which took place in the Syrian-Orthodox
milieu in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. However, in seventeenth-century
Alqo it was not the high-ranking officials of the church
who took the lead, but rather learned village priests. Furthermore,
the focus was on copying, i.e., retrieving and preserving ancient
texts, rather than rewriting them. Due to the difference in social
level, new types of texts came to the fore, such as the History of
Alexander80
and the "Aramaic" History of Ahiqar,
texts which must have been popular down through the ages. Finally,
in addition to the popular genre of Syriac religious poetry, the
Alqoâyê experimented with a hitherto unexplored
method of dealing with the tradition: religious poetry of traditional
content in Sureth, the colloquial Aramaic language of the
region.81
Epilogue
[58]
The copying activities of East-Syrian village priests
in North Iraq in the seventeenth century, the rewriting and assembling
of ancient texts by Syrian-Orthodox church leaders of the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries, and the collecting of manuscripts by
an abbot travelling between Mesopotamia and the Egyptian desert
in the early tenth century, all testify to the manner in which
Syrian Christians, under very different circumstances, valued
their tradition. Comments by Jacob of Edessa and Timothy Catholicos
have helped us to understand some aspects of the growth and development
of the tradition. It is upon the labour of all these people that
we are building our own constructions, Syriac scholars and Syrian
Christians alike. It is to be hoped that the result of our joint
efforts will do justice to the perspicacity and open-mindedness
of the most eminent among them.
*
Acknowledgements
The ideas expressed here have developed during a class on Syriac
literature taught in the course of several years at the University
of Leiden. Not only the students but also my colleagues Judith Frishman
(who suggested the title), Bas ter Haar Romeny, Dirk Kruisheer,
Alessandro Mengozzi, and Heleen Murre-van den Berg discussed various
aspects of the subject with me. George Kiraz and Thomas Joseph worked
hard to give this text its Hugoye format.
_______
Notes
†
This is a slightly adapted and expanded version of a lecture delivered at the opening of "Syriac Symposium III: The Aramaic Heritage of Syria" on June 17, 1999 at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.
1
For a recent study in which an attempt is made
to place Ephrem's poetry within its larger Aramaic context, see
A.S. Rodrigues Pereira, Studies in Aramaic Poetry (c. 100 B.C.E.
- c. 600 C.E.). Selected Jewish, Christian and Samaritan Poems
(Studia Semitica Neerlandica 34; Assen 1997).
2
See S.P. Brock's illuminating essay "From Antagonism
to Assimilation: Syriac Attitudes to Greek Learning", in
N.G. Garsoïan - T.F. Mathews - R.W. Thomson (eds.), East
of Byzantium: Syria and Armenia in the Formative Period (Washington
D.C. 1982) 17-34.
3
Brock, "From Antagonism", 17.
4
On the transmission of Ephrem's hymns, see S.P. Brock,
"The Transmission of Ephrem's Madrashe in the Syriac
Liturgical Tradition", in E.A. Livingstone (ed.), Studia
Patristica, XXXIII (Louvain 1997) 490-505 as well as Idem,
"St. Ephrem in the Eyes of Later Syriac Liturgical Tradition",
Hugoye 2,1 (January 1999).
5
A. de Halleux, Philoxène de Mabbog. Lettre
aux moines de Senoun (CSCO 231-232 / Syr. 98-99; Louvain 1963)
49-51 (Syriac); 40-42 (French translation). Compare Brock, "From
Antagonism", 20. At a much earlier date in his life, Philoxenus
assigned a more prominent place to Ephrem's theology, as becomes
clear in the florilegium attached to the Mêmrê
against Habbib (written between 482 and 484). Here, nearly
half of the quotations are under Ephrem's name. Cf. M. Brière
& F. Graffin, Sancti Philoxeni episcopi Mabbugensis Dissertationes
decem de Uno e sancta trinitate incorporato et passo (Mêmrê
contre Habib), V (Patrologia Orientalis 41,1; Turnhout
1982) 58-129 (Syriac and French translation); A. de Halleux, Philoxène
de Mabbog. Sa vie, ses écrits, sa théologie
(Louvain 1963) 233-234; Brock, "The transmission", 491-492.
The second most frequently quoted authority in this florilegium
is Eusebius of Emesa, the Greek writing Syrian of Edessene descent.
