The Cologne Mani-Codex (Codex Manichaicus Coloniensis) is a minute parchment

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

, dated on paleographical evidence to the fifth century CE, found near

Asyut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut'' ( ar, أسيوط ' , from ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , ...

(the ancient Lycopolis), Egypt; it contains a Greek text describing the life of

Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...

, the founder of the religion

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...

. The codex became known via antique dealers in Cairo. It consisted of four deteriorated lumps of

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

the size of a palm, and was in very poor condition. It was purchased for the Institut für Altertumskunde at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

in 1969, and two of its scientists, and , produced a first report (1970) and the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

of this ancient manuscript, hence known as the Cologne Mani-Codex, which they published in four articles in the ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (1975–82). Many emendations and alternate readings were offered in the following decade, and it was found that some of the minute fragments associated with the codex could be successfully incorporated into the body of text. A second edition was published in 1988. Two symposia have been devoted to the codex, and their papers published: in Rende (Calabria) (1984) and in

Cosenza Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...

(1988). The text, which bears the ambiguous title "On the origin of his body", recounts Mani's introduction to the

Jewish-Christian Jewish Christians ( he, יהודים נוצרים, yehudim notzrim) were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). The Nazarene Jews integrated the belief of Jesus ...

Elkesaite baptising sect. Mani's teachings are revealed to him through his spiritual companion and celestial twin (his ''syzygos''). The Greek text bears traces that demonstrate it had been translated from an

Eastern Aramaic The Eastern Aramaic languages have developed from the varieties of Aramaic that developed in and around Mesopotamia (Iraq, southeast Turkey, northeast Syria and northwest and southwest Iran), as opposed to western varieties of the Levant (modern ...

or Old Syriac original. The '' logoi'' of Mani himself are repeatedly cited. That it is a compilation from earlier texts is suggested by the names, apparently of teachers that head each section of the text. Pages 110–14, noted in ''Encyclopædia Iranica''.

Notes

University of Cologne, Papyrus Collection

References

*''The Cologne Mani Codex'' (P. Colon. inv. nr. 4780) "Concerning the Origin of His Body". Edited and translated by Ron Cameron and Arthur J. Dewey. Society of Biblical Literature Texts and Translations Series 15. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1979.University of Cologne, Papyrus Collection

'Der Kölner Mani-Kodex'' (''in German''),University of Cologne, Papyrus Collection

External links

''Encyclopædia Iranica'', ''s.v.'' "Cologne Mani-Codex"
{{Manichaeism footer 5th-century books 5th-century manuscripts Elcesaites Manichaean texts Texts in Koine Greek Texts in Syriac