Robert Curzon and the Levant (, 1972)

desperate undertaking, amply accounting for the invariable and probably heart felt exclamation of Laus Deo, Finis, which the weary scribe concluded his work, and in which the reader may possibly sometimes, have cordially agreed with him'. Dr Vrej Nersessiati Christian Middle East Section References 1 Notice of Lord Zouche [Obituary] published in the Miscellanies of the Philobiblon Society 2 S. Strelcyn, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts in the British Library acquired since the year 1877. London: The British Library, 1978 3 Ian H. C. Fraser, The Heir of Parham: Robert Curzon 14th Baron Zouche. London: The Paradigm Press, 1986 4 Bentley Layton, Catalogue of Coptic Literary Manuscripts in the British Library acquired since the year 1906. London: The British Library, 1987 5 Vrej Nersessian, Armenian Illuminated Gospel Books. London: The British Library, 1987 6 Stephen Emmel, 'Robert Curzon's 'Very Large Folio' Coptic-Arabic Gospel of Matthew, and MS. Coptic 1 in the Beinecke Library: A question of identity', The Yale University Library Gazette 63 (April, 1989) Armenian 1. Or.8826. Psalter, dated 1751, ff. 107b-108a, Full-page portrait of Moses 2. Or.8831. Hymnal, 1487, ff. 232b-233a, full-page miniatures of Second Coming of Christ and Headpiece (Khoran) 3. Or.8832. The Four Gospels, 1630, ff,135b-136a. Portrait of the Evangelist Saint Luke and Headpiece (Khoran) 4. Or.8833. Bible, 1646, ff.2b-3a. Illustration in three tiers represents the events related to the first three chapters of Genesis. The right hand folio is the title-page of theBook of Genesis. 5. Or.8834. Menologium, 14th century, f,108a. Lection on the death and burial of Saint Gregory the Illuminator. Coptic 6. Or.8784. Miscellany, 1210, f.89a. Fine gilt rectangular headpiece for 'An oration on the coming of the holy archangel'. 7. Or .8793. The Gospel of Saint Luke, 1494, ff. 49b-50a. The Text of the Transfiguration. Ch.IX:vv.28-36. 8. Or.8799. Miscellany, 1198/1199, f.44a. An Oration of St.Ephrem on the Transfiguration of Our Lord. 9. Or.8808. Psalter, f.48a. Psalms 69 and 70. 10. Or.8812. Exegetical Catena of the Gospels, 888/889, f. 121a. Title-page for the Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Mark. Ethiopian 11. Or.8814. Miscellany, 18th century, f. 68b. Portraits of the saint Tekla Haymanot and of the owner of the MS. 12. Or.8815. Psalter, 18th century, f.[i]r. The exhibited page contains the Hebrew translation of the Ethiopie apocryphal Psalm CLI. 13. Or.8818. The Pillars of the Mystery, 19th century, ff. 79b-80a. Title-page of 'Treasury of the Faith'. 14. Or.8824. Miracles of Our Lord Jesus, 18th century, f.29b. The fish stolen from a fisherman of Tiberias by his companions. 15. Or.8729. Lessons and Prayers of the Syriac Church, 1230 AD, ff,130b-131a. Title-pages. 16. Or .8730. Discourses of Gregory Nazianzus, 876/877 AD, ff. 166b-167a. 17. Or .8732. Discourses of Gregory Nazianzus, on the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Isaiah, 770/771, ff. 94b-95a. The Book of Isaiah, according to the Septuagint version. Printed Books 18. Add.MS.64098. R. Curzon, Catalogue of Materials for Writing, early writings on tablets and stones, rolled and other manuscripts and oriental manuscript books, in the library of the Honourable Robert Curzon at Parham in the County of Sussex. London: Printed by William Nicol, Shakespeare Press, Pall Mall, MDCCCXLIX [1849], Annotated copy of Curzon's Catalogue, marked with the serial inventory numbers and letters written to Curzon on the collection, that accompanied the bequest. 19.10125.b.9. Robert Curzon, Visits to Monasteries in the Levant. London: John Murray, 1849. 20.10076.b.l0. Robert Curzon, Armenia: A year at Erzeroom, and on the frontiers of Russia, Turkey, and Persia. London: John Murray, 1854 (3rd edition) Robert Curzon (1810-1873) and the Levant as 'the Slaughter House'. The school's records show that '... he missed an astonishing amount of schooling through illness, being frequently away for weeks on end'. In 1828, Curzon left Charterhouse and went up to Christ Church, Oxford, to read Classics. His studies did not interest him and in May 1829 he wrote to his mother, 'it is a great bore having to poke over stupid books instead of enjoying this fine weather'. Early in 1830 his tutor, John Williams told him he was wasting his time at Oxford. Curzon explained to his father 'Both tutors say that it is all owing to my not being sufficiently well grounded in the Greek grammar, as in the Latin which I know I have succeeded pretty well and can read it well enough to be amused'. He left the university without a degree, and in 1831 was elected as Member of Parliament for Clitheroe. The borough was disfranchised in 1832 and he never sat for another. In 1832 Curzon toured Europe with the Rev. Walter Sneyd (1809-88) who was to play an important part in his life. At Oxford Curzon had become interested in