6
See, e.g., Peter of Callinicos' theological work
Contra Damianum, which is in the course of publication
by R.Y. Ebied, A. Van Roey, and L. Wickham (Corpus Christianorum,
Series Graeca 29, 32, 35; Louvain - Turnhout 1994 ff.). It must
be admitted, however, that this work had a different audience,
not limited to the monks of the Syrian and Mesopotamian inland
regions.
7
Jacob of Edessa, Letter to John the Stylite: ms.
Brit. Libr. Add. 12,172, f. 100r-v.
8
Letter to John the Stylite: ms. Brit. Libr. Add. 12,172, f. 81v.
9
Letter to John the Stylite: R. Schröter, "Erster
Brief Jacobs von Edessa an Johannes den Styliten", Zeitschrift
der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 24 (1870)
269,16-17 (Syriac); 274 (German translation).
10
Dirk Kruisheer kindly put his personal collection
of microfilms and photostats of Jacob's letters at my disposal.
A complete edition and translation of the letters is being prepared
by Jan van Ginkel. For a preliminary survey of the letters, with
bibliographical references, see R.G. Hoyland, Seeing Islam
as Others Saw It. A Survey and Evaluation of Christian, Jewish
and Zoroastrian Writings on Early Islam (Studies in Late Antiquity
and Early Islam 13; Princeton, NJ 1997) 741-742. For Jacob's dealings
with Islam, see Idem, "Jacob of Edessa on Islam", in
G.J. Reinink & A.C. Klugkist (eds.), After Bardaisan. Studies
on Continuity and Change in Syriac Christianity in Honour of Professor
Han J.W. Drijvers (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 89; Louvain
1999) 149-160.
11
Jacob made use of both the Syro-Hexapla and a number of Greek
biblical manuscripts. There are two important recent monographs:
R.J. Saley, The Samuel Manuscript of Jacob of Edessa. A Study in
Its Underlying Textual Traditions (Monographs of the Peshitta
Institute Leiden 9; Leiden 1998) and A. Salvesen, The Books of
Samuel in the Syriac Version of Jacob of Edessa (in the same
collection, 10; Leiden 1999).
12
W. Wright, "Two Letters of Mâr Jacob,
Bishop of Edessa", Journal of Sacred Literature IV,10
(1867) [434-460: available to me in an offprint with independent
page numbering] 20-21 (Syriac); F. Nau, "Traduction des lettres
XII et XIII de Jacques d'Édesse (exégèse
biblique)", Revue de l'Orient Chrétien 10 (1905)
273-274 (French translation). Cf. R.B. ter Haar Romeny, A Syrian
in Greek Dress. The Use of Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac Biblical
Texts in Eusebius of Emesa's Commentary on Genesis (Traditio
Exegetica Graeca 6; Louvain 1997) 28-29 and 205.
13
Letter to George of Serug: G. Phillips, A Letter
by Mar Jakob of Edessa on Syriac Orthography (London 1869)
11,1-2 (Syriac); 9 (English translation).
14
In the grammar one also finds mamllâ
'Urhâyâ (2a,9), leânâ
'Urhâyâ (2b,12-13), and mamllâ nahrâyâ
(2b,19-20): W. Wright, Fragments of the Turrâs
Mamllâ Nahrâyâ or Syriac Grammar of Jacob
of Edessa (London & Clerkenwell s.d).
15
Madrââ 44, discussed
in a Letter to John the Stylite: ms. Brit. Libr. Add. 12,172,
f. 85v. Summary in F. Nau, "Cinq lettres de Jacques d'Édesse
à Jean le stylite (Traduction et analyse)", Revue
de l'Orient Chrétien 14 (1909) 438-440.
16
Madrââ 25, discussed in a Letter
to the deacon George: F. Nau, "Lettre
de Jacques d'Édesse au diacre George sur une hymne composée
par S. Éphrem et citée par S. Jean Maron",
Revue de l'Orient Chrétien 6 (1901) 120-131 (Syriac
and French translation).
17
Hymn II,6, discussed in a Letter to John the Stylite:
Wright, "Two Letters" [see note 12] 25-26 (Syriac);
Nau, "Traduction" 277-278 (French translation); English
translation of the relevant section in S.P. Brock, A Brief Outline
of Syriac Literature (Kottayam 1997) 232-233.
18
Letter to John the Stylite: Schröter, "Erster
Brief" [see note 9] 267 (Syriac); 276 (German translation).
19
Letter to John the Stylite: ms. Brit. Libr. Add. 12,172, f. 123r-v.
Cf. Brock, A Brief Outline, 41-42.
