Syriac Sindban: Difference between revisions
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|Has Description=The Syriac ''Sindban'' only survives in one fragmentary manuscript, Berlin Staatsbibliothek Petermann I 24. Entries in the manuscript mentions the date 1579CE (as well as the date | |Has Description=The Syriac ''Sindban'' only survives in one fragmentary manuscript, Berlin Staatsbibliothek Petermann I 24. Entries in the manuscript mentions the date 1579CE (as well as the date 1583CE, and elsewhere the date 1660CE), which led its German translator Baethgen (1879) to presume that is was written some time before 1579CE. Krönung (2016) follows that dating, as does Perry (1960). Sachau's catalogue of the Berlin library (1899), however, considers these entries to be a later addition, and dates the manuscript to 1400-1450CE. The current digital Berlin library catalogue follows this dating. | ||
There is credible evidence that the text itself must have been composed much earlier: Michael Andreopoulos plausibly claims to have translated his Greek ''Syntipas'' from a Syriac text. The text of his Greek ''Syntipas | There is credible evidence that the text itself must have been composed much earlier: Michael Andreopoulos plausibly claims to have translated his Greek ''Syntipas'' from a Syriac text. The text of his Greek ''Syntipas'' is close to the surviving Syriac manuscript, leading most academics to assume that both were based on a common source (Perry 1960, Krönung 2016). Krönung 2016 assumes that the Syriac version was composed some time in the ninth, tenth or eleventh centuries, Minets 2023 speaks of the eighth to the eleventh centuries. | ||
The frame narrative in this version is set at the court of King Cyrus, and the prince is taught by Sindban alone, who reads the prophecy in the stars. The seven philosophers who come to the defence | The frame narrative in this version is set at the court of King Cyrus, and the prince is taught by Sindban alone, who reads the prophecy in the stars. The seven philosophers who come to the prince's defence are the king's counsellors. The sequence of stories is the same as in Andreopoulos' ''Syntipas'', except for three lacunae. A leaf is missing in the manuscript just after the fourth philosopher had announced that he would tell his first story (which is 'Balneator' in Andreopoulos' ''Syntipas''). The text start again in the middle of his second story, 'Canicula'. Three leaves are missing after the seventh philosopher has just begun to tell 'Ingenia'. The ending is also missing, just after the prince has started telling the story 'Senex Caecus'. In Andreopoulos' ''Syntipas,'' this ending includes two more stories, 'Vulpes' and 'Fatum'. | ||
Entered by Bettina Bildhauer | Entered by Bettina Bildhauer | ||
Latest revision as of 12:14, 5 March 2026
There is credible evidence that the text itself must have been composed much earlier: Michael Andreopoulos plausibly claims to have translated his Greek Syntipas from a Syriac text. The text of his Greek Syntipas is close to the surviving Syriac manuscript, leading most academics to assume that both were based on a common source (Perry 1960, Krönung 2016). Krönung 2016 assumes that the Syriac version was composed some time in the ninth, tenth or eleventh centuries, Minets 2023 speaks of the eighth to the eleventh centuries.
The frame narrative in this version is set at the court of King Cyrus, and the prince is taught by Sindban alone, who reads the prophecy in the stars. The seven philosophers who come to the prince's defence are the king's counsellors. The sequence of stories is the same as in Andreopoulos' Syntipas, except for three lacunae. A leaf is missing in the manuscript just after the fourth philosopher had announced that he would tell his first story (which is 'Balneator' in Andreopoulos' Syntipas). The text start again in the middle of his second story, 'Canicula'. Three leaves are missing after the seventh philosopher has just begun to tell 'Ingenia'. The ending is also missing, just after the prince has started telling the story 'Senex Caecus'. In Andreopoulos' Syntipas, this ending includes two more stories, 'Vulpes' and 'Fatum'.
Entered by Bettina Bildhauer
Identification & General Information
Tradition & Lineage
Recorded Secondary Versions
Connected Manuscripts
Language & Composition
Modern Scholarship & Editions
Pattern of Embedded Stories in This Version