SACRED HANDS

An Exhibit Catalog of Manuscripts with Texts of the
three Abrahamic Faiths
Pablo Alvarez, Evyn Kropf, and Arthur Verhoogt


List of Audio-Recordings

(As Played in the Audubon Room)
Greek Epistle to the Romans
P. Mich. Inv. 6238, page 33
St. Paul, Romans, 13:12-14:8. Read by Nikos Litinas.
The Gospel according to Luke
Mich. Ms. 150
Luke, 1:1-5. Read by Pablo Alvarez.
The Torah
Mich. Ms. 88
Genesis 22: 7-12. Read by Ilan Rosenberg.
al-Qur'an, 67:23-30 with heading for 68
Kelsey 64.2.4
Surat al-Mulk 23-27 (67:23-27). Recited by al-Shaykh
'Ali 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hudhayfi (following the reading
of Hafs 'an Asim).
Attribution of Music Clips
"Kyrie Eleison". From The Tradition of Gregorian Chant.
Coro de Monjes de la Abadia de Santo Domingo de Silos.
Ismael Fernandez de la Cuesta (Archiv Produktion, 2007).
"Las Estrellas de los Cielos/Yo m'enamori d'un aire" (The
Stars in the Sky/I loved an Air). From Didspora Sefardf:
Romances & Musica Instrumental. Hesperion XXI. Jordi Sa-
vall (Alia Vox, 1999).

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

4     Preface and Acknowledgements
6     Introduction
9     Papyri and Early Transmission
22    Coptic, Hebrew, Armenian, Latin, Greek, and
English
58   Islamic Manuscripts


Preface and Acknowledgements

The University of Michigan Library has a long tradition
of celebrating the arrival of another New Year with an
exhibit depicting significant milestones in the history of
the Biblical text. By displaying extraordinary selections of
material from our rich and distinguished collections (in-
cluding papyri, manuscripts, and modern printed books)
we have over the years told many stories about the Bible
in its various manifestations.
This year's exhibit continues and departs from that tradi-
tion. With its display of manuscripts containing texts from
the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Is-
lam), "Sacred Hands" tells yet another story, one that pays
tribute to the texts themselves and to those whose hands
ensured their transmission. The exhibit also provides us
with a welcome opportunity to share with you some of the
lesser-known riches of our collections.
This catalog is both a guide and a testament to the "Sa-
cred Hands" exhibit, which itself is testimony to the high-
ly productive collaboration that made it possible. For the
expertise and the dedication that each of the following
individuals brought to his/her role as Exhibit Curator,
I am grateful to Pablo Alvarez (Outreach Librarian and
Curator, Special Collections Library, University Library),
Evyn Kropf (Islamic Manuscripts Project Cataloger, Area
Programs, University Library), and Arthur Verhoogt (As-
sociate Professor of Papyrology and Greek, Department
of Classical Studies, and Interim Archivist, Papyrology
Collection, University Library). For their enthusiastic
help with exhibit creation, catalog production, and ev-
erything in between, the Exhibit Curators would like to

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thank the following individuals (all from the University
Library): Catherine A. Baker, Sigrid Cordell, Deborah
DeGeorge, Terri Geitgey, Kevin Hawkins, Thomas Hog-
arth, Adam Hyatt, David Hytinen, Leyla Lau-Lamb, Gary
Munce, Randal Stegmeyer, Elyse St. Pierre, Laurie Sutch,
Heidi Swift, and Shannon Zachary. We are also grateful
to Pablo Alvarez, Nikos Litinas (Department of Philology,
University of Crete), and Ilan Rosenberg (Department of
Near Eastern Studies) for giving voice to three of the texts
that you will experience in this exhibit.
Martha O'Hara Conway
Interim Director, Special Collections Library
December 2011


INTRODUCTION

It seems appropriate to use the term "sacred" to describe
the hands that wrote the manuscripts containing the
texts of the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam. But the meaning of this word travels beyond
the traditional limits of the religious sphere. "Sacred" des-
ignates whatever is unique, exclusive, and venerable. It is
indeed one of the extraordinary ironies of the manuscript
tradition that for centuries scribes were meticulously
copying well-known texts, such as the Jewish Scriptures,
the Gospels, and the Qur'an, to turn them into unique, ex-
clusive, and venerable objects. Sometimes we know the
names of those scribes, either because they humbly men-
tioned it or because they became so skillful in their craft
that patrons requested their precious services. As the
manuscripts on display show, these scribes left us unique
witnesses not only of how a text was transmitted in a par-
ticular language (Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, Armenian, Lat-
in, and Arabic) and at a particular time (second through
nineteenth century C.E.), but also of how texts were pre-
sented to readers. We hope that visitors to this exhibit,
and readers of this catalog, will appreciate the illumina-
tions, the elaborate initials, the elegant script beautifully
arranged on the page, or the scholarly notes persistently
embracing the sacred text. Even the early bare fragments
written on papyrus or animal skin will reveal the subtle
elegance of the scribe.
MANUSCRIPTS AND TEXTS
In the Jewish tradition it took 1,000 years to get the ca-
nonical text of the scriptures, whereas for the Christian
and Muslim traditions it took 400 and 20 years respective-
ly. Our manuscripts represent physical evidence of a long
journey that started with oral stories and eventually ended

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in a text that over the centuries was gradually transformed
to reach its current status.
Judaeo-Christian Texts
The Jewish Scriptures (Tanakh) consist of a number of
stories that were composed, told, re-told, and eventu-
ally written down at various moments during the first mil-
lennium before the Common Era (C.E.). Its centerpiece
is the Torah (which includes the books of Genesis, Exo-
dus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), but it also
includes Prophets and Writings (including the Psalms and
the book of Job). The eventual contents of what we now
know as the Tanakh were finalized and standardized near
the end of the first century C.E., when some stories were
included and others were denied.
With the emergence of what would become Christianity, a
new set of stories came into existence. In the middle of the
first century C.E., the apostle Paul wrote several letters.
Thereafter, several other authors composed gospels that
detailed the life of Jesus of Nazareth (although soon four of
these became more important), and others wrote various
letters and stories that continued themes from the Jewish
tradition (such as the various Revelations). The contents
of what we now know as the New Testament were only
finalized in the fourth century C.E., when Christianity be-
came the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. At the
same time the Tanakh (known as the Hebrew Bible, or Old
Testament) also became viewed as sacred scripture for the
Christian tradition, although there were slight differences
in both contents and order between the Church in the East
and in the West.


