Jacob Lollar
(Durham University)

Paper
presented at the 60th International Congress on Medieval Studies
(Kalamazoo, 2025)

Session on
“Women and Manuscripts: Questions of Authorship”

Sponsored by
Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

Organized by Jaclyn L. Reed (Independent Scholar)

2025 Congress Program

“For the Praise and Glory of the Glorious Woman:
Women in Syriac Manuscripts and Book Culture
––and the Attempts to Erase them”

Abstract:

In probably the late sixth or early seventh century, a hagiographic narrative was composed about a young woman named Febronia who purportedly suffered a horrific martyrdom during the reign of Diocletian. The story, first composed in Syriac, claims to have been composed by one of Febroniaʼs fellow nuns, Thomais. Although
the hagiographic conventions of the story cast doubt on much of its historicity, it is quite likely that the author of the story was in fact a woman, possibly from the Convent of St. Febronia in Nisibis, where the narrative was undoubtedly composed (Brock and Harvey, 1987: 150–51). Alas, we can only guess about the involvement of women as writers and composers of Syriac texts. The evidence is frustratingly scant, to the point that there are more possiblyʼs, plausiblyʼs, and maybeʼs than one would prefer. There is one source, however, that has not been sufficiently explored for additional insight: Syriac manuscripts.

This paper will offer some examples of women owners, readers, and possibly even scribes mentioned in Syriac manuscripts. The Syriac tradition has a rich set of manuscripts that contain revealing colophons that name particular women. Strikingly, in multiple cases (e.g., London, British Library Add. MS 14650 and BL Add. 14558) the notes referring to these women were effaced to the point that details about them, aside from their names, are difficult to reconstruct. The study of these manuscripts offers new insights, however bleak, into the role women played in the composition, preservation, and dissemination of manuscripts within Syriac book culture. Perhaps more troubling, these manuscripts may also testify to intentional efforts (and perhaps countless successful ones) to quite literally erase these women from history altogether.

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