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Das syrische Perlenlied und die manichäische Redaktion

Das syrische Perlenlied und die manichäische Redaktion AbstractA hundred years ago (1917/1918) Wilhelm Bousset broke new ground with the thesis that the Acts of Thomas showed traces of Manichaean editing, especially in the Hymn of the Pearl, perhaps the most famous and the most beautiful poem in the Syriac language. In this poem, according to Bousset, the stages in the life of the prince, the protagonist, strangely match the stages in the life of Mani, the founder of the Manichaean religion. The present article revisits this thesis, which enjoys as much interest as ever and is accepted by several well-known contemporary scholars. It takes account of older witnesses (such as the traditions of the early church) while introducing new arguments based on a consideration of original Manichaean literature and striking features of language and style. In a kind of panoramic view, it shows that the Hymn of the Pearl was indeed subjected to Manichaean editing: motives and themes from older traditions were adapted to refer to Mani and supplemented with new interpretive material. Taken together, the old and the new observations confirm Bousset’s thesis that the son of the king in the Hymn of the Pearl was identified with Mani and that an editor (or a school of editors) reworked the poem to make it point to him. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity de Gruyter

Das syrische Perlenlied und die manichäische Redaktion

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Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
ISSN
0949-9571
eISSN
1612-961X
DOI
10.1515/zac-2021-0033
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractA hundred years ago (1917/1918) Wilhelm Bousset broke new ground with the thesis that the Acts of Thomas showed traces of Manichaean editing, especially in the Hymn of the Pearl, perhaps the most famous and the most beautiful poem in the Syriac language. In this poem, according to Bousset, the stages in the life of the prince, the protagonist, strangely match the stages in the life of Mani, the founder of the Manichaean religion. The present article revisits this thesis, which enjoys as much interest as ever and is accepted by several well-known contemporary scholars. It takes account of older witnesses (such as the traditions of the early church) while introducing new arguments based on a consideration of original Manichaean literature and striking features of language and style. In a kind of panoramic view, it shows that the Hymn of the Pearl was indeed subjected to Manichaean editing: motives and themes from older traditions were adapted to refer to Mani and supplemented with new interpretive material. Taken together, the old and the new observations confirm Bousset’s thesis that the son of the king in the Hymn of the Pearl was identified with Mani and that an editor (or a school of editors) reworked the poem to make it point to him.

Journal

Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianityde Gruyter

Published: Dec 14, 2021

Keywords: symbolism of the pearl; Manichaean editing; Life of Mani; original Manichaean literature ( Cephalaia, Homilies, Cologne Mani Codex ); Manichaean religion

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