The Text of The Qur'an

The Qur'an is the Islamic scripture. Muslims regard
the Qur'an as the revealed word of God, received and
transmitted by his messenger Muhammad (d. 632) in the
seventh century. Originally transmitted orally and still
regularly recited as a matter of devotional practice, the
text of the Qur'an was authoritatively established with-
in twenty years after the prophet's death. This form be-
came the model for subsequent copying and distribution.
Quranic recitation (tajwid) and calligraphy (hiusn al-khatt)
are among the most respected forms of art in Islam, and
each are performed according to well-established rules
that are transmitted from master to student.


PAPYRI AND EARLY TRANSMISSION

Greek Epistle to the Romans
Egypt, late second/early third century C.E.
Papyrus, 225 x 152 mm.
St. Paul, Romans, 13:12-14:8
P.Mich.inv. 6238, page 33
This papyrus sheet forms part of a papyrus codex that
contains the epistles of St. Paul. It is written in a beauti-
ful hand that can be dated to the late second or early third
century C.E., making this codex the oldest known copy of
the Epistles of St. Paul.
The regular handwriting demonstrates the work of a
skilled professional scribe, giving each letter the same
amount of attention. At a later moment, another person
went through the text and added reading marks above the
lines in a slightly darker ink than the main text. Although
the precise purpose of these reading marks is not clear and
they are placed fairly irregularly throughout the text, they
must have aided the reading of these verses in church: as
is usual for such early manuscripts, there are no word or
sentence divisions in the text and the reading marks are
placed where there are clear sense divisions.
The groups of letters with a horizontal line above them
(for example in line 6 from above) are so-called nomina
sacra. In Christian manuscripts, the names of Jesus, the
Lord, Holy Spirit, and so on, were not written out in full,
but only with the first and last letter.
The binding was on the right hand side of this sheet, and
readers would leaf through the manuscript on the other


side, which explains the damage to the papyrus on that
side.

P.Mich.inv. 6238, page 33

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P.Mich.inv. 6238, page 33 (detail)

The complete codex (in New Testament scholarship com-
monly referred to as P46) must have contained 104 leaves.
Of these, 86 leaves are currently extant: 30 are at the Uni-
versity of Michigan (purchased in 1930/1931), and 56 are
housed in the Chester Beatty Collection of Dublin, Ireland.
Sahidic Kingdoms IV
White Monastery (?), Egypt, ninth century C.E.
Papyrus, 201 x 155 mm.
Kingdoms IV, 1:18d-2:4 (with lacunae)
P.Mich.inv. 607, Folio 1
This papyrus sheet forms part of a papyrus codex that
contains the Sahidic Coptic version of Kingdoms IV, a part
of the Old Testament that is quite rare in the Coptic manu-
script tradition. Only two fragmentary sheets from this
codex survive in the University of Michigan collection.
The handwriting is a beautiful Coptic uncial (a majuscule

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script with rounded unjoined letters) with large, bold let-
ter forms. The text was written in two columns per page,
although the second column is considerably damaged
(only beginnings of letters survive in the fragment shown
here). When complete, the columns must have contained
about 24 lines of writing each, suggesting a quite large co-
dex format.

P.Mich.inv. 607

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The sign in the left margin is a so-called coronis, signaling
the beginning of chapter 2, which is otherwise indicated
by lines and dots above it and an enlarged first letter of the
line. Purchased in 1921.
Greek Hymns
Egypt, seventh century C.E.
Leather, 358 x 233 mm.
P.Mich.inv. 4936, hairside
This leather sheet contains three hymns in Greek that may
have been employed in liturgies of baptism. The three
hymns, separated by distinctive crosses (+) in the text, are
all elaborations on the following hymnic type, "Holy is
God, Holy and mighty, Holy and immortal, have mercy
on us," (based on Isaiah 6:3), which is known as trisagion
("thrice-holy").
The first hymn is acrostic with each line starting with a
new letter of the Greek alphabet, but this form is not re-
peated in the other two hymns.
There are several other examples of Christian Greek
hymns from Egypt, showing that the composing of hymns
was popular in liturgical practice, especially in the East.
None of these other hymns, however, was written on a
piece of leather, especially not gazelle leather, if we are to
believe the original catalog entry of this item.
The text is written rapidly in an uncial script with some
cursive influence that resembles other literary hands from
the sixth and seventh centuries C.E.

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P.Mich.inv. 4936, hairside
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At the top, the nomen sacrum IC XC for Jesus Christ is eas-
ily recognizable, separated from the main text by a line of
dashes over the full width. Purchased in 1926/1927.
Greek Gospel of Matthew
Egypt, first half of the fourth century C.E.
Papyrus, 224 x 121 mm.
Matthew, 26:19-37
P.Mich.inv. 1570, page 1
This papyrus preserves one leaf from a codex, damaged
on all sides. The front of the papyrus (shown here) con-
tains Matthew 26:19-37, detailing the Lord's supper. The
back contains Matthew 26:37-52.

P.Mich.inv. 1570, page 1 (detail)

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P.Mich.inv. 1570, page 1
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The handwriting is a regular but not very elegant cursive.
It is the work of somebody used to writing, but not of a
professional scribe of literary texts. At a later moment
somebody added diagonal dashes to the text, possible
reading marks for reading in church.
The text is revealing for the early manuscript tradition
of the Gospel of Matthew in that it provides a number
of readings not known from later traditions. A remark-
able scribal mistake is clearly visible in line 12 from above,
where the scribe first wrote "he called [the bread]," but
then crossed this out and added the correct "he broke [the
bread]" above the line. (In Greek, the difference between
these verbs is not that big: EKALESEN and EKLASEN.)
Purchased in Egypt in 1924.
Greek Acts of Paul
Egypt, 250-350 C.E.
Papyrus, 198 x 63 mm.
Acts of Paul
P.Mich.inv. 1317 + 3788
This sheet of a papyrus codex preserves the ends of lines
of a page from the Acts of Paul. This apocryphal work,
composed in the late second century C.E., details the life,
deeds, and martyrdom of the apostle Paul. The pres-
ent passage deals with Paul's arrival in Italy, on his way
to Rome, where he is received in the house of a certain
Claudius and gives a speech to the people present there.
The text is written in a formal book hand of considerable
care that is known as the "severe style." In the right upper

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margin, the page number 85 (ne) is visible.

