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Show together is now known to surpass 5000 pieces in Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Georgian, Armnian, Slavonic, Polish, Etfclopic, Coptic, Latin, Turkish, and Persian. This does not include a whole heap of papyrus leaves and fragmnts awaiting further inquiry.. Though m a t of tees© aanusorlpts were written by ae-oks resident in tee Homstory, it Is evident that new reoruits coming from all parts of th© Byeoststne Eofdro brought with theft further aequtsitioni? fro® aany lands, Soae of #a»! acquisitions were oven older than tee Monastery itself. The best known cxBBfOo is te© fourte century Greek Bibl© called th© «Godex Steaitious..« fhls was discovered around tee aidd!© of the I$th eentury by tee German .scholar named IHilillllUlfffj. Be oarriod it with bin to old St.. Petersburg and presented FvW it to the fsar of Russia* In recent times and after the/Orottt World War, % it was sold to tee British Museum in London for 100,000 pounds in gold. The jaeiaory of Tissheadorff is still recalled with esbitterasnt ty the monks who candidly call him "the thief•« •Phe Arabic Collection is -second only to th© Greek in point of gMDlJN It mist be considered as consisting of two sub-sections of a totally different nature. First, we have the eodtex type- of sanascrlpts saountlng to 60g veluwsj sad secondly, there are tee Arabic scrolls or Finnans whose Busbar I have pleted up to 20?2 pieces, fhu® tee whole collection, taken together, totals lection in tetev *& ^ H A A A A ^ , "Sis Codes Colloctio-a aay Justly be regarded, as- th© Nlfi ancient and complete st of its kind in tee world. It has also tee raerlt of continuity throughout the Middle .Ages. Ml know teat tee Arabic speaking ssonks must have C O M to tee Monastery at an early date after th® Arab Conquest of 640, Personally I think that they eaiao sots© tirae in th© eighth century and remised quite a |
