Papyrus Oxyrhynchus XV 1786
The Papyrus Oxyrhynchus XV 1786 is the oldest known manuscript of a Christian hymn , in which both the text and musical notes are included.
Origin and publication
This papyrus was excavated from an ancient garbage dump in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt in 1918 and first published by Arthur Surridge Hunt and Henry Stuart Jones in 1922. It is a fragment of a scroll and is kept in the Papyrology Rooms of the Sackler Library in Oxford.
content
The papyrus is 29.6 × 5 cm in size. On the front is an invoice for grain from the 1st half of the 3rd century. The reverse contains 5 lines of a hymn from the end of the 3rd century, of which only the end has survived. It cannot be determined how long the hymn was originally and whether other verses followed. The first line contains a large gap. The corresponding notes are written above the text.
text
- [Lacuna 31 letters] ομου πσαι τε θεου λογιμοι α. [..]. [..] αρ [....
- [Lacuna 28 letters]? Πρ] υτανηω σιγατω μηδ᾽ αστρα φαεσφορα λ [ειπ] ε
- [σ] θον [.]. λει [.....] ρ [.............] ποταμων ροθιων πασαι υμνουν των δ᾽ ημων
- [π] ατερα Χ᾽ υιον Χ᾽ αγιον πνευμα πασαι δυναμεις επιφοωνουντον αμην αμην κρατος αινος
- [...............] δ [ωτ] η [ρι] μονω παντων αγαθον αμην αμην
Individual evidence
literature
- Arthur S. Hunt, Henry Stuart Jones: Christian Hymn with Musical Notation. In: The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Vol. 15, edited by Bernard P. Grenfell, Arthur S. Hunt, E. Lobel et al. Egypt Exploration Fund, London 1922, pp. 21-25 full text .
Web links
- Oxford University: Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project
- Listen to the melody as midi