This papyrus was purchased by the University of Michi-
gan in two fragments in 1924 and in 1925. The beginnings
of the lines on this papyrus are preserved on a papyrus
that was purchased by the Berlin Papyrus Collection in
1925 (not shown here).

P.Mich.inv. 1317 + 3788 (detail)

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P.Mich.inv. 1317 + 3788
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Greek Genesis
Egypt, fourth century C.E.
Genesis 13:7-8
Parchment, 100 x 44 mm.
P.Mich.inv. 2724, page 1
This fragment of a parchment codex contains Genesis
13:7-8 on one side and 13:10 on the other side. Each page
must originally have contained 22-23 lines with 18-20 let-
ters per line.
Judging from surviving fragments, Genesis was, after
Psalms, the most popular Old Testament text in Egypt.
The text is written in a beautiful book hand with letters
that are very evenly spaced. Purchased in Egypt in 1924.

P.Mich.inv. 2724, page 1

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Christian Allegorizations in Greek
Behnasa (?), Egypt, seventh century C.E.
Papyrus, 150 x 220 mm.
On Matthew, John, Luke, and Proverbs 10-16
P.Mich.inv. 3718, Fragment 1, fol. lv and 2r
This double leaf from a miniature codex (bound and fold-
ed in the middle) is written in a beautiful hand of Coptic
character. The text consists of a seemingly random col-
lection of biblical quotations (the first line of each extends
to the left), followed by an allegorical interpretation. The
first letter of each biblical passage is enlarged.

P.Mich.inv. 3718, Recto (detail)

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The beautiful handwriting does not match the otherwise
careless work of the scribe, with many spelling mistakes
and the insertion of an erroneous title and words that have
no meaning in their present context.
The allegorizations are very straightforward and simple,
clearly directed toward a broader public. They in no way
resemble more philosophical and theological allegoriza-
tions known from Alexandrians, like Origen and Didy-
mus the Blind. Purchased in Egypt in 1925.
COPTIC, HEBREW, ARMENIAN, LATIN, GREEK,
AND ENGLISH
COPTIC
Early Christianity in Egypt
Shenoute of Atripe (ca. 348-466)
Discourses, 1, 2, or 3?, "A Priest Will Never Exist"
White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt), eighth-ninth century
Four parchment leaves (2 bifolia). 20 a/b, 20 gfh: 340 x
250 mm; 20 c/d, 20 e/f: 340 x 257 mm.
US-MU 158. 20 a-d: White Monastery Codex HB 225-228
US-MU 158.20 e-h: White Monastery Codex HB 237-240
Shenoute was born in the mid-fourth century, and around
371 he joined the so-called White Monastery, located on
the Upper Nile north of Thebes, just outside the town of
Atripe-now the modern city of Sohag. Eventually, he

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succeeded his uncle as Abbot, remaining as such until his
death in 466. As the spiritual leader of a monastic commu-
nity comprising probably thousands of monks and nuns,
he wrote numerous speeches and letters that express his
views on monastic life and what he considered theological
orthodoxy. His two major works, Canon and Discourses,
place Shenoute as the most important Coptic writer of
Late Antiquity.
The Special Collections Library holds 20 parchment leaves
containing works by Shenoute. At a certain point in its
history, the White Monastery library mostly held the
works of Shenoute as copied in the eighth and ninth cen-
turies. From the end of the eighteenth century onwards,
Europeans, and the monks themselves, started dismem-
bering the codices and taking away gatherings and single
leaves. Thus, fragments of Shenoute's works ended up in
numerous museums and libraries of Europe and North
America. Our leaves were purchased by Francis Kelsey,
professor in the Department of Classics at the University
of Michigan, in Cairo in May 1926.
For the exhibit we have displayed two conjugated leaves
containing part of a homily. You can see the page numbers
on the upper corners, CKH (228) and CXZ (237). These
two pages, from a bifolium marked with pencil as 20 c/d
and 20 e/f, would have been part of a gathering of sixteen
pages or eight leaves. Since the nineteenth century, schol-
ars have tried to reconstruct the works of Shenoute by as-
signing leaves to their original codices. Recently, Coptolo-
gist Stephen Emmel has pieced together Shenoute's entire
corpus, and he is currently leading an international team
of editors working on the first edition and English transla-
tion of Shenoute's works.

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US-MU 158. 20 d (228)
24


US-MU 158. 20 e (237)
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HEBREW

The Torah or Pentateuch
Tenth century
Vellum codex, 210 x 180 mm.
Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22
Mich. Ms. 88
The Jewish Bible is divided into three main parts: the To-
rah, or Pentateuch; the Neviim, or Prophets; and the Ketu-
vim, or Writings. Consisting of five books (Genesis, Exo-
dus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the Torah is
considered to be the most sacred part of the Hebrew Bible
because it is traditionally assumed that Moses composed
it by divine dictation.
Here is a tenth-century manuscript of the Torah open to
the account of the Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:5). The
two columns of the main text are written in a professional
square script of which there are very few extant examples.
The so-called Masorah - a set of rules of pronunciation,
spelling, and intonation of the Bible designed to preserve
and transmit the text accurately-is written in a mashait
hand (formalized cursive script) and added in the margins
and between the columns. A manuscript like this would
have been written by up to four different scribes, includ-
ing the main scribe for the consonant text, the naqdar or
vocalizer, the accenter, and the masorete, who wrote the
Masorah. As regards our manuscript, it seems that there
were two scribes who wrote the consonantal text and the
Masorah respectively. Probably, a third scribe wrote both

26


the accents and the vocals.

Mich. Ms. 88 (14 verso)

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Mich. Ms. 88 (15 recto)
28


Mich. Ms. 88 (15 verso)
29


Eighteenth century
Vellum, a total of 237 columns
Leviticus 5:9-8:14.
Mich. Ms. 85
Here is an example of an eighteenth-century Torah scroll.
The makers of these scrolls followed strict rules so they
could be used in the synagogue. The scrolls were written
in a square script, lacking vowels and accentuation; only
black ink was acceptable, ornamentation was prohibited,
and the parchment had to be prepared according to strict
specifications. After attaching the sheets of parchment,
the resulting strip was connected to two wooden rollers
that facilitated the handling of the scroll during a public
reading.

