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120.
Aurelius Isidoros (4th century CE).
Petition to Dioskoros Caeso. Papyrus, in Greek. Karanis, 324 CE. RBML, Papyrus P. Col. VII 171
This petition by Aurelius Isaidoros, the son of Ptolemaios, from the
village of Karanis, to Dioskoros Caeso, praepositus of the 5th pagus, is among
the earliest known documents relating to the history of the early Christian
church. It contains Isidoros's vivid account of how cattle owned by Pamounis and
Harpalos had damaged his crops, and how their cow had "grazed in the same place
so thoroughly that my husbandry had become useless." He continues: "I caught the
cow and was leading it up to the village when they met me in the fields with a
big club, threw me to the ground, rained blows upon me and took away the cow ...
and if I had not chanced to obtain help from the deacon Antonius and the monk
Isaac, who happened by, they would probably have finished me off completely."
An image of this petition, along with the translation used here, in
addition to entries for all of Columbia's papyrus holdings, can be found on the
Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS), a multi-institutional database.
Purchased from Dr. Askren, through H. I. Bell, 1924
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121.
Anthology of Church Dogma. Southern France, second third of the 9th century. Manuscript on parchment, 113 leaves. RBML, Plimpton MS 58
This codex is composed of some twenty pieces of text, as if it were the
casual compilation of an owner-scribe, copying out passages of beauty or
interest. Scholars suggest, however, that the volume constitutes an
intentionally formed sequence, since six other manuscripts, all of the 9th
century, repeat the same series of texts. One text draws our attention: it is an
extract of a letter written ca. 798 by Alcuin to the future emperor,
Charlemagne. It ends, in the anthologies but in no other copies, with the wish
that the recipient's power grow and prosper. Was the compiler of the anthology a
member of Charlemagne's court circle? Following straight on after the pious
closing of the letter is an astronomical observation on the movement of the
planet Mars during the summer of 798. The wish and the astronomy were copied as
a unit, in alternating lines of red and black.
Gift of George Arthur Plimpton, 1936
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122.
Quran: 3rd section, in muhaqqaq script with Persian interlinear translation. Manuscript on paper, copied by the calligrapher Mes`ud and illuminated by
Mahfuz, two sons of `Abd al-Malek, scribe of Ghiyath, 91 leaves, 657 A. H. (1259 CE) RBML, Smith Oriental MS 263
Along with his magnificent collection of primarily western printed books
and manuscripts on the history of mathematics and astronomy, David Eugene Smith
gave to Columbia a number of Arabic and Persian manuscripts, including a number
of Qurans and Quran fragments. This third volume of the Quran, from a set of
thirty, is similar to volumes from the later Abbasid period in the Iranian-Iraqi
tradition such as the eleventh-century Quran manuscript by Ibn al-Bawwab in the
Chester Beatty Library, dated 1marc001.
The Persian interlinear translation is in a version of naskh script
and appears in clusters of words and phrases, hanging at a forty-degree angle
beneath the corresponding Arabic phrase. The muhaqqaq, used for the
Arabic lines, was a favored script for the large Qurans of the 14th and15th
centuries. Here, the majestic muhaqqaq, outlined in gold, allows only
three lines per borderless page. In a reversal, the vocalizations are marked in
gold that is highlighted by black. Other aids to pronunciation are marked in
blue ink. The dots of the letters are black, nearly perfect circles. The text is
punctuated with roundel verse endings illuminated in gold, brown and blue.
Larger versions of these mark the end of every tenth verse, as well as the
points of prostration, in the wide margins. An illuminated teardrop-shaped
roundel in the margin also marks every fifth verse.
Gift of David Eugene Smith, 1931
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123.
Lexicographical Works. Manuscript, Nestorian, on paper, 19th century. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Syriac MS 19
The Syriac language was based on the East Aramaic dialect of Edessa,
present-day Sanliurfa in Southeastern Turkey, which became one of the chief
centers of Christianity in the Middle East at the end of the 2nd
century. During the 5th century, Syriac-speaking Christians divided
over theological disputes into Nestorians, or East Syrians, under the influence
of Persia, and Jacobites, or West Syrians, under Byzantine influence. The Burke
Library at Union Theological Seminary houses a significant number of Syriac
manuscripts, the earliest dating from the 10th-11th
century CE. This volume contains two works that show the differences between
words written with the same letters.
