Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Figure 1 – uploaded by Samet Budak

See full PDFdownloadDownload figure
Fig. 1. MS Berlin, fol. 343v. Reading from the left, the Greek alphabet. In the bottom right corner of the page, Bayezid II’s almond-shaped seal stamped by Atufi during the cataloguing process has been erased by a later hand but is still detectable. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.

Figure 1 MS Berlin, fol. 343v. Reading from the left, the Greek alphabet. In the bottom right corner of the page, Bayezid II’s almond-shaped seal stamped by Atufi during the cataloguing process has been erased by a later hand but is still detectable. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.

Related Figures (20)

Fig. 2. MS Berlin, fol. Sr. The preface, containing Mehmed II’s name and titles in red ink. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig. 2. MS Berlin, fol. Sr. The preface, containing Mehmed II’s name and titles in red ink. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig. 3. MS Berlin, fol. 341r. Syllable exercises for pronunciation. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig. 3. MS Berlin, fol. 341r. Syllable exercises for pronunciation. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig.4. MS Berlin, fol. 299r. The “Italian” (Latin) alphabet. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig.4. MS Berlin, fol. 299r. The “Italian” (Latin) alphabet. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig. 5. MS Berlin, fol. 14v. The beginning of the conjugation portion, with the verbal nouns. From right to left in each column, Persian, Medieval Greek, and Serbian, all written in Arabic script. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig. 5. MS Berlin, fol. 14v. The beginning of the conjugation portion, with the verbal nouns. From right to left in each column, Persian, Medieval Greek, and Serbian, all written in Arabic script. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
1 This concept of moving heavens controlling one’s fate does not have a direct equivalent in Greek literature as one specific term to the best o my knowledge. The compilers seem to have made it up from the verb otpéw with their artificial shortcut of -ua. 2 In this case, the Persian and Greek words seem not to be total equivalents, since dwat/p means “light of stars” or “radiance.” 3 One would expect thavijtyg here, but that is not seen in the Greek word in Arabic script. In the Topkapi manuscript, it is correct. Table 2. Beginning of the List of Nouns in MS Berlin, fol. 67r.
1 This concept of moving heavens controlling one’s fate does not have a direct equivalent in Greek literature as one specific term to the best o my knowledge. The compilers seem to have made it up from the verb otpéw with their artificial shortcut of -ua. 2 In this case, the Persian and Greek words seem not to be total equivalents, since dwat/p means “light of stars” or “radiance.” 3 One would expect thavijtyg here, but that is not seen in the Greek word in Arabic script. In the Topkapi manuscript, it is correct. Table 2. Beginning of the List of Nouns in MS Berlin, fol. 67r.
Fig. 6. MS Berlin, fol. 120v. The first reading piece, “Opinions of Philosophers.” Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig. 6. MS Berlin, fol. 120v. The first reading piece, “Opinions of Philosophers.” Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig. 7. MS Berlin, fol. 141v. The second reading piece. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
Fig. 7. MS Berlin, fol. 141v. The second reading piece. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library.
As one quic kly notices, although the manuscript compilers follow the same strategy of ending all infini- tives with the ending -ua, the word choice is slightly different here. M S Berlin has diéBacue for reading, while MS Topkapi has évéyvwoun. The pronunciation and spelling are a so different. For example, “to know” is rendered as é€evpeua, not with yfevpyua as in MS Berlin. Also, for an 0 or u sound, a waw, not alif-waw, is used. Such different stylistic tendencies reveal that another individual (or individuals) prepared this por- tion of the Topkap1 manuscript. These stylistic differ- ences may be detected to some degree in translations from Greek commissioned by the court as well. The simplification of the orthography is most likely a sign that this copy is sl ightly later than MS Berlin. modern Greek conjugation with the final extra v.28 The second form is archaic. Although the conjugated forms are not always consistent throughout the manuscript, the rest of the conjugations, whose morphology would require its own study, follow the same pattern. In the case of nouns, the difference between the Ancient and Medieval or written and spoken registers gets trickier. For example, for the term “horse, the book provides us with éAoyov and inrog; for “donkey,” yaidovpt and dvoc. Concerning the first example, it is true that dAoyov is the same as the modern (without the final v), but the term itself appeared in the ancient period. In the second example, we have a clear distinction. The word yatdovpr is a Medieval Greek borrowing from Arabic. Therefore, it has no Ancient ancestor. Also, the final consonant is dropped, suggesting that the transformation toward its modern pronunciation was already completed upon the composition of our primers. In short, the compilers aimed to provide two registers of Greek, Ancient and Medieval (or written and spoken), as successfully as possible in MS Topkap.”?