20
Letter to John the Stylite: ms. Brit. Libr. Add. 12,172, f. 121v-122r;
partial edition in W. Wright, Catalogue of the Syriac Manuscripts
in the British Museum Acquired since the Year 1838, 2
(London 1871) 602-603.
21
That Greek secular culture was an integral part of Syriac literary
tradition among the learned elite of North Syria in the first
centuries of the Islamic period is convincingly argued by L.I.
Conrad, "Varietas Syriaca: Secular and Scientific Culture
in the Christian Communities of Syria after the Arab Conquest",
in Reinink & Klugkist, After Bardaisan [see note 10]
86-105. For a survey of Jacob's fields of interest and bibliographical
references, see D. Kruisheer & L. Van Rompay, "A Bibliographical
Clavis to the Works of Jacob of Edessa",
Hugoye 1,1 (January 1998).
22
Letter to John the Stylite: Wright, "Two
Letters" [see note 12] 5,4 (Syriac); Nau, "Traduction",
203 (French translation).
23
Letter to John the Stylite: F. Nau, "Lettre
de Jacques d'Édesse sur la généalogie de
la sainte Vierge", Revue de l'Orient Chrétien
6 (1901) 519,19-20 (Syriac); 525 (French translation).
24
Letter to John the Stylite: Wright, "Two Letters", 14,20
(Syriac); Nau, "Traduction", 265 (French translation).
25
Letter to John the Stylite: partial edition in
E. Nestle, Brevis linguae syriacae grammatica, litteratura,
chrestomathia (Porta Linguarum Orientalium 5; Karlsruhe &
Leipzig 1881) 84,8 (Syriac).
26
Letter to John the Stylite: ms. Brit. Libr. Add. 12,172, f. 134r.
27
Cf. D. Kruisheer, "Reconstructing Jacob of
Edessa's Scholia", in J. Frishman & L. Van Rompay
(eds.), The Book of Genesis in Jewish and Oriental Christian
Interpretation. A Collection of Essays (Traditio Exegetica
Graeca 5; Louvain 1997) 189 and 194-196.
28
W. Adler, "Jacob of Edessa
and the Jewish Pseudepigrapha in Syriac Chronography", J.C.
Reeves (ed.), Tracing the Treads. Studies in the Vitality of
Jewish Pseudepigrapha (Society of Biblical Literature; Early
Judaism and Its Literature 6; Atlanta 1994) 143-171.
29
V. Ryssel, Georgs des Araberbischofs Gedichte und Briefe
(Leipzig 1891) 44-54.
30
Mss. Brit. Libr. Add. 14,619 and Add. 17,182.
The latter manuscript is a combination of two different manuscripts,
dated respectively AD 474 and 510. The first in all likelihood
is a sixth-century manuscript. Both manuscripts belonged to the
collection of the Syrian-Orthodox Monastery of the Syrians in
Egypt.
31
Timothy, Letter to the monks of the Monastery
of Mar Maron (XLI): R.J. Bidawid, Les lettres du patriarche
nestorien Timothée I (Studi e Testi 187; Vatican City
1956) 36,16-18 and 22 (Syriac); 117 (Latin translation).
32
The number of the Magi is discussed in Jacob of
Edessa's Letter to John the Stylite referred to in note 25. Jacob
and Timothy agree that they were twelve. Cf. E. Balicka-Witakowska,
"Remarks on the Decoration and Iconography of the Syriac
Gospels, British Library, Add. 7174", in R. Lavenant (ed.),
Symposium Syriacum VII (Orientalia Christiana Analecta
256; Rome 1998) esp. 646-649.
33
Letter to Maranzka, bishop of Ninive (XXVI): O.
Braun, Timothei patriarchae I Epistulae, I (CSCO 74-75/Syr.
30-31; Rome - Paris 1914-1915) 148-150 (Syriac); 100-102 (Latin
translation).
34
Letter to Nasr the faithflul (XXXV): Braun, 225,9
(Syriac); 154,31-32 (Latin translation).
35
Letter to Sergius (XXI): Braun, 133,6 (Syriac);
89,17 (Latin translation); Letter to Sergius (XXXVIII) 277,1 (Syriac);
192,33 (Latin translation).
36
Letter to Sergius (XXXVIII): Braun, 267,16-17;
268,25; 269,10 (Syriac); 185,28; 186,31; 187,7-8 (Latin translation);
Letter to Sergius (XXXIX) 276,12-13; 278,16 (Syriac); 192,16;
193,33 (Latin translation).
