| Manuscript: | M285 |
| Sigla: | PCM 1 32 |
Text no. 
Position of the text within the manuscript. | 3 |
| Coptic Scriptorium: | |
| Date: | 901 – 1000 |
| Text position: | Ro ll. 28-34 – Vo ll. 1-38 |
| Type of text: | Love spell (magical, formulary) |
| Original title: | |
| Original title (translated): | |
| Conventional title: | Love spell |
| Language: | Egyptian (Coptic) |
| Dialect: | |
| Script: | Coptic |
| Image: |
| Text: | Translation: |
| Recto 28. [ .? ]ⲛ̣ · ϣⲟ̅ⲩ̅ⲣ̅ⲁ̅ⲛ̅ · ϣⲟ̅ⲩ̅ⲧ̅ⲁ̅ⲃ̅ⲓ̅ⲛ̅ · ϣⲟ̅ⲩ̅ⲣ̅ⲁ̅ⲃ̅ⲁ̅ⲧ̅ⲁ̅ⲛ ϣⲟⲩ̅ⲣ̅ⲁ̅ⲭ̅ⲁ̅ⲛ̅ Verso 1. [ⲛ̅ϩⲏⲧϥ̅ ⲟⲩϣ]ⲧ̣ⲟⲣⲧⲣ · ⲙⲛ [ⲟ]ⲩ̣ⲗⲓ̣ⲃ̣[ⲉ ca. 18-22 ] Far Right of tableau: 27. ⲅⲣ ⲉⲛⲁⲗ̣ⲉ̣[ . . . . . . . ] Left of tableau: 28. [ⲁ̅ⲡ̅]ⲟ̣̅ⲗ̅ⲗ̅ⲱ̅ⲛ̅ Right of tableau: 35. (kharaktēres: +++++++) |
[28] […] Šouran, Šoutabin, Šourabatan, Šourakhan, [29] …ban, Šoushf, Šourakhaēl, Prim, Primpe, A… [30] Patboukaniaa, Zeus, Devil, Apollo, [31] …a, Pkonos, Šoushf, Antinoos, Pantitos, [32] … you undertook from the beginning, you went down in … [33] .. rivers, you filled them with passion and lust [34] [and …] and wickedness and love and desire and madness. I adjure [you] [35] [by my (?)] request (?), that every place [in which you] will be placed … [verso, 1] … disturbance and madness … [2] … she will come to NN, child of NN, and [she will] … [3] … and an unending desire … [4] that you go to every place in which NN is, [5] and you snatch her and bring her to NN, child of NN, from [6] every place she is in, even if she is eating, even if she is drinking, [7] even if she is breastfeeding, even if she is in the mountains, even if she is in the waters, [8] compel her, disturb her until she comes to NN, child of NN! [9] I adjure you, Michael, by ⟨the⟩ light upon which you are mounted, [10] you and your companions who are with you, in the same rank, [11] that as soon as I name your names and I [12] place you in this fire or (?) at the door of the house or in a [13] pot or over oil, in short, every place over which I name [14] your names and give it to NN, child of NN, may she go to [15] NN, child of NN, every year and every month and every day! May you (s.) [16] take these adjurations in your ears! You are the one who caused [17] bees (?) to come, indeed you have caused the camel to chew, you caused the female dogs [18] to go under the male dog; you have caused the [female cat (?)] to come under the male cat, you [19] and also your companions. You are the one who disturbs the reason (?) [20] and wisdom (?) of NN, child of NN, so that you may bring her to NN, child of NN, [through your (?)] [21] great power, quickly! Ourikh, Marikh, Batōl… [22] send your powers so that they go to the [house (?)] [23] of NN, child of NN, so that she is disturbed and distressed and she abandons [her father and] [24] her mother and her husband and her children and she becomes bold (?) and is [filled with] [25] desire for NN, child of NN, in burning desire, and every … love … [26] … and unending desire for ever… quickly (?)! [27] Write on white (?) [ . . . ] Left of tableau: [28] Apollo, [29] Šoušf, [30] Armismēs, [31] Tarouine, [32] the abyss (?), bring [33] NN [34] to NN! Right of tableau: [35] (kharaktēres: +++++++) |