As one quic kly notices, although the manuscript compilers follow the same strategy of ending all infini- tives with the ending -ua, the word choice is slightly different here. M S Berlin has diéBacue for reading, while MS Topkapi has évéyvwoun. The pronunciation and spelling are a so different. For example, “to know” is rendered as é€evpeua, not with yfevpyua as in MS Berlin. Also, for an 0 or u sound, a waw, not alif-waw, is used. Such different stylistic tendencies reveal that another individual (or individuals) prepared this por- tion of the Topkap1 manuscript. These stylistic differ- ences may be detected to some degree in translations from Greek commissioned by the court as well. The simplification of the orthography is most likely a sign that this copy is sl ightly later than MS Berlin. modern Greek conjugation with the final extra v.28 The second form is archaic. Although the conjugated forms are not always consistent throughout the manuscript, the rest of the conjugations, whose morphology would require its own study, follow the same pattern. In the case of nouns, the difference between the Ancient and Medieval or written and spoken registers gets trickier. For example, for the term “horse, the book provides us with éAoyov and inrog; for “donkey,” yaidovpt and dvoc. Concerning the first example, it is true that dAoyov is the same as the modern (without the final v), but the term itself appeared in the ancient period. In the second example, we have a clear distinction. The word yatdovpr is a Medieval Greek borrowing from Arabic. Therefore, it has no Ancient ancestor. Also, the final consonant is dropped, suggesting that the transformation toward its modern pronunciation was already completed upon the composition of our primers. In short, the compilers aimed to provide two registers of Greek, Ancient and Medieval (or written and spoken), as successfully as possible in MS Topkap.”?
Fig. 9. MS Topkapi, fols. 52v-53r. The beginning of the second adaptation. Photo courtesy of the Topkapi: Palace Museum. Teaching Greek, Studying Philosophy, and Discovering Ancient Greek Knowledge at the Ottoman Court in the Fifteenth Century | 36
Fig. 9. MS Topkapi, fols. 52v-53r. The beginning of the second adaptation. Photo courtesy of the Topkapi: Palace Museum. Teaching Greek, Studying Philosophy, and Discovering Ancient Greek Knowledge at the Ottoman Court in the Fifteenth Century | 36
1 At the end, an Arabic note reads, “Here ended the Greek terminology of logic.” In total, this chapter comprises 132 logical terms in Arabic and their Greek counterparts, with the exception of an equivalent for the term s!4l! 42iLs (disjunctive conditional). One folio (61) of this glossary of the Isagoge is misplaced, probably during a rebinding process. Table 3. Beginning of Glossary in MS Topkapi, fol. 62v.
1 At the end, an Arabic note reads, “Here ended the Greek terminology of logic.” In total, this chapter comprises 132 logical terms in Arabic and their Greek counterparts, with the exception of an equivalent for the term s!4l! 42iLs (disjunctive conditional). One folio (61) of this glossary of the Isagoge is misplaced, probably during a rebinding process. Table 3. Beginning of Glossary in MS Topkapi, fol. 62v.
Fig. 10. MS Topkap, fols. 67v—-68r. The beginning of the paradigmatic tables. Photo courtesy of the Topkap1 Palace Museum. Teaching Greek, Studying Philosophy, and Discovering Ancient Greek Knowledge at the Ottoman Court in the Fifteenth Century | 3¢
Fig. 10. MS Topkap, fols. 67v—-68r. The beginning of the paradigmatic tables. Photo courtesy of the Topkap1 Palace Museum. Teaching Greek, Studying Philosophy, and Discovering Ancient Greek Knowledge at the Ottoman Court in the Fifteenth Century | 3¢
Fig. 11. MS Topkapi, fols. 82v—83r. The chapter about spelling philosophers’ names correctly. Photo courtesy of the Topkapi Palace Museum.
