A Handbook of the Coptic Authors through the Tenth Century

Basic data for this project

Description

Despite the growth of the research field "Coptology" as an independent or subordinate discipline on various universities arond the world, there lacks an up-to-date reference work that treats the Coptic authors and their works systematically and in detail. This project has as its goal to prepare a handbook of the Coptic authors and their works that offers sufficient information about each known Coptic author and his works. Coptic writings whose original language is disputed will also be included. The handbook will be arranged alphabetically by author, with several appendices that will facilitate finding a given work, manuscript, manuscript repository, Clavis Patrum Copticorum number or dialect. the content of this handbook limits itself to known authors or to Coptic literary works whose authors are known and which were written during the period up to and inlcuding the tenth century. Left out of consideration are works of anonymous authors, as wel as literature that was translated from Greek or other languages. Nonetheless, the handbook will include an appendix for the works of the Coptic Patriarchs whose writings have been transmitted in Coptic translations. In all, 36 Coptic authors and 15 Patriarchs will be investigated. The planned reference work is conceived of as a scientific aid for Coptologists and other scholars from related fields, as well as for students and the interested public. It will include data about each author's biography and his historical context. Each individual literary work of the respective authors will have a separate entry in this handbook. Detailed information  about manuscript sources and biographies make up the core of the work.