37
These authors, together with those mentioned in
our first list, are those whose works, according to Timothy, had
been translated into Syriac long before Nestorius. See the Letter
to the monks of the Monastery of Mar Maron": Bidawid, Les
lettres [see note 31] 42,19-25 (Syriac); 121 (Latin translation).
38
Letter to the scholastic brothers of the Monastery
of Mar Gabriel in Mosul (XLII): ms. Vat. Syr. 605, f. 279r-303r;
summary in Bidawid, Les lettres, 34-35.
39
Letter to Nasr the faithful (XXXV): Braun, 233,21-235,29
(Syriac); 161,2-162,23 (Latin translation).
40
On Henana, see most recently G.J. Reinink, "«Edessa
Grew Dim and Nisibis Shone Forth»: The School of Nisibis
at the Transition of the Sixth-Seventh Century", in J.W.
Drijvers & A.A. MacDonald (eds.), Centres of Learning.
Learning and Location in Pre-Modern Europe and the Near East
(Leiden 1995) 77-89.
41
Letter to Solomon, bishop of Hedatta (I): Braun, 26,18-27,14
(Syriac); 15,18-16,3 (Latin translation).
42
Letter to Rabban Petion (IX): Braun, 95,30-96,4 (Syriac); 62,12-16
(Latin translation).
43
Letter to the monks of the Monastery of Mar Maron:
Bidawid, Les lettres [see note 31] 45,20-46,15 (Syriac);
123-124 (Latin translation).
44
Letter to Rabban Petion (XLIII): O. Braun, "Briefe
des Katholikos Timotheos I", Oriens Christianus 2
(1902) 10-11 (Syriac and German translation); Letter to Sergius
(XVI): Braun, 120-14-15 (Syriac); 80,6-7 (Latin translation);
Letter to Sergius (XXXIII): Braun, 156,14-18 (Syriac); 106,17-21
(Latin translation); Letter to Sergius (XXXVII): Braun, 265,9-14
(Syriac); 184,5-9 (Latin translation).
45
Cf. D. Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabic Culture.
The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early cAbbâsid
Society (2nd-4th/8th-10th centuries) (London & New York
1998) 61 and most recently S.P. Brock, "Two Letters of the Patriarch
Timothy from the Late Eighth Century on Translations from Greek",
Arabic Sciences and Philosophy 9 (1999) 233-246.
46
Letter to Sergius (XLVII): O. Braun, "Ein
Brief des Katholikos Timotheos I über biblische Studien des
9 Jahrhunderts", Oriens Christianus 1 (1901) 312-313.
See also note 53.
47
Letter to Sergius (LIV): ms. Vat. Syr. 605, f.
324v-325r; summary in Bidawid, Les lettres, 40.
48
Letter to Sergius (XXI): Braun, 132,7-15 (Syriac);
88,24-31 (Latin translation).
49
For the wider context, see W. Schwaigert, Das
Christentum in Hûzistân im Rahmen der frühen
Kirchengeschichte Persiens bis zur Synode von Seleukeia-Ktesiphon
im Jahre 410 (Ph.D. Thesis; Marburg/Lahn 1989) esp. 75-76.
50
Some notions and terms have been borrowed from the introductory
chapter of F.J. Ragep & S.P. Ragep (eds.), Tradition, Transmission,
Transformation. Proceedings of Two Conferences on Pre-modern Science
Held at the University of Oklahoma (Collection de travaux de
l'Académie internationale d'histoire des sciences 37;
Leiden 1996) esp. xv - xix, and from the paper by A.I. Sabra,
"The Appropriation and Subsequent Naturalization
of Greek Science in Medieval Islam: A Preliminary Statement",
reprinted ibid., 3-27.
51
Cf. A. Harrak, The Chronicle of Zuqnin. Parts
III and IV. A.D. 488-775) (Mediaeval Sources in Translation
36; Toronto 1999) 1-2. For the reuse of Greek manuscripts of Homer,
Galen, and Euclid in the ninth century and later, see Brock, "From
Antagonism to Assimilation" [see note 2] 29 with note 149.
52
Cf. J.-M. Hornus, "Le corpus dionysien en
syriaque", Parole de l'Orient 1 (1970) 69-93 as well
as S.P. Brock, "Jacob of Edessa's Discourse on the Myron",
Oriens Christianus 63 (1979) esp. 21.
