Recovering Hidden Texts: Palimpsests of the Matenadaran and their Disclosure
Gippert, Jost · 2024
Using four sample cases, Gippert shows what multispectral imaging can recover from palimpsests held at the Matenadaran. The samples differ physically: an isolated fragment, two flyleaves, and a fully palimpsested codex. The erased Old Armenian undertexts, all in erkatagir script, range from a colophon to Movses Khorenatsi's History of Armenia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus's Commentary on the Psalms, and Irenaeus of Lyon's Against Heresies. He draws out what these recovered layers tell us about the transmission of the texts and the history of the Armenian language.
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Gippert, Jost 2024. Recovering Hidden Texts: Palimpsests of the Matenadaran and their Disclosure. Matenadaran: Medieval and Early Modern Armenian Studies (MEMAS), Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 11–33 (Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran / Brepols); eISSN 3041-5063.
What this offers a reader
Erased Armenian texts, brought back with imaging technology: including Khorenatsi.
Foundational manuscript-science work on the Matenadaran collection.
Texts our ancestors scraped away are being read again.
How scientists are recovering Armenian texts erased a thousand years ago.
Related in the repository
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