Select Narratives of Holy Women: From the Syro-Antiochene or Sinai Palimpsest as Written Above the Old Syriac Gospels by John the Stylite, of Beth-Mari-Qanun in A.D. 778 [Studia Sinaitica, Volumes IX and X] 2-vol. set (Complete).
London: C. J. Clay and Sons, 1900. First edition. Hardcover. Quarto (10 1/4 x 7 1/2") (Vol. 1); (9 3/4 x 7 1/2") (Vol. 2). xxiv, 46pp (text in English) 306- 35pp (Syriac text, with translation in vol. 2), [7] leaves (Plates) (Vol. 1); xxxi, [1], 211, [1]pp, [1] leaf (Plate) (Vol. 2). Modern cloth with gold lettering to spines. Frontispiece in each volume. Syriac text in red and black lettering.
Agnes Lewis (1843-1926), along with her sister Margaret Gibson (1843-1920) was "a pioneering biblical scholar who became an expert in a number of ancient languages. Travelling widely in the Middle East, both sisters made several significant discoveries, including one of the earliest manuscripts of the Four Gospels in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language probably spoken by Jesus himself. Their chief discoveries were made in the Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai.
Illustrated with eight photogravure plates, this work, a useful resource for scholars of Syriac, and published as part of the Studia Sinaitica series, is the text of a Syriac manuscript from the monastic library at St Catherine's. Transcribed by Lewis, the manuscript recounts the tales of a number of saintly women including Pelagia, a rich courtesan who converted to Christianity, and Eugenia, a holy woman who lived as a man and became the abbot of a monastery." (From the Preface of the 2012 reprint).
Text in Syria, with English translation. Ex-library copy, with reference sticker at upper front joints and tail of spines, stamp at top and bottom paper edges, bookplate on inside of each front cover and pocket at rear. Previous owner's sporadic underlining in ink throughout volume 2. Binding and interior in overall very good condition. vg. Item #46671
Price: $500.00