Remains of Gnomic Anthologies and Pagan Wisdom Literature in the Coptic Tradition

It is well known that a complete and satisfying “history of Coptic literature” is still a desideratum. Among the other causes contributing to the difficulty of such an enterprise are the fragmentary status of the codices which preserve the texts and the fact that a great part of the surviving literary manuscripts date from the 9th to the 11th cent. This means that we have only relics of the early Coptic literary production, and therefore of the tastes, orientations and cultural formation of those groups which, between the 4th and the 5th century, were creating a new literature in the Coptic language. Despite these difficulties, however, it is clear that the Coptic literary tradition was, from its inception, with very few exceptions, mostly of religious content. The article endeavours to understand through which itinera and with what aims Christian Egypt preserved examples of a pagan wisdom literature and to delineate the environments that were responsible for its circulation

Preliminary Remarks on Coptic Biblical Titles (from the Third to the Eleventh Century)

Coptic biblical titles have not received much attention until now. This article represents a preliminary study of them, dealing with their history and structural evolution. The aim is to show how the Bohairic biblical titles are much more similar to the Greek biblical titles than the Sahidic ones, a fact that sheds light on the parallel and partially independent development of the two literary tradition

Beyond the papyrus. The writing materials of Christian Egypt before the tenth century: ostraca, wooden tablets and parchment

Survey of the writing supports of late antique Egyptian books, with particular attention to parchment, ostraca and wodden tablets

From the Field to the Web and Back. Resuming Archaeological Activieties in Sudan

The paper presents the new archaeological project established by Sapienza University of Rome in Sudan at the site of Hujair Gubli, setting it against the recent research defined and carried out in the past years (2019-2021). The general idea and the historical background underpinning such a programme will be reviewed, together with some of the results (both tangible and intangible) that have been produced. Finally, the main tracks of future agenda will be prospectively outlined

Vat. copt. 57: A Codicological, Literary, and Paratextual Analysis

MS Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. copt. 57, a collection of homi- lies attributed to John Chrysostom in Bohairic Coptic, poses a number of challenges to scholars. Questions such as, Can we identify the texts, and what is their rela- tionship to their Greek models? Can we know who the copyist(s) was or were? are approached by a team of scholars in a collaborative stud

Coptic Codicology. The scribe, the painter an the illuminator at work. persons, places ad methods. Colophons.

The article concerns the professions related to Coptic manuscript traditio

Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni (SMSR)

"Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni perseguono nel loro campo speciale i fini della scienza e della cultura. Alla scienza storica contribuiscono facendo oggetto di storia la religione nel suo svolgimento. Alla cultura schiudono più larghi orizzonti, promuovendo una maggiore partecipazione del pensiero italiano alla conoscenza di forme e momenti di civiltà meno prossime e meno noti". (Raffaele Pettazzoni). Il Dipartimento, fin dalla sua istituzione, pubblica la Rivista Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni (SMSR) che, fondata nel 1925 da Raffaele Pettazzoni, dopo aver momentaneamente sospeso la sua attività nel 1969 ed essere stata ripresa nel 1972 come "Religioni e Civiltà" e nel 1977 come "Studi storico-religiosi", ha riassunto lo storico e prestigioso titolo di SMSR nel 1983. SMSR, che rientra tra le riviste di proprietà dell'Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", ospita saggi e articoli di affermati studiosi italiani e stranieri, pubblicati in varie lingue, ma al tempo stesso è aperta al contributo dei giovani che, per il loro impegno scientifico e la serietà della loro preparazione storico-religiosa, si sono distinti in particolare nell'ambito delle attività istituzionali del Dipartimento