THE HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN & COPTIC LANGUAGES
-The Coptic Language-
Script, Dialects, and Literature
The Coptic Literature: (continue)
(4) Several books and documents have been discovered that were written
by the Copts on general history, such as that by John of Nikiu concerning
the history of the world from the creation until the Arab conquest.38
Moreover, the Copts worked in different braches of literature,
both religious and general, in addition to their translation activities.
An example is the translation of the Bible from Greek into Coptic started
in the second century A. D. This translation was very accurate because the
translations were familiar with both languages. As mentioned earlier, between
the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., the entire Bible was translated into
two Coptic dialects, Boheiric and Saidic, and some portions were translated
into Akhmimic and Faiyumic dialects. At the same time, many “patristic”
texts were handed down in their writings. In addition, the biographies of
the saints were important in strengthening the faith of the people. For
this reason, thousands of books were written about these saints, monks,
martyrs, and some of the bishops and patriarchs. The Coptic literature is
rich in its novels and stories, which scholars have divided into two categories:
native and religious. Little remains of the native literature, but the deeds
and documents that have survived were letters and contracts that give us
an idea concerning the everyday life in Coptic Egypt. Other writings referred
to the monks and the activities inside the monasteries.39
The Copts did not use poems in the non-religious sense. Any poetry
they wrote belonged to the hymns of the angles, Saint Mary, prophets, saints,
and martyrs; thus, they names the poems “alhan,” meaning “hymns.” They also
used poems form in some stories and in prayers borrowed from the Bible,
especially from the Book of Psalms or the New Testament. They were employed
in praising the Lord. Many of the church fathers wrote articles on theology
and were famous for their writings that defended their faith. Many others
wrote about monks, their life, their conduct, and about how to be isolated
in the desert to worship God. They also wrote about the laws of the monks,
which should be followed in order to be certain of inheriting the eternal
kingdom.40
The Copts took the custom of wailing from the ancient Egyptian,
which is clear from the hundreds of funeral stelae discovered in various
parts of Egypt.41
Coptic magic was widespread among both pagans and Christians. This
was not a new phenomenon in Coptic Egypt but goes back to ancient Egyptians
when magicians practiced; this practice continues to the present time. The
belief in magic came about as a result of the limited knowledge of the common
people concerning the natural occurrences in everyday life, which they believe
were caused by evil or good spirits. Accordingly, the populace thought it
had to practice magic to discourage the evil spirits and encourage the good
ones. Thus, the study of magic is of utmost importance in supplying us with
information on cultural anthropology when we study the problems of humans
in different societies. Scholars noted from their study of Coptic magic
that many Eastern and Western nations have borrowed spells from the Coptic
tradition.42 In addition, Flinders Petrie has published 270 spells well
known to the ancient Egyptians in his book Amulets, where he mentioned,
“the Egyptian Magic is the foundation for all kinds of magic in the earth.”43
The Role of the Coptic Church:
“The confirmation of the Coptic Alphabet as well-know to-day, in addition
to the spelling of words and laying the foundation of stylistic
and grammatical regulations, are mostly the work of the Christian church
in Egypt.”44
The Greek language was utilized in Alexandria in a missionary role
between the Greek and the Copts.45 As Christianity was adopted
by many of the Egyptians (Coptic Christianity), their language was used
throughout Lower and Upper Egypt; however, Greek did not spread widely among
the Egyptians except in Alexandria.46
As a result of Christian missionary activity, the translation of
the Four Gospels took place before 270 A.D., but all “the translation
of the Scriptures which started in the third century A.D. was completed
in full in the fourth century.”47
The Annunciation tidings and the Psalms, however, are probably
the first Scriptures that were the subject of the translation from
Greek. This was followed by the translation of the rest of the Holy Scriptures
and other church books into Coptic up until the Council of Chalcedony
in 451 A.D. After which the Copts lost interest in the translation from
Greek.48