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124.
Antiphonal. Manuscript on parchment, 171 leaves. Perugia, Italy, 1473. RBML, Plimpton MS 41
Payment records survive to document the date, the scribe, and the
miniaturist of this antiphonal: it was copied in 1473 by one Don Alvise, and the
artist was Giapeco Caporali. It is one of a set of four antiphonals: the present
book covers the Sanctorale from the vigil of Andrew (29 November) through John
and Paul (26 June); a second volume finishes the Sanctorale, and the Temporale
occupies another two. The other three volumes of the set are in Perugia to this
day. All bear the characteristic ownership note and call number inscribed at the
foot of f. 1: "This antiphonal belongs to the congregation of St. Justina (the
saint with the martyr's palm in the roundel in the upper margin), of the order
of St. Benedict (in his black robes in the roundel to the right), assigned to
the use of the monks of St. Peter's in Perugia (Peter with his keys is in the
bottom roundel)." The historiated initial depicts the calling of Andrew, as he
leaves his boat to follow Jesus (Mark. 1:16-18).Though this antiphonal is bound
in diced Russia leather dating from the 17th century, it retains most
of the original 15th century metal ornaments (including the stamps of
the Holy Monogram, the Agnus Dei, a sunburst, and a flower).
Gift of George Arthur Plimpton, 1936
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125.
Biblia Germanica. Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 1483. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Frederick Ferris Thompson Collection
Anton Koberger's Biblia Germanica, the ninth German Bible to be
printed, appeared in 1483, the year that Martin Luther was born. It contained a
set of 109 woodcuts illustrating major incidents of biblical history by the
"Master of the Cologne Bibles." This set became the standard for German biblical
illustration through the 16th century. Koberger (ca. 1445-1513)
became one of the most important printers in fifteenth-century Germany. He may
have operated as many as twenty-four presses and produced some 250 works between
ca. 1471 and 1504.
Gift Mrs. Mary Clark Thompson, 1923
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126.
Book of Hours, use of Paris. Manuscript on parchment, 197 leaves. Paris, ca. 1485. RBML, Phoenix Collection
The artist of this book of hours is known as the Chief Associate of Maître
François or sometimes as the Master of Jacques de Besançon. Large numbers of
works are attributed to his hand, in particular books of hours. He painted these
with unvarying competence but also with constancy in his choice of subject
matter and arrangement: the same compositions are repeated again and again. Here
on ff. 194v-195 we see his usual martyrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria: the
wheel on which she would have been tormented stands ruined behind her, and the
frustrated executioner has finally opted for beheading. On the facing page, a
somewhat less frequent scene shows dainty Genevieve picking her way along a
country path; as a tiny devil with large bellows attempts to extinguish the
flame of her taper, an angel constantly relights it.
Bequest of Stephen Whitney Phoenix, 1881
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127.
Nocturnale for Carthusian Use. Manuscript on parchment. Germany, in or after 1514-15. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, MS 111
"I look from afar, and behold I see the Power of God, coming like as a
cloud to cover the land . . ." This response to the first reading in Advent is
what normally determines the iconography of its historiated initial. It seems to
have been the inspiration for the present illumination, but here, instead, the
vision of God's power is incarnated in the Virgin and Child.
While the iconography is unusual on medieval terms, the late date of
production of this manuscript may explain a loosening of traditional image
patterns. The manuscript was copied in or after 1514/15, when the Carthusian
order received authorization to celebrate the feast of their founder, St. Bruno.
In the calendar of this manuscript, in the hand of the original scribe, we find
the feasts of Bruno (6 October), Hugh of Lincoln (a bishop of that order; 17
November), and the feast of the relics, celebrated by Carthusians on 8 November.
The three feasts are to be honored cum candelis, ‘with candles,’ just as
we might put candles on a birthday cake to signal the importance of the day.
The codex itself is a celebration of Milton McC. Gatch, librarian of the
Burke Library for many years. The library's Friends purchased the manuscript in
his name, in recognition of his studies on Leander van Ess (1772-1847), a German
who had owned this same manuscript some one hundred and fifty years earlier.
