Among Arabic Manuscripts

Memories of Libraries and Men
Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-90-04-31611-9
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 8, 180 Seiten, Format (B × H): 159 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 405 g

Reihe: Brill Classics in Islam

I.Y. Kratchkovsky (Ignatii Iul'ianovich Krachkovskii) was an iconic scholar, and Among Arabic Manuscripts, Memories of Libraries and Men gives us a good indication of what made him so outstanding. Hugely influential in its time, especially in Eastern Europe, it inspired several now-noted Arabists to start their studies in this field. It is beautifully written and, with the rising relevance of Arab-Russian relations has new historical importance. A memoir of a life in Orientalism, this autobiographic text is the result of strong will and endurance, and of total dedication to Arabic literature and language. It tells of Kratchkovsky's enormous achievements in the field, in a very personal manner and in an easily accessible form.

The present publication is the English translation of the first 1953 Brill edition, accomplished by Tatiana Minorsky (d. 1987), with a new introduction by Michael Kemper.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kratchkovsky, I y

Weitere Mitwirkende

Kemper, Michael

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Interdisziplinäres Bibliothekswesen, Informationswissenschaften Buchgeschichte, Bibliotheksgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
Krachkovskii and Soviet Arabic Studies, or:

What is not in Among Arabic Manuscripts
by Michael Kemper (Amsterdam)

CONTENTS
PRELUDE (1943) VII
I. IN THE MANUSCRIPT DEPARTMENT
Prologue (1901) 1
1. An ancient book (1906) 2
2. A translator of Krïlov (1922) 3
3. A contemporary of Hulagu (1911) 5
4. The hostage of a double prison (1912) 6
5. From Sicily via Persia to St. Petersburg (1928) 7
Epilogue (1914) 9

II. FROM WANDERINGS IN THE EAST
1. Books and men (1908-1910) 11
2. Grammatical treatise or anti-religious tract? (1910-1932) 21
3. The unwritten thesis (1910) 25
4. The manuscripts of two patriarchs or a prophecy fulfilled (1900-1927) 30

III. ARAB WRITERS AND THE RUSSIAN ARABIST
1. The philosopher of the Freyka valley (1910-1940) 40
2. The aristocrat-fellah of Cairo 46
3. The Poltava seminarist 54

IV. IN THE ASIATIC MUSEUM
1. Introduction to a legend (1903-1934) 62
2. A unique manuscript and scholars of a dozen nations, Eastern and Western 74
3. A contemporary of the first Crusade (1919-1921) 80
4. Vasco da Gama’s pilot 86

V. IN THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
1. The librarians and the library (1901-1930) 92
2. A first experience as examiner (1914) 105
3. From Cairo to the Volkovo cemetery in St. Petersburg (1916-1930) 115
4. “Al-Andalus” and Leningrad (1906-1942) 123

VI. “THE GAME COMES RUNNING TO THE HUNTER”
1. Bronze tablets from the land of Queen of Sheba (1930) 134
2. A letter from Sogdiana (1934) 142
3. The Kufic Qoran and the Arab grandmother (1936) 150
4. A Russian officer attached to Shamil in Kaluga (1928-1941) 155

VII. SHADES OF OUR PREDECESSORS
1. A martyr for Arabic literature (1910) 163
2. The “quiet” Girgas (1901-1941) 169
3. Half a century of work on one manuscript (1903-1938) 177

FINALE. “Requiem aeternam” (1943) 184
SUPPLEMENT. “The Bindingness of the Non-binding” 186
Notes 190
Postscript 194

Über Autor(innen)

I.Y. Kratchkovsky (Ignatii Iul'ianovich Krachkovskii) (1883-1951) was a pioneering Russian scholar of Arabic Literature and language, a fellow of the Academy of the U.S.S.R. and Russia's major Arabist under Stalin.