| Tracing by: | KD |
| Apparatus: | Recto 33. ⲡⲁⲑⲟⲥ i.e. Greek πάθος | ⲉⲡⲓⲑⲩⲙⲓⲁ i.e. Greek ἐπιθυμία Verso 1. [ⲛ̅ϩⲏⲧϥ̅ ⲟⲩϣ]ⲧ̣ⲟⲣⲧⲣ : [ . . . . ϣ]ⲧⲟⲣⲧⲣ Bilabel/Grohmann |
| Notes: | This manuscript was lost during the Second World War. For the recto, we rely upon Bilabel and Grohmann’s readings. For the verso, we have been able to check readings using a black and white photograph produced before the manuscript’s disappearance, kindly provided by Elke Fuchs of the University of Heidelberg. Here we follow Bilabel/Grohmann in marking recto and verso. There is no absolute indication in the text as to which side came first, but the fact that the verso ends with an image and instructions perhaps suggests that it represents the end of a recipe which may have begun on the recto. Bilabel and Grohmann do not transcribe ll. 35-43 of the verso. Note that here we number the lines of the verso from l. 1 to l. 41. Verso l. 1 is numbered l. 36 in Bilabel/Grohmann. Recto 28-31. ϣⲟ̅ⲩ̅ⲣ̅ⲁ̅ⲛ̅ · ϣⲟ̅ⲩ̅ⲧ̅ⲁ̅ⲃ̅ⲓ̅ⲛ̅ · ϣⲟ̅ⲩ̅ⲣ̅ⲁ̅ⲃ̅ⲁ̅ⲧ̅ⲁ̅ⲛ ϣⲟⲩ̅ⲣ̅ⲁ̅ⲭ̅ⲁ̅ⲛ̅…ⲡⲣ̅ⲓ̅ⲙ̅ · ⲡⲣ̅ⲓ̅ⲙ̅ⲡ̅ⲉ… ⲡⲍ̅ⲉ̅ⲩ̅ⲥ̅ · ⲡⲇ̅ⲓ̅ⲁ̅ⲃ̅ⲟ̅ⲗ̅ⲟ̅ⲥ · ⲡⲁⲡⲟ[ⲗⲗⲱⲛ]… ⲡ̅ⲕ̅ⲟ̅ⲛ̅ⲟ̅ⲥ… ⲡ̅ⲁ̅ⲛ̅ϯ̅ⲛ̅ⲟ̅ⲥ̅ · ⲡ̅ⲁ̅ⲛ̅ϯ̅ⲧ̅ⲟ̅ⲥ̅ These names seem likely to have been understood by the composer as those of demons. Aside from ⲡⲇ̅ⲓ̅ⲁ̅ⲃ̅ⲟ̅ⲗ̅ⲟ̅ⲥ (“the devil”), we may compare ϣⲟⲩⲣⲓ̈ⲛ ϣⲁ̣ⲩⲣⲁⲛ ϣⲟⲩⲧⲁⲃⲁⲛ ϣⲟⲩⲧⲁⲃⲉⲛⲉⲓ̈ in BKU I 2 (KYP M300/T83), in which they seem to be alternative names for ⲥⲁⲧⲁⲛⲁⲥ ⲡⲇⲓ̈ⲁⲃⲟⲗⲟⲥ (“Satan the Devil”). ⲡⲣⲓⲙⲡⲣⲓⲙ in P. Heid. Inv. Kopt. 1030 (KYP M366/T185) is described as a being who causes strife. The remainder would seem to be the names of pagan deities, likewise understood as demons – ⲡⲍ̅ⲉ̅ⲩ̅ⲥ̅ (“Zeus”), ⲡⲁⲡⲟ[ⲗⲗⲱⲛ] (“Apollo”), ⲡ̅ⲕ̅ⲟ̅ⲛ̅ⲟ̅ⲥ (“K Verso 1. [ⲛ̅ϩⲏⲧϥ̅ ⲟⲩϣ]ⲧ̣ⲟⲣⲧⲣ There would seem to be space for only about five letters before the visible tau, but all of the elements here are necessary; perhaps there was another lost line at the end of the recto. |
| Bibliography: | Bilabel, Friedrich, and Adolf Grohmann. Griechische, koptische und arabische Texte zur Religion und religiösen Literatur in Ägyptens Spätzeit, Heidelberg: Verlag der Universitätsbibliothek, 1934, p. 375-380, no. 131. |
| Editor: | EL’s transcript from photograph of the original verso, incorporating Bilabel and Grohmann (1934: 375-377) (24/9/18); MPS preliminary edition (27/5/2020); MPS (28/5/2020); KD (3/2/2023); minor edit MPS (7/3/2023) |