Acquired by the Friends of the Burke Library in Honor of M. McC. Gatch, 1995
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128.
Martin Luther (1483-1546).
Der Prophet Jona. Augsburg: Johannes Knobloch, 1526. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Leander van Ess Collection
Jonah was the first of the prophetic books Luther translated. Others
appeared separately over the next few years, before a complete translation of
the Prophets was issued in 1532. According to Luther, Jonah was "well suited for
the present time" immediately following the Peasants' War because it taught
trust in God and reminded readers of Christ's death and resurrection. It was
printed sixteen times in 1526 alone, thirteen in German and three in Latin.
Reformation pamphlets commonly had woodcuts on their covers or title pages. The
woodcut on the title page of this unbound Augsburg printing of the pamphlet
shows Jonah at various points in his story.
The library of Leander van Ess, a Roman Catholic priest, was particularly
strong in materials on the German Reformation, and contained a number of
Luther's "Flugschriften," literally "flying writings," ephemeral pamphlets such
as this one. He kept these pamphlets in a separate part of his collection and
they have been reconstructed on the basis of numbered stickers which remain on
most of them. A man far ahead of his time, van Ess instituted a number of
reforms in his Marburg church, including the use of vernacular throughout the
service, turning the priest to face the congregation, and giving detailed
explanations of what was going on as mass was celebrated. He was a very popular
preacher and his sermons attracted both Catholics and Protestants.
Purchased with the Leander van Ess Collection, 1838
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129.
Babylonian Talmud. Manuscript on paper, 152 leaves, Yemenite Rabbinic, 1546. RBML, Hebrew Manuscripts
Although the two versions of the Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud completed
about 400 CE and the Babylonian Talmud completed one hundred years later,
constitute the primary body of Jewish law and thought, its text exists in only
one complete manuscript copy of each version, and even incomplete copies are
scarce. This one, copied in the 16th century in Yemen, is known as the "Columbia
Talmud." It, and a companion volume containing the Megillah, was copied by David
ben Me’oded of San‘a, who appears to come from a family of scribes. The text has
been found to differ from all of the other known manuscript copies, and from the
first printed edition of 1516, in a large number of cases, establishing beyond
doubt that it came from an independent source.
These two volumes came to Columbia along with a collection of Jewish
manuscripts, in Hebrew and Arabic, acquired by Professor Richard J. H. Gottheil
for the library in 1890. With the financial support of Temple Emanu-El in New
York, Gottheil had been appointed professor of Rabbinic Literature and Semitic
Languages in 1887. It was the first endowed chair for Jewish studies in the
United States. The foundation of the library's Judaica resources also came from
Temple Emanu-El, through their gift of 2,500 printed books and 50 manuscripts
from their library in 1892. Today, the Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds
more than 1,000 manuscripts in Hebrew and a variety of European languages, as
well as 28 fifteenth-century and 300 sixteenth-century printed Hebrew books.
Purchased from Ephraim Deinard, 1890
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130.
Gospel lectionary. Manuscript on parchment, 99 leaves. Spain, second half of the 16th century. RBML, Western MS 29
This book containing the gospel readings for the mass is an example of the
influence of printed books on manuscripts during the 16th century.
According to the prefatory statement on folio ii verso, the text of this
manuscript was corrected on the basis of comparison with a Roman missal printed
in Venice in 1577 and then compared to another missal printed in Salamanca in
1588. The style of illumination shows Flemish influence in the naturalistic
fruits and flowers on a gold ground. The text appears as if in a frame hung
against a tapestry of lush vegetation. On the right is the gospel for the first
Sunday of Advent, Luke 21. The binding is in contemporary calf over wooden
boards, gilt stamped, with gilt edges.
Gift of John M. Crawford, Jr., 1971
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131.
The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New: Newly
Translated out of the originall tongues & ... revised, by his Maiesties
speciall Cōmandement. London: Robert Barker, 1611. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Frederick Ferris Thompson Collection
The King James version, or the "Authorized" version of the English Bible
was made by a team of translators appointed by James I. It was first published
in this edition of 1611 and remained the standard English Bible until the
nineteenth century. This copy, with a contemporary English binding, is one of
the treasures of the Burke Library's Thompson Collection.
