Identifying Scattered Puzzles of Syriac Liturgical Manuscripts - Project Description
This project aims to build a database that includes prayers written in Syriac (originally a dialect of the ancient language of Aramaic) that may be found in manuscripts and fragments (fallen pieces from written manuscripts, which may be found as full pages or little pieces of a page). As is the case while playing a jigsaw puzzle, the project intends to find possible connections to link these written pieces of Syriac prayers, so that scholars and students may have a better look at the full image of the liturgical texts. The project research questions presume that these liturgical Manuscripts served as the primary books for Christian worship. While being prayed in the Christian meetings, they were later written down as texts. Later on, these texts of prayers crossed cultures and somehow migrated to several geographical locations (even crossing continents). There are still many problems to be resolved in order to identify the exact relationship among these Syriac texts of prayer, such as to what extent they borrowed from each other?
The project endeavours to describe and study these liturgical manuscripts comprehensively. Central to preparing the texts for the database is the use of advanced OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and HTR (Handwritten Text Recognition) technology to efficiently transcribe the Syriac script from manuscript images. Building this digital database, populated with these transcribed texts, will enable the project to achieve its objectives by providing for the first time an open-access resource for Syriac liturgical texts. The database will then contribute significantly in detecting, understanding, and relocating the content of many Syriac fragments.
Project Duration: September 1, 2023 – August 31, 2026
Project Funder: FWF Austrian Science Fund
