Manuscripts Copied in Touton

The Coptic town of Touton (ancient Tebtunis) was situated in the southern part of the Fayyum oasis. During the 9th and 10th centuries, the town had a Christian scriptorium, in which numerous Sahidic manuscripts were produced. Some of them were donated to the nearby monastery of the Archangel Michael at Phantoou (el-Hamuli), situated further north in the Fayyum. Many other manuscripts from Touton were discovered at the White Monastery near Sohag, suggesting that close ties existed between these two Egyptian monastic settlements during the Middle Ages. Vestiges of nearly 80 codices copied in the scriptorium of Touton, and later donated to the White Monastery, have been identified.

The manuscripts from Touton bear some distinctive features. These include a "budded" paragraph mark on the left margin of the first column as well as the use of dots as supralinear strokes. Furthermore, while the Touton manuscripts are written in Sahidic, Fayyumic dialectal features are often detectable in them.

Mich. Ms. 158.34
4 Maccabees. Sahidic Dialect. Parchment. Recto. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt).Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in the National Library in Paris. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 29 x 25 cm.

Mich. Ms. 158.34
4 Maccabees. Sahidic Dialect. Parchment. Verso. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt).Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in the National Library in Paris. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 29 x 25 cm.

Mich. Ms. 111
The Beginning of Baruch. Sahidic Dialect. Parchment. Recto. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in London, Manchester, Paris, and Vienna. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 20 x 24 cm. On this fragment, the beginning of the text is highlighted by a colorful interlaced geometric design.

Mich. Ms. 111
The Beginning of Baruch. Sahidic Dialect. Parchment. Verso. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in London, Manchester, Paris, and Vienna. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 20 x 24 cm.

Mich. Ms. 114
Gospel of John. Sahidic Dialect. Recto. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). ca. 10th century. Parchment; 15 x 26 cm.

Mich. Ms. 114
Gospel of John. Sahidic Dialect. Verso. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). ca. 10th century. Parchment; 15 x 26 cm.

Mich. Ms. 158.5
Book of Jeremiah. Sahidic Dialect. Recto. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in London, Manchester, Paris, and Vienna. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 36.5 x 27.8 cm.

Mich. Ms. 158.5
Book of Jeremiah. Sahidic Dialect. Verso. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in London, Manchester, Paris, and Vienna. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 36.5 x 27.8 cm. The images of birds and fish are fairly common in these Coptic manuscripts as exemplified in the decoration accompanying the initial "T" on the left margin of this page

Mich Ms. 158.28
Unidentified literary work on biblical characters. Recto. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in London, Paris, Vienna, and Naples. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 35 x 26 cm.

Mich Ms. 158.28
Unidentified literary work on biblical characters. Verso. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in London, Paris, Vienna, and Naples. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 35 x 26 cm.

Mich. Ms. 158.36
Pseudo-Evodius of Rome. On the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Recto. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in Paris, London, and Vienna. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 35.5 x 26.5 cm.

Mich. Ms. 158.36
Pseudo-Evodius of Rome. On the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Verso. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). Fragments of the same manuscript are kept in Paris, London, and Vienna. ca. 10th century. Parchment; 35.5 x 26.5 cm.

Mich. Ms. 116
Psalms. Recto. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). ca. 10th century. Parchment; 22.5 x 18.8 cm.

Mich. Ms. 116
Psalms. Verso. Parchment. White Monastery, Sohag (Egypt). ca. 10th century. Parchment; 22.5 x 18.8 cm.

apis_4937r_full_4474_4772__0_native (1).jpg

P. Mich. Inv. 4937
Unidentified text concerning the Archangel Raphael. Recto. Parchment. Origin unknown (White Monastery?). ca. 10th century. Parchment; 17.2 x 14.3 cm.

apis_4937v_full_4429_4772__0_native (1).jpg

P. Mich. Inv. 4937
Unidentified text concerning the Archangel Raphael. Verso. Parchment. Origin unknown (White Monastery?). ca. 10th century. Parchment; 17.2 x 14.3 cm.

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