Gift of Mrs. Mary Clark Thompson, 1923
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132.
Hymnal. Manuscript on parchment, 399 leaves. Crimea, Kafay, 1646. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Armenian MS 1
The binding on this hymnal is a fine example of traditional Armenian
bookbinding techniques that were still being used in 17th-century
Crimea, including a loop board attachment, cloth doublures, traditional
endbands, blind-tooled leather fore-edge flaps, and a vertically ruled spine.
What is particularly notable is that the illuminator and scribe, Nikoghayos,
also bound the book. The text is an abbreviated version of the Armenian Hymnal
(Sharaknots‘), with decorated headpieces at the major divisions of the book.
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133.
Solomon Stoddard (1643-1729).
Common Place Book and Sermon Notes. Manuscript on paper, 1660-64. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, MS 104
Solomon Stoddard was born in Boston in 1643 and graduated from Harvard
College in 1662. From 1667 to 1674 Stoddard served as the first librarian at
Harvard. This volume contains his college notes. These include the name of the
instructor for the day, as well as the scripture that was expounded in class and
then applied to seventeenth-century society. Using what would have been the
blank portions of the pages, and turning the volume upside down, Stoddard also
used the volume to make notes for sermons that he preached during the early
years of his ministry at Northampton, where he served until his death in 1729.
His grandson, Jonathan Edwards, was ordained associate pastor of the Northampton
church in 1727.
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134.
The African Union Hymn book, designed as a companion for the pious, and
friends of all denominations ... compiled by Peter Spencer. Wilmington: Published by P. Spencer, for the African Union Church, 1822. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
An extremely rare early hymnal for the African American Church, this is the
only copy recorded in the national databases. The "Union Church of Africans,"
also called the "African Union Church," was chartered by Peter Spencer
(1782-1843) in Willmington, Delaware in 1813. Now known as the African Union
First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, usually called the
"A.U.M.P. Church," it is the oldest independent black denomination in the United
States. Although it began as a Methodist Protestant church, by the 1880s it
considered changing to an episcopal structure, a change that was not formally
adopted until 1967 when it consecrated its two leaders as bishops.
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135.
Amanda Smith (1837-1915).
An Autobiography: the story of the Lord's dealing with Mrs. Amanda Smith,
the Colored Evangelist; containing an account of her life and work of faith, and
her travels in America, England, Ireland, Scotland, India and Africa, as an
Independent Missionary. Chicago: Meyer and Brother, 1893. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
Amanda Smith's Autobiography reflects a remarkable career. This is
the first edition of her often-reprinted narrative. The Burke Library was
supported by the interest and knowledge of the late Professor James M.
Washington in building this area of the collection.
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136.
Collection of magical prayers and "images". Manuscript on parchment, 191 leaves, early 20th century. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Ethiopic MS 5
This collection of Ethiopian magical prayers includes those that can be
used against demons for each day of the week, and prayers for overcoming
enemies. It also includes "images," an "image" being a hymn in honor of a saint
in which the different members of his or her body are addressed in successive
stages. The book is bound in wooden boards covered in reddish tooled leather in
which crosses have been worked. The leather carrying case was used to facilitate
easy and safe transport. The manuscript's elegant script is enhanced by two
kinds of decoration: abstract, linear motifs that highlight textual transitions
and figural representations. This is a fine example of an African-Christian
culture to which the African-American community has, from earliest days, looked
as a source and model.
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137.
Emily Grace Briggs (1867-1944).
The Deaconess in the Ancient and Medieval Church: A Study in the History
of Christian Institutions. Autograph manuscript, written in partial fulfillment of the Ph.D., Union
Theological Seminary, 1913-1925. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Archives, Emilie Grace Briggs Papers
In 1897, Emilie Grace Briggs became the first woman to earn a degree from
Union Theological Seminary. Union was one of the first institutions of
theological education to admit women students in great quantity and to hire and
tenure women faculty. Briggs later enrolled in the Doctoral program at Union,
and wrote this dissertation, now among her papers held by the Burke Library
Archives. Between 1913 and 1925, as women elsewhere were marching for the right
to vote, she revised her manuscript for publication as the final step toward
receiving her Ph.D. degree. She was unable to find a publisher, and she and her
work were largely forgotten.
