James Bruce's 'Fourth' Manuscript: Solving the Mystery of the Provenance of the Roman Enoch Manuscript (Vat. et. 71)

For four centuries the book of Enoch was lost to Western Christianity and Judaism. That was until 1773, when Scottish explorer James Bruce brought back from Ethiopia 'three' copies of it to France and England. Yet, by the end of the eighteenth century there was another copy of the book of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Boccaccini, Gabriele 1958- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2018]
In: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Year: 2018, Volume: 27, Issue: 4, Pages: 237-263
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bruce, James 1730-1794 / Enoch
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
HD Early Judaism
Further subjects:B Pseudepigrapha
B James Bruce
B Rome
B Manuscript
B Book of Enoch
B Ethiopia
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:For four centuries the book of Enoch was lost to Western Christianity and Judaism. That was until 1773, when Scottish explorer James Bruce brought back from Ethiopia 'three' copies of it to France and England. Yet, by the end of the eighteenth century there was another copy of the book of Enoch in Rome, in the library of Cardinal Leonardo Antonelli. This was an Ethiopic manuscript that, around 1825, would be acquired by Angelo Mai for the Vatican Library, where it is currently preserved (Vat. et. 71). The provenance of the manuscript has remained until now unknown. Through the recovery of eighteenth-century neglected letters and documents, this article uncovers a forgotten chapter in James Bruce's biography, his adventurous journey to Rome immediately after his return from Ethiopia, his meeting with Pope Clement XIV, and the 'fourth' Enoch manuscript he donated to the Antonelli Library. Personal and political reasons led Bruce to suppress the memory of his precious gift.
ISSN:1745-5286
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0951820718786199