Syriac monastic anthologies as a source for the history of Syriac Christianity: Reception and transmission of Syriac and Greek monastic literature

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The overwhelming part of Syriac monastic literature including translations of Greek patristic writings is preserved solely in anthologies. Quite a number of these texts are no longer extant elsewhere. Neither has been carried out a thorough exploration of these anthologies nor has it been investigated how many of these anthologies are still extant. Some spot checks have brought to light a number of hitherto unknown texts and authors. To reconstruct otherwise lost texts as well as to understand which processes of reception and transmission these texts underwent it is of crucial importance to get a better knowledge of how the genre of anthologies 'functioned' in the Syriac tradition. Therefore the present project is conceived to pursue two interrelated research objectives: First, a detailed description of form and content of some 127 Syriac manuscripts will be established. Secondly, the collected data will serve as the basis for a study into the particularities of the history of monastic anthologies. The following issues will be raised: possible interrelation between different anthologies, development of their form and content, transmission and reception of the texts included. For the first time a systematic study will address both topics. Since the anthologies stem from different Syriac ecclesiastical traditions (the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church of the East and the Melkite Church) the project will contribute to our knowledge of interdenominational exchange of texts and ideas as well as to the cultural history of Christianity in the Middle East.