Gospels

This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 59 Or 2291
  • Dates of Creation
    • 12th century-13th century
  • Language of Material
    • Arabic Syriac
  • Physical Description
    • Codex 150 ff Material: Oriental paper. Dimensions: 250 mm x 160-170 mm [210 mm x 140 mm written]. Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil. Lines per page: 21 lines/page. Script: (Arabic) Naskh.Ink: Brown ink, with rubricated headings and liturgical marks in red. Binding: British Museum binding. Condition: Good, though margins restored.Quire marks: - (corners normally cut).Other: Liturgical reading directions.

Scope and Content

This volum contains the Gospels in Syriac and Arabic, bilingual, in two columns. The Arabic is a literal translation of the Harklean version with some Peshitta influence and alternative renderings. The Arabic is a translation of the Syriac text. Contents :. Matthew, fols. 1r-23r (beginning with Matt. 12:3). Mark, fols. 23r-61v. Luke, fols. 61v-118v. John, fols. 119r-150v (John 1:15-12:22). Incomplete at beginning and end and it exhibits many lacunae within the text. See text extracts in Rieu, Supplement, 6-7. There is no colophon to this manuscript, but the item is believed to have been copied in the 12th or 13th century CE.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from Captain S. B. Miles on 15 December 1880.

Other Finding Aids

Rieu, Charles. Supplement to the Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: The British Museum, 1894), Item 5, pp. 6-7; Kashouh, Hikmat, The Arabic Versions of the Gospels: The Manuscripts and their Families (Berlin and New York: De Gruyter, 2012), pp. 171-173.