The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies and the Global Medieval and Renaissance Studies Faculty Working Group are pleased to present the following lecture:

Claudia Rapp, University of Vienna

The Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai and its Manuscripts: Crossroads of Culture in the Medieval Mediterranean

Founded by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th century in a place where the Burning Bush and the Mountaintop where Moses received the Ten Commandments signal the possibility of human encounters with God, the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine has been a destination for monks, pilgrims, and other visitors from many regions of the Christian world. It is not only the oldest Christian monastery in continuous operation, but also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its extensive collection of icons and its rich library holdings in multiple languages.

After an overview of the history of the Monastery and its association with manuscript production and manuscript ownership, this lecture will explore how the library holdings reflect the presence of Christians from several different language traditions. A special focus will be on the recent work of the Sinai Palimpsests Project (www.sinaipalimpsests.org).

CLAUDIA RAPP is Professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Vienna, Vice-Director of the Institute of Medieval Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). An expert on the social, cultural, and religious history of late antiquity, she has published Brother-Making in Late Antiquity and Byzantium (Oxford 2016) and Holy Bishops in Late Antiquity (University of California 2005); several co-edited volumes including a forthcoming history of Egyptian monasticism; and many articles and reviews on topics ranging from hagiography, the cults of saints, and family history to cities, books, and print culture in the worlds of late antiquity. 

To be held virtually February 5, 1 - 2:30 pm.