53
Letter to Sergius (XLVII): Braun, "Ein Brief"
[see note 46] 299-313. Cf. R.B. ter Haar Romeny, "Biblical
Studies in the Church of the East: The Case of Catholicos Timothy
I", forthcoming in E.J. Yarnold (ed.), Studia Patristica.
Papers of the Thirteenth Patristic Conference (Oxford 1999).
An English translation of this letter is provided in Brock, A
Brief Outline of Syriac Literature, 245-251.
54
Letter to Rabban Petion (XLIII): Braun, "Briefe"
[see note 44] 4-11. Cf. Brock, "Two Letters" [see note 45] 236 and 242.
55
See the references in note 44.
56
Letter to Sergius (XXXIX): Braun, 279,17-24 (Syriac);
194,28-33 (Latin translation).
57
For some observations on book production and distribution
in the period prior to Timothy, see M. Mundell Mango, "Patrons
and Scribes Indicated in Syriac Manuscripts, 411 to 800 AD",
in XVI. Internationaler Byzantinistenkongress Wien, 4.-9. Oktober
1981, II/4 (Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik
32,4; Vienna 1982) 3-12.
58
Letter to Sergius (XIII): Braun, 109,6-13 (Syriac);
71,33-72,2 (Latin translation).
59
Letter to Sergius (XIX): Braun, 129,10-130,1 (Syriac); 86,16-32
(Latin translation).
60
Letter to Sergius (XLIX): ms. Vat. Syr. 605, f.
312v-313r; summary in Bidawid, Les lettres, 38.
61
Letter to Sergius (XVII): Braun, 123,5-16 (Syriac);
82,2-11 (Latin translation). Cf. H. Suermann, "Timothy and
his Concern for the School of Basos", The Harp 10,1-2
(1997) 51-58. The books had remained there when Timothy left for
Baghdad and there subsequently arose some uncertainty about the
ownership.
62
Cf. K. Innemée & L. Van Rompay, "La
présence des Syriens dans le Wadi al-Natrun (Égypte).
À propos des découvertes récentes de peintures
et de textes muraux dans l'Église de la Vierge du Couvent
des Syriens", Parole de l'Orient 23 (1998) 182-183.
63
H.G. Evelyn White, The Monasteries of the Wâdi
'n Natrûn, II. The History of the Monasteries of
Nitria and of Scetis (New York, 1932) 440-441 and Innemée
& Van Rompay, "La présence", 184.
64
On Moses, see J. Leroy, "Moïse de Nisibe",
in Symposium Syriacum 1972 (Orientalia Chistiana Analecta
197; Rome 1974) 457-470, and M. Blanchard, "Moses of Nisibis
(fl. 906-943) and the Library of Deir Suriani", in L.S.B.
MacCoull (ed.), Studies in the Christian East in Memory of
Mirrit Boutros Ghali (Publications of the Society for Coptic
Archaeology 1; Washington, D.C. 1995) 13-24. On the impact of
the Library of Dayr al-Suryan on Syriac studies, see S.P. Brock,
"The Development of Syriac Studies", in K.J. Cathcart
(ed.), The Edward Hincks Bicentenary Lectures (Dublin:
Department of Near Eastern Languages, University College, 1994)
94-109.
65
For a description of the manuscripts Brit. Libr.
Or. 8731 and Brit. Libr. Add. 14,548, see A. Van Roey & H.
Moors, "Les discours de Saint Grégoire de Nazianze
dans la littérature syriaque", Orientalia Lovaniensia
Periodica 5 (1974) 80-84 and 84-87. For Gregory's Homilies
in Syriac, see also A. de Halleux, "La version syriaque des
Discours de Grégoire de Nazianze", in J. Mossay
(ed.), II. Symposium Nazianzenum (Studien zur Geschichte
und Kultur des Altertums, Neue Folge, 2,2; Paderborn 1983) 75-111.
66
Harrak, The Chronicle of Zuqnin [see note 51] 9-21.
67
One of the rare surviving treasures indicative
of the scribal and artistic skills existing in that region is
the sixth-century Rabbula Codex, containing the four Gospels and
an important set of illuminations. On the place of origin of this
manuscript, see M. Mundell Mango, "Where was Beth Zagba?",
in C. Mango & O. Pritsak (eds.), Okeanos, Essays Presented
to Ihor evcenko (= Harvard Ukrainian Studies
7, 1983) 405-430.
