P. CtYBR inv. 1792 qua, a complex amulet whose edition and translation appears in the database as of the latest update.

We’re pleased to announce that we have just updated the Kyprianos Database of Ancient Ritual Texts and Objects, the first of many to come in the framework of the new Coptic Magical Formularies project.

As well as the usual corrections and updates, the contents of this update include:

  • 25 new manuscript entries, bringing the total to 1146.
  • 8 new text entries, bringing the total to 256. These include:
    • The texts of British Library Ms. Or. 5899 (KYP M361), invocations for healing and favour;
    • P. CtYBR inv. 1792 qua (KYP T127), an amulet invoking the names of the Four Magi, and mentioning the birth of Jesus at Christmas, which we discussed long ago in a popular blog post;
    • P. Aberd. Inv. 193 (KYP T246), a very nasty curse against two women, but probably one of the earliest surviving Coptic curses, dating to the fourth or fifth century:
    • British Library Ms. Or. 6796 (1-3 recto) (KYP T337) and P. Iand. inv. 9 (KYP T654) two versions of the textual tradition known as the Prayer of Mary ‘in Bartos’, variants of which surviving in Arabic and Ge’ez to the present day; we have also updated BKU I 6 (KYP T338), a related prayer also attributed to the Virgin Mary;
    • BM EA 10391 ro ll. 38-49 (KYP T1670), a bowl divination practice in which a spirit is summoned to appear in a vessel of water; the only other published example of such a text in Coptic, in PCM 1 34 (KYP T1085) is already online.

For anyone who would like to access the raw data, remember that the Manuscripts and Texts tables may be downloaded from the Database Help page (“About the Kyprianos Database”) in the form of CSV files.