Mich. Ms.85 (detail)

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Mich. Ms.85


ARMENIAN

The Gospels
Edessa. Mesopotamia, twelfth century
Vellum, 185 x 125 mm.
Mich. Ms. 141
Armenia officially adopted Christianity at the beginning
of the fourth century. In fact, the first book to be trans-
lated into the Armenian language was the Bible, known
as Astuadsashuntch, or "breath of God." Specifically, it was
translated by the Patriarch-Catholicos St. Sahak and his
assistant Mesrop Mashtots at the beginning of the fifth
century.
There are four types of scripts in which the Armenian al-
phabet was represented since it was originally created for
the first translation of the Bible. Erkatagir (iron letters), of
which this twelfth-century manuscript is an example, was
used from the fifth to the thirteenth century and is still em-
ployed for epigraphic inscriptions. Bolorgir (cursive) was
introduced in the tenth century and became popular in
the thirteenth. Notrgi was extensively used in the Arme-
nian diaspora in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, and
later became popular in printing. And the fourth script
is Sheghagir (slanted writing), currently the most common
form.
A colophon on folio 275 indicates that this manuscript
was written in the church of the Mother of God in Edessa
(Urfa) in 1161 by the priest Vasil from an exemplar written
by Kostandin Urfayetsi and commissioned by Kristapcor
and his wife Aygots. Edessa is located 50 miles east of
Hromklay, which would become the patriarchate of the

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Armenian Church in 1166.

Mich. Ms. 141

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The decoration of this manuscript shows clear signs of
Byzantine influence, particularly in the portraits and the
pages beginning each gospel.
Above we see Mark sitting before his desk with two simple
flat colors as a background. The facing headpiece has the
shape of a I followed by a large initial letter underneath.

Mich. Ms. 141, fol. 92 recto

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According to a colophon on page 276, this manuscript was
rebound in 1697 by the deacon Yovannes Marzuantsi at
the church of Charkhapan Surb Astuadsadsin in Amasya
(Turkey). The binding consists of blind-tooled leather
over boards, with a diaper pattern and floret borders. The
front cover is decorated with studs that form a cross with
an arc above, surrounded by a frame.

Mich. Ms. 141, front cover

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LATIN

Commentaries on the Bible
The Gospel according to Luke
France, twelfth century
Vellum, 240 X 150 mm.
Mich. Ms. 150
Throughout the Middle Ages, the reading and study of
the Bible generated a long tradition of commentaries in the
form of glosses. The overall aim of these commentaries,
commonly designated as biblical exegesis, was not only to
connect the Old and New Testaments, so that many events
in the life of Christ were presented as previously prophe-
sized, but also to extract several levels of meaning from the
text: literal, allegorical, tropological (moral) and anagogi-
cal (mystical). For instance, in the first half of the twelfth
century, an innovative kind of commentary disseminated
all over Europe from the French Cathedral Schools, par-
ticularly from Laon and Paris. Popularly called the Glossa
Ordinaria, it consisted of an anthology of quotations from
the fathers of the Church (Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine,
Saint Gregory, and others). The main compiler of the Glos-
sa was Anselm of Laon (d. 1117), with the assistance of his
younger brother Ralph (d. 1133) and Gilbert the Universal
(d. 1134). The layout of these glossed books was designed
to distinguish the main text, a narrow central column,
from the interpretations in smaller script on either side of
the central block and between the lines of the biblical text.
Here is a twelfth-century manuscript of the Gospel accord-
ing to Luke accompanied by the traditional commentaries

36


of the Glossa Ordinaria.

Mich. Ms. 150

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The first gathering, containing a series of prologues, can
be dated to the year 1323 because the scribe, Petrus Vita,
added the statement, per me petrum vitam scriptum anno do-
mini mcccxxi deo Gloria (written by me, Petrus Vita, in the
year of the Lord 1321, glory to God). Though the heyday
of this kind of gloss had passed by the middle of the thir-
teenth century, copies were still written in the fourteenth
century, and even printed in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries.

Mich. Ms. 1 (detail, colophon of the preface)

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The Latin Vulgate

in the Thirteenth Century
The Bible
France, thirteenth century
Vellum, 240 x 170 mm.
Epistle of Paul to the Galatians
Mich. Ms.1
Bibles produced in the thirteenth century, generally
known as Gothic Bibles, were dramatically different from
those copied formerly. A Romanesque Bible of the twelfth
century, for instance, was often pretty large with rich il-
lumination and majestic script, or heavily annotated with
the Glossa Ordinaria and, therefore, divided into individu-
al books so the entire scripture could be spread over more
than twenty codices. The thirteenth-century Bible, how-
ever, was pretty small, portable, and written in a tiny an-
gular script. In fact, the writing was so compact that all
parts of the scripture could be easily comprised in a single
volume. Regarding the decoration, thirteenth-century Bi-
bles contained small illustrated initials in red, blue, and
sometimes gold at the start of each new book. Also, there
were small initials announcing new chapters, as well as
title headings in red and blue running across the top of
each page allowing the reader to search for the right book
easily. While the text was based on the Latin Vulgate of
Saint Jerome, some new texts were added and others dis-
appeared, such as the Canon Tables for the Gospel.
The copy displayed here is an example of this type of Bi-
ble. It opens at the beginning of Saint Paul's letter to the
Galatians, starting with a magnificent "P" that contains a

39


portrait of the Saint holding a scroll. Other interesting fea-
tures on these pages include the drawings of little fingers
or "manicles" that an attentive reader has added to high-
light particular passages. One could also detect a small
guide letter, a lower-case "d," which the scribe wrote to
alert the artist about the right letter for the initial.