Half a century later, with the re-emergence of the womens movement, large
numbers of women entered seminaries, pursuing careers in theological education,
positions of church leadership, and religious scholarship. In 1997, one hundred
years after Briggs had received her first degree, she inspired the founding of
the Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship (AWTS) at Union. At that time,
no institution had a program devoted to preserving the records of women
theologians. The inaugural collection received by the Archives came from Phyllis
Trible, formerly Union's Baldwin Professor of Sacred Literature. The archive now
houses 17 personal and institutional collections that document a diverse range
of individuals and groups.
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138.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945).
Application to Union Seminary. Printed document, completed by the author and signed in ink. Berlin, February 12, 1930. Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Archives, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Manuscript Collection
Dietrich Bonheoffer was raised in the academic circles of the University of
Berlin where his father was a professor of psychiatry and neurology. He studied
theology at the universities of Tübingen and Berlin from 1923 to 1927, and
served for a year as assistant pastor for a German-speaking congregation in
Barcelona. With this document he then applied for one year of graduate study at
Union Theological Seminary that began in September, 1930. He returned to Germany
the following year.
With the rise to power of the Nazis in 1933, Bonhoeffer was a vocal
opponent of the regime, speaking out in particular against its policies of
anti-Semitism. His stance became politicized in 1938 after he became involved
through his brother-in-law, Hans von Dohnanyi, in a plot to overthrow Hitler.
Although he returned to New York in 1939, he stayed for only two weeks, writing
to Union's Seminary's Reinhold Niebuhr: "I will have no right to participate in
the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share
the trials of this time with my people." Following the failure of the July 20,
1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler, Bonheoffer was arrested and executed on
April 9, 1945. His Letters and Papers from Prison, published in 1951,
contain some of his most profound writing.
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139.
Elizaveta Kuzmina-Karavaeva Skobtsova (1891-1945).
Untitled. Watercolor, (21 x 27 cm.) Paris, [1930s] RBML, Bakhmeteff Archive, Mother Maria Papers
Elizaveta Iurievna Kuzmina-Karavaeva Skobtsova, later known as Mother
Maria, was a Russian Orthodox religious thinker, poet and artist. Her
multi-faceted legacy includes articles, poems, art, and drama. In the 1910s she
was part of the literary milieu of St. Petersburg and was a member of the
Socialist Revolutionary Party. She fled Russia soon after the Bolsheviks'
takeover and lived in Paris, where she became a nun. In 1935, she participated
in organizing the so-called Orthodox Action, which was designed to help Russian
immigrants in France. She and her fellow-workers from Orthodox Action opened a
house for homeless and sick immigrants in Paris. During the Nazi occupation of
the city, the house was transformed into a refuge for Jews and displaced
persons. Mother Maria and her son were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and died
in the Ravensbruck camp in Germany. Mother Maria's selfless devotion to people
and her death as a martyr will never be forgotten. In 2004, the Holy Synod
confirmed the glorification of Mother Maria.
Gift of Sofia Pilenko, 1955
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140.
Thomas Merton (1915 -- 1968).
The Seven Storey Mountain. Typed manuscript, with Merton's emendations in ink, 649 pp. Trappist, Kentucky, 1948. RBML, Thomas Merton Papers
Thomas Merton graduated from Columbia College in 1938, and received his
Master's in English in 1939. He had converted to Catholicism while at
Columbia, but surprised his many friends and professors, including Mark Van
Doren, by becoming a Trappist monk, a member of the Cisterian Order of the
Strict Observance, in 1941. He was later ordained a priest, taking the name
of Father M. Louis. Among Merton's most widely read writings is his
autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, shown here in the original
setting-copy for the first edition. In addition to Merton's own changes, the
typescript also has editor Robert Giroux's corrections in pencil and a copy
editor's marking in red pencil. Less well known material in Columbia's
Merton Papers are most of his lecture and conference notes which he used
while serving as master of scholastics and, later, master of novices, prior
to his untimely death in Bangkok in 1968.
Gift of Robert Giroux, 1991
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