68
For an assessment of Jacob's grammatical work,
which was based on the real sounds of the language, not on its
written form, see E.J. Revell, "The Grammar of Jacob of Edessa
and the Other Near Eastern Grammatical Traditions", Parole
de l'Orient 3 (1972) 365-374.
69
On the limitations of monolingualism and the "blessings
of Babel", see chapter seven in G. Steiner, Errata. An
Examined Life (Second impression, London 1997) 78-102 as well
as J.M. Broekman, A Philosophy of European Union Law. Positions
in Legal Space and the Construction of a Juridical World Image
(On the Making of Europe 4; Louvain 1999) esp. 310-323.
70
Cf. J.-B. Chabot, Littérature syriaque
(Paris 1934) 114: "Quatrième période (Xe -
XIIIe siècle). Décadence et fin de la littérature
syriaque"; compare 118, 121, 129.
71
Cf. P. Kawerau, Die jakobitische Kirche im
Zeitalter der syrischen Renaissance: Idee und Wirklichkeit
(Berlin 1955).
72
A. Moberg, Le Livre des splendeurs. La grande
grammaire de Grégoire Barhebraeus (Lund 1922) 2,17-18
(Syriac); Idem, Buch der Strahlen. Die grössere Grammatik
des Barhebraeus (Leipzig 1913) 1-2 (German translation).
73
See H. Teule, "The Crusaders in Barhebraeus'
Syriac and Arabic Secular Chronicles: A Different Approach",
in K. Ciggaar, A. Davids, H. Teule (eds.), East and West in
the Crusader States: Context - Contacts - Confrontations (Orientalia
Lovaniensia Analecta 75; Louvain 1996) 39-49; Idem, Gregory
Barhebraeus. Ethicon. Mêmrâ I (CSCO 535 / Syr.
219; Louvain 1993) XXX-XXXII as well as Appendix I (112-145),
on the influence of Al-Ghazâlî's work Ihyâ'
cUlum al-Dîn on the Ethicon. See also G.
Lane, "An Account of Gregory Barhebraeus Abu al-Faraj and
His Relations with the Mongols of Persia",
Hugoye 2,2 (July 1999).
74
J.S. Assemani, "Carmen Ebedjesu Metropolitae
Sobae et Armeniae continens catalogum librorum omnium ecclesiasticorum",
Bibliotheca Orientalis, III,1 (Rome 1725) 1-362 (Syriac
and Latin translation). There is a new edition, by J. Habbi (Baghdad
1987), which, however, has not been accessible to me.
75
See, e.g., the otherwise unknown author Bar Yacqob
(no. 159), about whom cAbdioc
only reports: 'it leh ktâbâ "he has a
book".
76
Surprisingly Babai is not mentioned in Timothy's correspondence.
77
Compare a similar expression used by Jacob of Edessa, referred to in note 9.
78
Cf. Baumstark, Geschichte, 304-306, 321-323.
79
An article, by Heleen Murre-van den Berg and myself,
on some aspects of the East-Syrian transmission of Classical Syriac
literature after the thirteenth century is in preparation.
80
It should be noted that in their letters both Jacob of Edessa and
Timothy Catholicos have a reference to the meeting between Alexander
and Queen Qandaqe. For Jacob, see his Letter to John the Stylite:
ms. Brit. Libr. Add. 12,172, f. 122v (where
Tacyâtâ hâlên
d-mettol 'Aleksandros malkâ d-Yawnâyê
are explicitly referred to). For Timothy, see his Letter to Nasr
the faithful (XXXV): Braun, 228,4-14 (Syriac); 156,32-157,3 (Latin
translation). On the History of Alexander in Syriac, see most
recently C.A. Ciancaglini, "Gli antecedenti del Romanzo
siriaco di Alessandro", in R.B. Finazzi & A. Valvo (eds.),
La diffusione dell'eredità classica nell'età
tardoantica e medievale. Il "Romanzo di Alessandro"
e altri scritti (L'eredità classica nel mondo orientale
2; Alessandria 1998) 55-93.
81
Cf. H.L. Murre-van den Berg, "A Syrian Awakening.
Alqosh and Urmia as Centres of Neo-Syriac Writing", in Lavenant,
Symposium Syriacum VII [see note 32] 499-515 as well as
A. Mengozzi, "The Neo-Aramaic
Manuscripts of the British Library: Notes on the Study of the
Durikyâtâ as a Neo-Syriac Genre", Le Muséon 112 (1999): 459-494.
_______
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