Among Arabic Manuscripts

Memories of Libraries and Men

Series: 

Author:
I.Y. Kratchkovsky
Contributor:
Michael Kemper
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.
Copyright Year:
1953
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-32135-9
Publication:
09 May 2016
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-31611-9
Publication:
19 May 2016
Cover Among Arabic Manuscripts

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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.
"There is much to interest the Arabic scholar in these reminiscences of a life working with Arabic texts. Kratchkovsky’s comments on medieval manuscripts are punctuated by his modern epistolary relationships with early twentieth-century greats, such as Amin Rihani, Mikhail Naimy and the Taymur family of Egypt. This book was not intented to be a dry, scholarly tome but to create “propaganda for my branch of study” and have “these reflections find their way into the hearts and minds of my readers”. What he produced is a paean to the enduring pleasures of scholarship, to the joy of making a new discovery in an old library and to the circle of people across the world who make it possible. Although on the surface there is an optimistic faith in human progress, a dark melancholy lies underneath. As Kemper’s introduction reveals, Kratchkovsky did not live his life in an ivory idyll and frequently suffered from dark periods. Lurking in passing references throughout the text are the stories of students and colleagues killed in wars and Soviet purges. If there is a refuge for him, it is in writing. Soviet Russia during the Second World War must have felt like a precarious place where considering, for instance, the handwriting of Abba Antonius of Baghdad from the ninth century was a comfort. More than anything, this is a book about (hand)writing and its endurance. It is propaganda as it should be." Raphael Cormack in Times Literary Supplement, October 26 2016.
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-fellāḥ 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

All interested in the study of Russian and Soviet Orientalism, scholars of Arabic language, literature and manuscripts.
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