Biblical manuscripts and had become a student of the history of handwriting. In 1833 he began a tour of research among the monasteries of Egypt and the Holy Land with Sir George Palmer (1811-66). Continuing his research he toured Egypt and the monasteries of Asia Minor in 1837. In 1841 he was appointed attaché at the embassy at Constantinople and private secretary to the ambassador, Sir Stratford Canning. His work took him to Erzerum in 1842 to attend a conference on the establishment of the frontier between Turkey and Persia. While at Erzerum on 1 October 1843 a chill precipitated him into a violent fever, the effect of which he never entirely shook off. He left the city on 27 December bearded and so emaciated that his nose was translucent 'if not transparent' and after a nightmarish journey reached Trabizon on 10 January 1844. Curzon married Emily Julia Wilmot-Horton on 27 August 1850. On hearing the news Sneyd wrote 'You never did so wise a thing in your life'. Emily died on 11 March 1866, survived by two children, Robin and Darea. Curzon succeeded to the peerage on the death of his mother in 1870. He began Syriac Inventory of the Curzon Collection Language British Library MS. number (Or.) Parham number Syriac 8729-8732 3-6 Hebrew 87332 Arabic 8734-8751 7-24 Persian 8752-8762 33-41 Turkish 8763-8769 30-32 Coptic 8770-8812 106-149 & Arabic Ethiopian 8813-8824 55-65 Armenian 8825-8834 42-51 Georgian 8835-8836 156-157 Sanskrit 8837 Hindi 8838 53-54 Hindostani 8839 52 Telugu 8840 Siamese 8842-8851 Cambojian 8852-8853 Manch u, 8854 154-155 Chinese & Russian ©The British Library Board 1992 Armenian Hymnal, 1487. Pentecost or the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Or.8831/. 183b An exhibition in the King's Library 30 May to 25 October 1992 '... I am the heir and not the possessor of a fortune ...' Curzon to Sir Thomas Phillips. 19 January 1837 Robert Curzon was born in London on 16 March 1810, the elder son of Harriet Ann Bisshopp, in her own right Baroness Zouche, and the Hon. Robert Curzon. He was educated at Charterhouse school, which he remembered book, as any I ever saw, and by its appearance I should not think it of later than the ninth or tenth century'. He appended a list of all the manuscripts he had obtained in Egypt, amounting to seventeen Arabic, two Persian, fifteen Coptic, four Syriac and two Ethiopian. Three of the Syriac manuscripts contain the first thirty Discourses of Gregory Nazianzus, translated into Syriac by Paul of Cyprus in 623/4. The manuscripts are dated 897,733/34 and 770. All have a brief note written inside the front cover: 'Brought from the Coptic Monastery of Souriani, on the Natron lakes, in the western desert of Egypt by me Robert Curzon, March 1838. This is one of 250 MSS which were brought from Edessa in the year of Our Lord 923 by Moses Abbot of S. Maria Theotocos'. The Syriac manuscript which Robert Curzon in his Catalogue (no.4) and inside the front cover of the manuscript describes as 'magnificent', 'came from the cellar of the Coptic Monastery of Souriani, on the Natron Lakes, in Egypt'. The manuscript is dated 1230 and contains the Lessons and Prayers of the Syrian Church. Curzon's collections and publications confirm that he had a genuine scientific curiosity and a definite plan of research that gave impetus and shape to his activities as a collector. But because of his imperfect education, he generously shared his treasures with those who could help him achieve what he had set out to study. Famous scholars like Archdeacon Henry Tattam (1789-1868), Joseph Bardelli, William Wright, Dr B. Ceriani, J.B. Lightfoot, Father Ghewond Alishan, Eduard Hyurmyuzian and others contributed their opinions to the descriptions published in the Catalogue of Materials. A letter bound in Curzon's own copy of the Catalogue sums up his endeavours very well: 'It is remarkable how the manners and customs, of all nations of mankind, resemble each other, in a primaeval state of society, the chewed reed, used as a paint brush, is found among the curious specimens of antiquity, which have of late years been exhumed from the Egyptian tomb, the paint brushes with which the delicate and sometimes beautiful paintings, of the ancient Egyptians, were delineated, were not more artificially made, than those of the modern Abyssinians. The sharp end of cow's horn, was used for an ink stand by the scribes of Europe, in the tenth century, many illuminations are extant, in which the scribe, often one of the Evangelists, is represented with the cow's horn, sewing [using] him for an inkstand, it is frequently inserted in a hold, cut to receive it, in the writing desk and if we may judge from the given and earnest countenances of most of the scribes of the middle ages, as they have been handed down to us, in painted glass, or on the pages of the illuminated volumes, which they wrote it would seem that the hauscuphon of a book must have been usually considered as a

Next