Mich. Ms. 1 (detail)

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Mich. Ms. 1

41


Mich. Ms. 1, page from the glossary
Interpretationes nominum hebraicorum

42


Book of Hours
Italy, fifteenth century
Vellum, 97 x 70 mm.
Mich. Ms. 269
Books of Hours like the one displayed in our catalog origi-
nated around the middle of the thirteenth century, retain-
ing their popularity until the sixteenth. Mass-produced,
and mostly designed for female readers, the aim of Books
of Hours was to provide lay people with a tool to engage
in the daily round of worship and prayers that was part of
the lives of monks and priests. The term "hours" referred
to the course of hours of the monastic Divine Office, which
is defined as the times of the day when the monks gath-
ered in church to pray: matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext,
none, vespers, and compline.
The essential text in any Book of Hours was the Hours of
the Virgin. Indeed, the prayers for each of these hours
were addressed to Mary, and, beginning with the reci-
tation of the Hail Mary, each hour contained a series of
versicles and responses, hymns, antiphons, canticles, Old
Testament readings, and prayers. While many of these
texts were originally designed to be sung by a choir, the
owner of the Book of Hours would recite them privately.
Generally, each Book of Hours was lavishly illuminated,
particularly the section of the Hours of the Virgin, which
often contained a sequence of eight illustrations, one at
the beginning of each hour. Typically, these illustrations
depicted events of Mary's life dealing with the birth and
childhood of Christ. As indicated by the lines in red of the
first page of the book on display, this Book of Hours opens
with the Hours of the Virgin (Incipit officium beatae Mariae),
according to the Roman rule (in consuetudinem Romae cur-
iae). On the opposite page is a calendar, a feature often in-

43


cluded in Books of Hours and liturgical books in general.
It allowed the reader to know what Saint or festivity to
celebrate in a particular day of the year.

Mich. Ms. 269

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u5

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GREEK

The Gospels
Thirteenth century
Vellum, 130 x 90mm.
The Gospel according to Mark
Mich. Ms. 25
Fifteenth century
Paper, 200 x 140mm.
Canon Tables/The Gospel according to Mark
Mich. Ms. 30
These two manuscripts are good examples of the typical
layout and conventions employed for luxurious Byzan-
tine Gospel books. As shown in both manuscripts, these
copies would display a full-page image of the author of
each Gospel facing a page with a decorated headpiece
at the beginning of the Gospel text itself, which in turn
starts with an ornamental initial. Normally, the Evange-
list was depicted seated as a scribe at work. In the next
manuscript, we see a common feature that was included
at the beginning of these Byzantine Gospels: the Canon
Tables, which provide an exhaustive list of those passages
that were paralleled in two or more Gospels. Originally
gathered by Eusebius of Caesarea in the fourth century,
these tables or lists were designed to prove the essential
agreement between the different accounts of the events of
the life of Christ as told in each of the Gospels.
The binding of Ms. 30 is particularly interesting for it
still has a large portion of a silk-brocade cover over the

46


wooden panels. While the most common bindings of that
time would have consisted of heavy wooden boards cov-
ered with thick leather (a pretty durable binding suitable
for monastic study), from the thirteenth century onwards
wealthy individuals commissioned books bound in fine
silk brocades and sophisticated velvet. These books were
mostly devotional works, or even works of literature, des-
tined for private use.
These two manuscripts were originally part of the library
of Baroness Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906).
She bought a group of more than ninety Greek manu-
scripts in 1870-1872 through Reverend Reginald Barnes,
who, acting on her behalf, had purchased them around
1864 from a dealer in Ioannina (north-western Greece).
The Baroness died in 1906, and, following the death of her
husband in 1921, all the manuscripts were sold. A first lot
of fifty-two codices was auctioned in London at Sotheby's
in May 1922. The University of Michigan Library acquired
fifty-six, most of them from the Polish antiquarian book
dealer Wilfrid M. Voynich.

47


Mich. Ms. 30, front cover
48


Mich. Ms. 30, back cover
49


Mich. Ms. 25
50


Mich. Ms. 25
51


Mich. Ms. 30
52


Mich. Ms. 30
53


Mich. Ms. 30
54


Mich. Ms. 30
55


ENGLISH

The Heritage Edition of The Saint John's Bible
Wales, Minnesota, 2007-
7 volumes, paper, 630 x 400 mm.
BS 191.5. Al 2007
In 1998, Saint John's Abbey and University (Collegeville,
Minnesota) commissioned world-renowned calligrapher
Donald Jackson to make a hand-written, hand-illuminated
Bible. As artistic director of a team of artists in Wales and a
team of scholars in Central Minnesota, Jackson spent more
than a decade (2000-2011) completing a magnificent sev-
en-volume Bible. Inspired by medieval scripts, Jackson
designed an alphabet for this edition, and the illumina-
tion (160 of them spread over 1,150 pages) combined tradi-
tional themes with the demands of contemporary aesthet-
ics. In representing the Divine, for instance, images range
from the figurative to the abstract.
The Saint John's Bible uses the New Revised Standard Ver-
sion (NRSV) translation of the Bible, which has a great
ecumenical appeal. In fact, its predecessor, the Revised
Standard Version, was officially authorized by most Chris-
tian Churches: Protestant, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and
Eastern Orthodox.
The Heritage Edition is a faithful reproduction of the orig-
inal manuscript of the Saint John's Bible. The finest print-
ers and binders have been engaged to make sure that the
highest standards were applied to every step of the pro-
cess, including paper, imaging, printing, and binding.
Gift of Carlos and Clara Quintanilla

56


BS 191.5. Al 2007 Creation, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2003, The Saint
John's Bible, the Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota,
USA.
57


ISLAMIC MANUSCRIPTS

THE QUR'AN
Early 'Abbasid Period (eighth to ninth century)
The three manuscripts displayed here represent a style of
Qur'anic transcription that flourished in the early 'Abbasid
period (eighth to tenth century). At this stage in the Is-
lamic scribal tradition, a shift from vertical to horizontal
format took place, perhaps to give to the Qur'anic codex
a visual identity unique from that of the Torah (roll) or
the Gospels (vertical codex). Alongside this development,
a more rigorously codified family of scripts emerged, re-
ferred to as "Kufic" or early 'Abbasid scripts, featuring
thick strokes, pronounced horizontal strokes, and identi-
cal spacing between groups of letters. A means of vocal-
ization (notation indicating short vowels) and the produc-
tion of multi-volume sets, arranged according to Qur'anic
divisions, first appeared in this period. A greater range of
illumination also appeared.
al-Qur'an, 4:90-5:92
Near East, likely ninth century
Manuscript fragment on parchment, single bifolium,
128-132 x 195 mm.
Final words of Stirat al-Nisa' (4) verse 90 through open-
ing words of verse 92
Mich. Isl. Ms. 162
Despite the small page size, here the text has been exe-

