The Greek Martyrdom of *George (soldier and martyr, S00259), recounting the trial and execution of the martyr George under the king Dadian, is translated into Syriac during the 5th or 6th century.
E06307
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
The Syriac text of the Martyrdom of George [for a description and discussion of the Greek version, see E06147] is preserved in no less than seven manuscripts. The earliest textual witness of this work, known so far, is ms. British Library, Add. 17205 (see Wright 1870-1872, vol. 3, pp. 1087), dating from the sixth century.
While no critical edition of the Syriac version of the Martyrdom exists so far, there are several publications of its Syriac text: (1) Bedjan 1890-1897, vol. 1, pp. 277-300, on the basis of an unknown ms. from Mesopotamia; (2) Brooks 1925 (together with an English translation), on the basis of mss. British Library, Add. 17205 and Add. 14734; (3) Kiraz 1991, pp. 18-47, on the basis of mss. British Library, Add. 17205 and Add. 14734.
According to E.W. Brooks, the surviving textual witnesses of the Syriac version of the Martyrdom could be divided into two recensions: Recension I, represented by mss. British Library, Add. 17205 and Add. 14734, and Recension II, represented by the rest of the mss., including the one used in Bedjan's edition (see Brooks 1925, pp. 68-69). In his brief discussion of Recension I, Brooks points out that "in the Syriac, as in the later Greek texts, those parts of the legend which were most likely to cause offence are omitted" (Brooks 1925, p. 70). In Brooks' opinion, this revision was carried out by the author of the Syriac version.
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Discussion
The Syriac translation of the Martyrdom bears witness to the spread of the cult of George among Syriac-speaking Christians during the fifth or, at latest, the sixth century, and is the earliest witness of the saints' cult in this milieu. The date of George's execution, given at the conclusion of the Martyrdom (Brooks 1925, p. 115), is 23 April, which represent, most likely, the date of the martyr's liturgical commemoration in the sixth-century Syria-Mesopotamia.Bibliography
Main editions and translations:Bedjan, P., Acta martyrum et sanctorum. 7 vols (Paris / Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1890-1897).
Brooks, E.W., “Acts of S. George,” Le Muséon 38:1-2 (1925), 67-115.
Kiraz, G.A., The Acts of Saint George and the Story of his Father from the Syriac and Garshuni Versions (Losser, The Netherlands: Bar Hebraeus Verlag, 1991).
Further reading:
Wright, W., Catalogue of Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum, Acquired since the Year 1838. 3 vols (London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1870-1872).
Sergey Minov
07/09/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00259 | George, soldier and martyr, and Companions | ܓܐܘܪܓܝܤ | Certain |
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