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Document Details :

Title: Pour une nouvelle histoire de la découverte et de l'état primitif du codex Bruce (1769-1794)
Author(s): CRÉGHEUR, Eric
Journal: Journal of Coptic Studies
Volume: 16    Date: 2014   
Pages: 47-68
DOI: 10.2143/JCS.16.0.3066719

Abstract :
This paper delves into the modern history of the Bruce Codex (Bodleian Library, Oxford, MS Bruce 96), a Coptic manuscript acquired in Egypt in the eighteenth century by Scotsman James Bruce. Very little is known of the modern history of this papyrus codex, which contains some of the first direct 'Gnostic' sources available to scholars (the so-called 'Books of Jeu' and 'Untitled Text of the Bruce Codex'). We propose that a careful examination of sources from the last decades of the eighteenth century, however limited they may be, can shed new light not only on the circumstances surrounding the discovery and the purchase of the codex, but also on the condition of the manuscript at the time of its acquisition. This paper will cover the history of the Bruce Codex from 1769, when it was allegedly purchased, to 1794, date of death of the original owner.

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