Hybrid Lecture - Zoomlinkttps://univienna.zoom.us/j/66523988149?pwd=WjTaSg0BFsG3ataTJMZCk5aYSyRafa.1

The Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai has been a crossroads of languages, cultures, and traditions for over a thousand years. Its manuscript collection, which began to form with the Monastery’s foundation in the sixth century, is one place where one can still get a concrete glimpse of such intermingling. The library houses handwritten books in twelve different languages, often brought as gifts by pilgrims or bequeathed by monks and priests who joined the monastic community throughout their lives. These manuscripts, as well as their scribes, originate from a variety of regions, including Syria-Palestine, Egypt, Crete, as well as Ethiopia and Southern Italy. This paper will illustrate, through case studies, how the analysis of codicological and palaeographical features, alongside a close reading of multilingual annotations left by manuscript users, can challenge established paradigms: it helps identify new clusters of production, reconstruct the pathways through which manuscripts reached the Monastery, and highlight the mobility of scribes.