58


cuted in a large Kufic/early  Abbasid script typically seen
in the ninth century. Given its large size and the corre-
spondingly small number of lines per page, this style was
especially suited to production of multi-volume masahif
(copies of the Qur'an). Short vowels have been provided
in the form of red discs and a group of ten verses has been
marked with an illuminated roundel. Originally unpoint-
ed, as was the case with all "Kufic" scripts, a much later
hand has supplied the diacritical letter pointing, likely in
an attempt to ease reading.
al-Qur'an, 67:23-30 with heading for 68
Near East, ninth or tenth century
Manuscript fragment on parchment, single leaf, 242-8 x
340 mm.
Surat al-Mulk (67) final words of verse 23 through verse
30 followed by illuminated heading for Stirat al-Qalam
(68) (67:23-30)
Kelsey 64.2.4
This Qur'anic fragment has been executed in another style
of Kufic/early  Abbasid script, generously yet graciously
arranged to fill this large page size, with short vowels
again provided in the form of red discs. Gold has been
used to set off a new strah opening, providing the strah
title and number of verses. Sets of four oblique strokes
indicate verse divisions, an illuminated letter ha' marks
groups of five verses and an illuminated roundel marks
groups of ten verses. This leaf was a gift of Dr. Alexander
Grant Ruthven (1882-1971), who served as the University
of Michigan's seventh president from 1929 to 1951. It was
purchased in Egypt by his son, Peter Ruthven, during the
1930s.

59


N

60


61


ON

Mich. Isl. Ms. 163


al-Qur'an, 9:118-121
Near East (likely Iraq), likely ninth century
Manuscript fragment on parchment, folio from 7 leaves,
130 x 190 mm.
Final words of Stirat al-Tawbah (9) verse 118 through
opening words of verse 121
Mich. Isl. Ms. 163
In the case of this small format mushaf (copy of the Qur'an),
the scribe has employed a style of Kufic/early  Abbasid
script that features compact letterforms which accommo-
date a greater number of lines per page. An illuminated
medallion marks a group of ten verses.
As is characteristic of the earliest Qur'anic manuscripts,
this and the two preceding early  Abbasid masahif (copies
of the Qur'an) were written on parchment. Though long
the preferred medium for Qur'anic transcription (likely to
set the mus.haf apart from other codices), parchment was
eventually supplanted by paper, which was cheaper, more
coherent, and capable of being fashioned in large sizes.
Parchment to Paper, Changing Formats
By the year 1000, paper had been accepted as a suitable me-
dium for the Qur'an. A shift back to vertical formats seems
to have accompanied the transition from parchment to pa-
per, suggesting that this format was better suited to the
new material. More quickly and inexpensively made and
prepared for use, paper facilitated an explosion in book
production and ownership (encompassing the Qur'anic
codex and beyond) that continued through the early mod-
ern period. The intervening centuries saw the develop-
ment of a range of "cursive" scripts, as well as new and in-

63


creasingly sophisticated illumination and binding styles.
The significance of reading and reciting the Qur'an as a
key observance of Islamic piety and devotional practice
surely fueled the effort that went into multiplying cop-
ies. Throughout the manuscript period, the Qur'an ap-
peared in a wide number of formats that were precisely
suited to particular devotional functions. These included
enormous presentation copies for rulers or mosques, tiny
pocket-sized copies that a person could carry, and multi-
volume sets or custom volumes containing only certain
surahs that facilitated communal or individual recitation.
al-Qur'an, 14:22-27
Likely Egypt, fifteenth century
Manuscript fragment on "Arab" (likely Egyptian) laid
paper, single leaf, 411 x 311 mm.
Stirat Ibrahim (14) verses 22 through 27 (recto)
Isl. Ms. 1047
This single leaf comes from a large format Mamluk mus.haf
(copy of the Qur'an) likely produced in Egypt in the fif-
teenth century. The text is penned in a carefully executed
and fully-vowelled muhaqqaq, a stately rectilinear script
that emerged as one of the new proportioned scripts tra-
ditionally affiliated with the writing reform of Ibn Muqlah
(d.940) and refined and standardized by Ibn al-Bawwab
(d.1022). Established as a bookhand by the thirteenth
century, muhaqqaq was favored by Mamluk (as well as Il-
khanid, Jalayirid, and Timorid) calligraphers of the later
middle period (roughly mid-thirteenth to fifteenth cen-
tury) for transcription of large-format Qur'ans, though it
supposedly also saw limited use in the chancery for cal-

64


ligraphic emblems (tughrawat) and official letters.
The written area is arranged in a single column with 12 lines
per page, surrounded by a gold frame defined by black fil-
lets. Illuminated textual dividers in the form of gold rosettes
with red accents mark the ends of verses and marginal illu-
mination in the form of a roundel carrying the word thumn
in gold on a blue ground with red, gold, and blue accents,
marks the close of one eighth (thumn) of a hizb or a sixtieth
of the text (here the sixth thumn of the twenty-sixth hizb).
Instances of the Most Beautiful Names of God, including
Allah (God the one and only), Ghafur (the Very Indulgent
who pardons much), and RahiTm (the Compassionate) are
written in gold.
Marginal annotations in red ink contrast the reading of
Abi 'Amr b. al-'Ala' (d. 154/771) as transmitted by Abu
'Umar Hafs b. 'Umar al-Dari (ca. 246/860-1) with that of
Nafi' b. 'Abd al-Rahman (d. ca. 169/785-6) as transmitted
by Abi Misa 'Is- b. Mina Qalin (d. ca. 220/835).
This leaf was a gift of Richard Ettinghausen (Associate
Professor of History of Islamic Art at the University of
Michigan from 1938-1944) to the Research Seminar in Is-
lamic Art in 1940. It was transferred to the Special Collec-
tions Library from the Kelsey Museum.

65


Isl. Ms. 1047 (verso)
66


Isl. Ms. 1047 (recto)
67


Isl. Ms. 1047 (recto, detail)
68


al-Qur'an, 16:119-17:7
Istanbul, 1627
Manuscript codex on "Oriental" (likely Persian) laid
paper, 115 x 86 mm.
Suirat al-Nahl (16) verse 119 through Suirat al-Isra' (or
Bani Isra'il) (17) verse 7
Isl. Ms. 168
This exquisite Qur'an in small format was copied in Istan-
bul by Hafiz Muhammad ibn Qasim al-Imam (Hafiz Mehm-
et b. Kasim el-Imam). Many such pocket-sized masahif
(copies of the Qur'an) from the seventeenth century have
survived. Examples such as this one from the Ottoman
world exhibit an interesting standardized format which
linked the material composition and the textual structure,
facilitating both use (memorization, recitation, carrying,
talismanic purposes, etc.) and production (in response to
the widespread demand) in a manner possibly influenced
by the copyists' knowledge of printing techniques.
Materially, each juz' (thirtieth) was made up of a gather-
ing of ten leaves such that all such copies had roughly
three hundred leaves in total (with possible additions for
prayers at the close).
Textually, each juz' was divided into twenty sections with
each section corresponding to a transcribed page in fifteen
lines opening at the beginning of a verse and closing with
the end of a verse, an arrangement known as dyet-berkenar
format. This meant that it was theoretically possible to
exchange pages or whole sections of different masahif pro-
duced in accordance with these rules, without omitting or
duplicating any of the text.