Fig. 11. MS Topkapi, fols. 82v—83r. The chapter about spelling philosophers’ names correctly. Photo courtesy of the Topkapi Palace Museum.
Fig. 12. Ayasofya A, fols. 1v—2r. The beginning of the “tetraglot” text. Photo courtesy of the Stileymaniye Library.
Fig. 12. Ayasofya A, fols. 1v—2r. The beginning of the “tetraglot” text. Photo courtesy of the Stileymaniye Library.
Fig. 13. Ayasofya A, fol. 73v. Pronouns with interlinear study notes (in Persian) in red. Photo courtesy of the Siileymaniye Library.
Fig. 13. Ayasofya A, fol. 73v. Pronouns with interlinear study notes (in Persian) in red. Photo courtesy of the Siileymaniye Library.
Fig. 14. G.I. 17, fols. 87v-88r. A miscellany of magical writings, copied by Amiroutzes. Photo courtesy of the Topkapi Palace Museum.
Fig. 14. G.I. 17, fols. 87v-88r. A miscellany of magical writings, copied by Amiroutzes. Photo courtesy of the Topkapi Palace Museum.
Figure 15. From left, binding of MS Berlin; Istanbul, Topkap1 Palace, G.I. 17, Greek magical miscellany, copied by Amiroutzes; and of Topkapi Palace, A. 2460, pseudo-Platonic writings in Arabic attributed to al-Farabi. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library and the Topkap1 Palace Museum. Teaching Greek, Studying Philosophy, and Discovering Ancient Greek Knowledge at the Ottoman Court in the Fifteenth Century | 3!
Figure 15. From left, binding of MS Berlin; Istanbul, Topkap1 Palace, G.I. 17, Greek magical miscellany, copied by Amiroutzes; and of Topkapi Palace, A. 2460, pseudo-Platonic writings in Arabic attributed to al-Farabi. Photo courtesy of the Berlin State Library and the Topkap1 Palace Museum. Teaching Greek, Studying Philosophy, and Discovering Ancient Greek Knowledge at the Ottoman Court in the Fifteenth Century | 3!
Fig. 16. Topkapi Palace, G.I. 18, fols. 9y-10r. Anonymous grammar. Photo courtesy of the Topkapi Palace Museum.
Fig. 16. Topkapi Palace, G.I. 18, fols. 9y-10r. Anonymous grammar. Photo courtesy of the Topkapi Palace Museum.
‘igs. 17-18. Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 3557, fols. 1r and 93r. The beginning pages of Manuel Moschopulos’s Erotemata grammatica (fols. 1r—90v) and Schedographia (fols. 93r-216v), respectively. The basmala, tc., at the top of each was probably added by a Muslim student working on this copy. Photo courtesy of the Bolognz Jniversity Library.
‘igs. 17-18. Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 3557, fols. 1r and 93r. The beginning pages of Manuel Moschopulos’s Erotemata grammatica (fols. 1r—90v) and Schedographia (fols. 93r-216v), respectively. The basmala, tc., at the top of each was probably added by a Muslim student working on this copy. Photo courtesy of the Bolognz Jniversity Library.
Fig. 19. Topkap1 Palace, G.I. 26, fol. 1r. Eudemos Rhetor, Lexicon, copied by John Dokeianos. Photo courtesy of the Topkap: Palace Museum.
Fig. 19. Topkap1 Palace, G.I. 26, fol. 1r. Eudemos Rhetor, Lexicon, copied by John Dokeianos. Photo courtesy of the Topkap: Palace Museum.
Fig. 20. MS Lala Ismail 261, fol. 3r. Alexander’s name begins the first sentence on the verso page. The red Greek quotation in the Arabic script is John 1:1. Interlinear study notes(?) in Persian are provided similarly to Ayasofya A. Photo courtesy of the Stileymaniye Library.
Fig. 20. MS Lala Ismail 261, fol. 3r. Alexander’s name begins the first sentence on the verso page. The red Greek quotation in the Arabic script is John 1:1. Interlinear study notes(?) in Persian are provided similarly to Ayasofya A. Photo courtesy of the Stileymaniye Library.
Related topics:
Ottoman HistoryRenaissance StudiesByzantine HistoryOttoman Intellectual HistoryGreek Education History
580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
© 2025 Academia. All rights reserved