Erpenius’ al-Makin arrives in Word format

An email brings the text of the Erpenius (1625) edition of al-Makin.  The typist has done a good job.

She’s also indicated that some words – especially names – seem to be corrupt.  These will need to be fixed by comparison against a manuscript.

Erpenius was a very early editor indeed, and his edition is probably very faulty.  I don’t see it as my job to produce a satisfactory critical edition – I leave that to the professional scholars.  What I want to do is get something that we can work with (while the professional scholars sit on their hands, as, since Erpenius, they have done).

Erpenius also died before he finished.  His text only runs as far as 525/1130.  The remainder of his second part (which is all that Erpenius edited) was published by C. Cahen, in “La Chronique Ayyoubides’ d’al-Makin b. al-`Amid.” Bulletin d’Etudes Orientale, 15 (1955-7): 109-84.

It turns out that I don’t have any decent images of manuscripts of that part of the work.  So I have today ventured across to Cambridge University Library and photocopied Cahen’s publication.  We’ll stick that on the end of Erpenius.  I do wish, however, that CUL would buy some new photocopiers!  Theirs are worn out.

Then we can venture onto the really interesting stuff – part 1!  This contains the narrative from the creation down to the 11th year of Heraclius.  I think we may start with Constantine, and do the section to Heraclius first.  The opening material will undoubtedly be very tedious – at least, it was for Agapius, and, if I hadn’t done all the rest of him, I’d have abandoned it there!