69


Isl. Ms. 168
70


Isl. Ms. 168
71


al-Juz' al-hadi wa-al-'ashrun min al-Qur'an (Juz' 21,
29:46-33:30)
Likely Eastern Anatolia (Turkey), eighteenth or nine-
teenth century
Manuscript codex on European laid paper, 230 x 170
mm.
Juz' 21, Surat al-'Ankabtt verse 46 (29:46) through Surat
al-Ahzab verse 30 (33:30)
Isl. Ms. 2
al-Juz' al-tasi' wa-al-'ashrun min al-Qur'an (Juz' 29, 67:1-
77:50)
Likely Eastern Anatolia (Turkey), eighteenth or nine-
teenth century
Manuscript codex on European laid paper, 230 x 170
mm.
Juz' 29, Surat al-Mulk verse 1 (67:1) through Surat al-
Mursalat verse 50 (77:50)
Isl. Ms. 3
Ms. 3 is a fine copy of the twenty-ninth juz' (thirtieth) of the
Qur'an (Juz' al-Mulk, or Juz' Tabaraka) which together with
Isl. Ms. 2 forms part of an originally 30 volume mushaf(copy
of the Qur'an) with each juz' bound in a single volume. La-
bels on the upper cover of each manuscript identify which
juz' is contained within. Such multi-volume formats facili-
tated individual and communal recitation (at the tomb of a
ruler or common burial site for the deceased, for believers
within a mosque or even passers-by on the streets, on each
night of the month of Ramadan, etc.), making it possible for
each juz' to be easily distributed among reciters or for a sin-
gle reciter to easily take up the next passage for recitation.
As it contains Juz' 29, this manuscript opens with Surat

72


al-Mulk verse 1 (67:1) and closes with Surat al-Mursalat
verse 50 (77:50). The text is carefully executed in a Turk-
ish naskh (or nesih), fully vocalized. An illuminated mar-
ginal rosette with vertical stalk accents marks the opening
of the juz' and textual dividers in the form of gold discs
mark verse endings. Simple rectangular panels bear each
stirah heading in red ink, set in a gold-framed cartouche.
Sigla (namely "]=" to mark pauses) and other abbreviations
mainly pertaining to recitation are also in red.

Isl. Ms. 3 (detail)

73


Isl. Ms. 2
74


Isl. Ms. 3
75


Ottoman Masters

The art of the Islamic scribal tradition long flourished in
its highest form under the Ottoman Empire (1298-1918),
whose calligraphers refined and elevated the six scripts
of the Yaqiti tradition, muhaqqaq, rayhan, thuluth, naskh,
tawqfi', and riqd', and elaborated new styles, scripts, and cal-
ligraphic genres. In Ottoman Istanbul, the revealed Qur'an
truly became art on paper, hence the adage, widespread
in the Islamic world: "The Qur'dn was revealed in the Hijaz,
recited in Egypt and copied in Istanbul." Ottoman masters of
calligraphy were known for the number of mashif (cop-
ies of Qur'an) they completed, often indicating a copy's
number in the colophon. Most were executed in naskh,
a script refined to a model of beauty by Seyh Hamdullah
of Amasya (1429-1520) and raised to its aesthetic peak by
Hafiz Osman Efendi (d. 1698).
al-Qur'an, 53:31-54:8
Bursa, early sixteenth century
Manuscript codex on "Oriental" (likely Persian) laid
paper, 349 leaves, 195 x 130 mm.
Stirat al-Najm (53) final words of verse 31 through Stirat
al-Qamar (54) opening words of verse 8
Isl. Ms. 165
This splendid Ottoman mushaf (copy of the Qur'an) was
copied by Mustafa Dede (1495-1538), son and most promi-
nent pupil of the renowned Ottoman calligrapher Seyh
Hamdullah of Amasya (1429-1520). A master of the "Six
Pens" (muhaqqaq, rayhan, thuluth, naskh, tawqfi', and riq ')
in the tradition of Yaqut al-Musta'simi (d. 1298), Seyh
Hamdullah was inspired to elaborate his own style which

76


supplanted that of Yaqit and remained ascendant until
the rise of Hafiz Osman (1642-1698) some 150 years lat-
er. Working in the style of his father, Mustafa Dede has
penned this mushaf in a careful naskh. Illuminated surah
headings are in larger tawqfgi script and the colophon is in
riqF. Words marking prostrations and textual divisions
have been entered in the margins in gold.

Isl. Ms. 165 (detail)

77


Isl. Ms. 165
78


Isl. Ms. 165
79


Stirat al-An'am (En'am) 6:160-165
Istanbul, between 1690-1730
Manuscript codex on "Oriental" (likely "Persian") laid
paper, 195 x 140 mm.
Verses 160 through 165, followed by colophon
Mich. Isl. Ms. 175
This sirah or chapter of the Qur'an was often read or re-
cited in the hope of receiving spiritual blessings and hence
was commonly bound alone as a small separate volume
or, even more commonly, with other oft-recited Qur'anic
sirahs such as Yasin (36), al-Rahmin (55), and al-Mulk (67).
This copy of Surat al-An'm was penned in an exqui-
site naskh by the Ottoman calligrapher Seyyid Abdullah
Efendi of Yedikule (d. 1731). A recognized master of this
script, Seyyid Abdullah Efendi was the most outstanding
student of the celebrated calligrapher Hafiz Osman Efen-
di (d. 1698), with whom he began studying at the age of
seventeen. In the course of his career, he copied twenty-
four copies of the Qur'an, roughly one thousand Surat al-
An'dm, and collected prayer volumes, countless panels, al-
bums, and books, in addition to instructing many students
in calligraphy. A fine illuminated headpiece, marginal or-
naments (rosettes), verse dividers, and a frame surround-
ing the written area all complement the superbly executed
text.

