The Arabic Version of the Hagiographic Biography of the Coptic Saint Shenoute (Vita Sinuthii): Critical Edition, Translation and Studies

• Applicant: Dr. Samuel Moawad
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: from 2018 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 399793570

The aims of this project are (1) to prepare a critical edition of the Arabic version of the “Vita Sinuthii”, with German translation; (2) to analyze the Arabic text philologically and with regard to content; (3) to investigate the relationship of this text to the traditions about Shenoute that are attested by a number of related Sahidic-Coptic fragments; and (4) to examine the representation of Shenoute as it appears in other Coptic and Copto-Arabic sources in the framework of the reception of his Vita.Shenoute of Atripe (ca. 347–465) is doubtless the most important Coptic author of the Late Antique Egypt. As a young person he joined the monastic life in a monastery near Atripe in Upper Egypt. Later he became the abbot of three monasteries: two for men, which are inhabited now again with monks, and a convent for women, which does not exist anymore. Moreover, Shenoute was an eloquent preacher and a productive author. He wrote nine volumes of Canons, eight volumes of Discourses and many letters. Unfortunately his literary corpus has come down to us only fragmentarily.A hagiographic biography of Shenoute, the so-called Vita Sinuthii, is preserved completely in Bohairic Coptic, Arabic, Ethiopic and Syriac, in addition to Sahidic Coptic fragments. Every version of the Vita Sinuthii reflects its own transmissional history. They also differ from each other in length. Among these versions, the Arabic has a special status. It is by far the longst and therefore the more detailed version. The relationship of the various versions to each other is unclear. Scholars have evaluated the special status of the Arabic version in different ways. However, recent research on the Sahidic texts, including newly published fragments, speaks in favor of the rehabilitation of the importance of the Arabic version.The Arabic version of the Vita Sinuthii was edited in 1888 by Émile Amélineau with French translation. However, his text is not a critical edition, and the translation is not accurate. Therefore, Amélineau’s work has often been criticized and cited only with reservations. Moreover, Amélineau’s text is based on only four manuscripts, which cannot be clearly indentified for lack of meaningful information. For these reasons, there is a pressing need for a critical edition, which should be based on as many manuscripts as possible, and for an accurate translation. According to the current state of research, there exist more than twenty manuscripts of the Arabic Vita Sinuthii. The new edition will take into account also the Coptic versions, in particular the Sahidic fragments, as well as Shenoute’s own writings. This new edition will contribute to tracing the developement of the Arabic version and its history of redaction, and to clarifying the relationship between the Arabic version and the Coptic versions, in particular the Sahidic texts.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants