A PUBLIC
LECTURE ON A FASCINATING STORY.
Under the auspices of the Homecoming Scotland 2009
celebrations, the department of Theology and Religious Studies of Glasgow
University is hosting a public lecture to be delivered by Dr Janet Soskice, of
the University of Cambridge at 6.00-7.30pm on Thursday 26 March in Lecture
Theatre 1 of the Boyd Orr Building entitled:
Sisters of
Sinai: or how two Ayrshire ladies, rich and eccentric, in 1892 made a
priceless find in the Sinai desert and, aged over 50, reinvented themselves as
world-class scholars of Syriac and Arabic manuscripts
This lecture is free and open to all, and will be
followed by a wine reception.
The lecture will coincide with the publication of
Janet’s latest book, ‘Sisters of Sinai: How Two lady Adventurers
Found the Hidden Gospels’, which has been chosen as BBC Radio 4 Book of
the Week for Easter and which will also be featured on BBC Radio 4
Woman’s Hour.
Sisters of Sinai tells an extraordinary
tale of nineteenth century exploration; how two Scottish sisters made one of
the most important manuscript finds of the age. Hidden in a cupboard
beneath the monastic library at St. Catherine’s in the Sinai desert the
twins discovered what looked like a palimpsest: one text written over
another. It was Agnes who recognised the obscured text for what it was
– one of the earliest copies of the Gospels written in ancient Syriac.
Once they had overcome the stubborn reluctance of Cambridge scholars to authenticate
the find and had led an expedition of quarrelsome academics back to Sinai to
copy it, Agnes Gibson and Margaret Lewis – in middle age and without any
university qualifications – embarked on a life of demanding scholarship
and bold travel.
Janet Soskice takes the reader on an astonishing
journey from the Ayrshire of the sisters’ childhood to the lost treasure
trove of the Cairo genizah.
We trace the footsteps of the intrepid pair as they voyage to Egypt, Sinai and
beyond, coping with camels, unscrupulous dragomen and unpredictable
welcomes. We discover the excitement and mystery of the Gospel origins at
a time when Christianity was under attack in Europe. Crucially this is
the story of two remarkable women who were undeterred in their spirit of adventure
and who overcame insuperable odds to become world-class scholars with a place
in history.
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