Codex Brucianus

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A sketch from the 1st book of Jeû (Chapter 7), part of the Codex Brucianus

The Codex Brucianus (also: Bruce Codex ) is a collection of Coptic Gnostic manuscripts, which includes the two books of Jeû , a “script without a title” and some fragments .

History of the Codex and its exploration

The codex bears the name of the Scotsman James Bruce , who bought the manuscript in Medînet Hâbu in Egypt in 1769 . At the time of purchase, it consisted of 78 sheets of papyrus in quarto format (29 × 17 cm). The orientalist Karl Gottfried Woide (1725–1790) was the first to copy this manuscript; his copy is in the possession of the Clarendon Press , today Oxford University Press . In 1842 the Bodleian Library at Oxford bought the manuscript from the heirs. The handwriting is in poor condition; Since the first copy by Woide, seven leaves have been completely lost and 49 have been half destroyed or have crumbled into fragments due to the damp storage in England and too late conservation.

The coptologist Moritz Gotthilf Schwartze (1802–1848) was able to view the Woides copy in 1848, copy it and compare it with the original. His early death prevented any publication. The first complete edition did not take place until 1892 by Carl Schmidt (1868–1938), who was able to use the notes of Woides and Schwartzes. Schmidt found that the Codex in its present form is composed of two quite different scriptures. The parts have different papyrus quality and different content. Two different hands can be recognized, and the letter shapes differ so much that the parts have to be apart in time. The two manuscripts were found together, sold and combined only secondarily. Schmidt dated them to the 5th and 5th – 6th Century.

The first binding of the code was due to a lack of experts in complete ignorance of the script and the content, so that the pages were swapped and in some cases incorporated into the code upside down. After Schmidt's publication, the pages were bound a second time in the order he had reconstructed.

Author, origin

The authors of the three main scripts of the Codex, written in the Sahid dialect, are unknown. Woide thought Valentinus was the possible author. As a result, there are some book editions that name Valentinus as the author. Carl Schmidt, however, considers this questionable. The original works were originally written in Greek. This can be seen in the adopted Greek words and in passages translated word for word.

content

The first codex comprises the two books of Jeû, plus two fragmentary Gnostic prayers and another fragment at the end. The second codex contains an ancient Gnostic work with an unknown title. The two books of Jeû show a close substantive connection to the Pistis Sophia , which is handed down in the Codex Askewianus . Jeû is the first emanation of the highest God. Schmidt therefore considers it possible that Pistis Sophia and the books of Jeû go back to the same author.

meaning

Together with the Codex Berolinensis Gnosticus 8502 and the Codex Askewianus , these three codices were the only direct sources on Gnosis for a long time. Otherwise there was only the indirect testimony of the church fathers. Only when the Nag Hammadi writings were found did the sources improve significantly.

Remarks

  1. ^ Carl Schmidt: Gnostic writings in the Coptic language from the Codex Brucianus , Leipzig 1892, pp. 6-7.
  2. ^ Carl Schmidt: Gnostic writings in the Coptic language from the Codex Brucianus , Leipzig 1892, pp. 6-7.
  3. ^ Carl Schmidt: Gnostic writings in the Coptic language from the Codex Brucianus , Leipzig 1892, p. 18.
  4. ^ Carl Schmidt: Gnostic writings in the Coptic language from the Codex Brucianus , Leipzig 1892, p. 13.
  5. ^ Carl Schmidt: Gnostic writings in the Coptic language from the Codex Brucianus , Leipzig 1892, p. 11.
  6. ^ Carl Schmidt: Gnostic writings in the Coptic language from the Codex Brucianus , Leipzig 1892, p. 11.

literature