80


al-Qur'an, 1:1-2:4
Istanbul, 1887 or 8
Manuscript codex on wove paper, 216 x 132 mm.
Surat al-Fatihah (1) verse 1 through Surat al-Baqarah (2)
verse 4
Isl. Ms. 172
This splendid mus.haf (copy of the Qur'an) was penned
by the Ottoman calligrapher Kayizade Hafiz Osman
Nuri Efendi of Burdur (d. 1894) in dyet-berkenar format
(fifteen lines per page with each page opening at the be-
ginning of a verse and closing with the end of a verse).
Because this format required the calligrapher to dramati-
cally adjust the spacing of the letters, the majority of the
great masters did not use it. Only Kayizade Hafiz Os-
man Nuri Efendi and Hasan Riza Efendi (d. 1920), both
students of Kadiasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi (d. 1876), are
known to have successfully penned masahif in this format.
Hafiz Osman Nuri Efendi completed 106 masahif during
his lifetime, and, according to his own note in the colo-
phon, this is the ninety-ninth. Bahaddin b. Tevfik illumi-
nated the mushaf, which features an exquisite double-page
illumination at the opening.

81


Mich. Isl. Ms. 175
82


Mich. Isl. Ms. 175
83


Isl. Ms. 172
84


Isl. Ms. 172
85


Other Styles and Centers

Majmui'at suwar min al-Qur'an, 36:1-12
Herat?, late fifteenth or sixteenth century
Manuscript codex on "Persian" laid paper, 233 x 163mm.
Stirat Yasin (36) verse 1 through the opening words of
verse 12
Isl. Ms. 231
This splendid volume contains a selection of sirahs
from the Qur'an, namely Surat Yasin (36), Surat al-Fath
(48), Surat al-Wdgqi'ah (56), Surat al-Mulk (67), and Surat
al-Naba' (78). Mas.dhif (copies of the Qur'an) such as
these, containing only select sirahs, were intended to fa-
cilitate the recitation of those sirahs at particular occa-
sions. The fourteenth-century traveller Ibn Battultah (d.
1368-9 or 77) describes such an occasion, held daily in
Tabriz in the courtyard of the mosque following the 'asr
(afternoon) prayer, in which sirahs 36, 48 and 78 were
read. Such volumes also allowed the less affluent to ac-
quire a partial copy of the scripture at reduced cost.
The text is written in 9 lines per page with uppermost,
middle, and lowermost large lines filling the column
width and two sets of three compact lines centered be-
tween them. The lines of the upper and lower panels of
each page have been executed in gold muhaqqaq, the line
of the central panel in gold thuluth, and the lines in inter-
mediate panels in black naskh. Kufic has been employed
in the illuminated roundels marking every tenth and fifth
verse and sirah headings are in riqd'. The decoration, in-
cluding the illuminated headpiece and cartouche with
complex looping of white banding marked with minute
black crosses, is characteristic of the Timfirid style of late
fifteenth-century Herat.

86


al-Qur'an, 4:176-5:3
North Africa, seventeenth or eighteenth century
Manuscript fragment on European laid paper, single
leaf, 238 x 178 mm.
Surat al-Nisa' (4) verse 176 through Surat al-Ma'idah (5)
verse 3
Kelsey 67.1.66
This single leaf comes from a Maghribi mushaf (copy of
the Qur'an) likely produced in North Africa in the seven-
teenth century. The script exhibits the sweeping curves,
distinctive pointing, and other features typical of the
Maghribi scripts commonly used in the Islamic West from
Tunisia to Morocco, southern Spain (Andalusia), and sub-
Saharan Africa. As is typical of Maghribi manuscripts, the
vocalization has been provided in an array of colors with
the typically flat diacritical marks in an orange-red ink,
hamzat al-qat' marked with yellow disks and hamzat al-wasl
marked with dark green disks. Surah headings are set off
in red ink and abbreviation symbols indicating pauses and
other information relevant to the recitation are in blue ink.
In the ninth line down, a curved line in blue points to the
margin where the copyist has entered a correction supply-
ing text that was unintentionally omitted. This leaf was
a gift of Dr. Alexander Grant Ruthven (1882-1971) who
served as the University of Michigan's seventh president
from 1929 to 1951. It was purchased in Egypt by his son,
Peter Ruthven, during the 1930s.

87


Isl. Ms. 231
88


Isl. Ms. 231
89


Kelsey 67.1.66
90


al-Qur'an, 76:19-78:6
Kashmir?, between 1750 and 1850?
Manuscript codex on "Indian" laid paper, 223 leaves,
233 x 143 mm.
Final words of Surat al-Mursalat (76) verse 19 through
Stirat al-Naba' (78) verse 6
Isl. Ms. 1009
This splendidly illuminated Mughal mushaf (copy of the
Qur'an) includes a marginal commentary in Persian. In the
manner of its calligraphy, decoration, layout, etc., it is char-
acteristic of the Qur'anic manuscripts produced in Kash-
mir in the latter eighteenth and early nineteenth century.
The Qur'anic text is executed in a careful, bold naskh on
bands of gold defined by black fillets and separated at
some distance from one another. Though left blank here,
in other manuscripts these bands carry an interlinear
translation. Small red dots or discs serve as verse divid-
ers and surah headings are in blue riqg' on a field of gold
outlined in a black band with white accents. The text of
the commentary is set off by gold cloud-bands with floral
accents in gold on blue grounds in the triangular spaces at
the corners and center of the marginal area. The opening
of the thirtieth juz' is marked by a marginal decoration in
gold and blue and a heading in red ink. A large "t" in the
margin to indicate bowing (ruku') also appears in red.

91


Isl. Ms. 1009
92


Isl. Ms. 1009
93


Isl. Ms. 1009
94


Isl. Ms. 1009
95


Set in Book Antiqua
Photography by Randal Stegmeyer
Printed by the Espresso Book Machine
(Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan
Library)
Bound by the Espresso Book Machine
Production Supervision by Terri Geitgey
Designed by Pablo Alvarez
Image Attributions
Front Cover: The Torah or Pentateuch (tenth century) Mich. Ms. 88;
The Latin Bible (thirteenth century) Mich. Ms. 1; al-Qur'an (fifteenth
century) Isl. Ms. 1047
Back Cover: Creation, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2003, The Saint John's
Bible, the Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA.

96