The problems of the transmission of the Avesta and the Tools for Avestan Text Criticism

(TATEC)

Alberto Cantera acantera@usal.es

http://www.avesta-archive.com

• According to the ritual they

contain: – Manuscripts of the long lyturgy – Lectionaries

• According to their function: – Liturgical – Exegetical – Mix-manuscripts

• According to the place of writting – Indian – Iranian

Typology of the Avestan manuscripts

An Iranian liturgical manuscript of the long liturgy

Views of the Avestan transmission

Westergaard/ K. Hoffmann J. Kellens Geldner Sasanian digest Sasanian archetype Great Avesta ritual Avesta Yazd-original hyparchetype(s) hyparchetypes manuscripts manuscripts manuscripts

Geldner on the influence of ritual practice in the manuscripts

Geldner (1886, 1. xlvii) The copyists knew the majority of their text by heart. The oral text, however, had become more corrupted than the written text and keeps constantly crossing the latter. Scribes who read and copied word for word from the text before them, ran less danger than those scribes who grasped the entire sentence and wrote it off before looking at the copy before them.

Y1.3 in three liturgical manuscripts

B3 (230), India, 1556 niuuaēδaīēme. asnīaēibiiō. ašahe. ratubiiō. hāuuanēašaoni. ašahe. raθβe. niuuaēδaīēme. . šāuuaŋhəe. vīšiiāeca. ašaoni. ašahe. raθβe. niuuaēδaīēme. miθrahe. vōuru.gaoiiaoitōiš. hazaŋhra.gaošahe. baēuuarəcasmanō. aōxtō.nām[anō. y]azatahe. rāmanō. xvāštr[ahe.] K11 (110) India, 1647 niuuaeiδaiieimi. həṇkāraiiemi. asniiaeibiiō. ašahe. ratubiiō. hāuuanəē. ašaoni. ašahe. raθβe. niuuae. sāuuaŋhəē. vīsiiāica. ašaone. ašahe. raθβe. niuuae. miθrahe. vouru.gaōiiaōitōiš. hazaŋhara.gaōšahe. baeuuarə.cašmanō. aoxtō.nāmanō. yazatahe. rāmanō. xāstrahe. Ave977 (4010) Iran, 1629 ńiuuaēδaiiemi. haṇkāraiiemi. asniiaēibiiō. ašahe. ratubiiō. […] hāuuanəe. ašaōne. ašahe. raθβe. ńiuuaēδaiiemi. haṇkāraiiemi. sāuuaŋhəe. vīsiiāica. ašaōne. ašahe. raθβe. ńiuuaēδaiiemi. haṇkāraiiemi. miθrahe. vouru.gaōiiaōitōiš. hazaŋhrō.gaōšahe. baēuuarə.cašmanō. aōxtō.nāmanō. yazatahe. rāmanō. xvāstrahe.

CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS CHANGES: Y30.1 mazdaθā (orginal form: 2.p.pl.vb. mazda- “yo know”) PV: J2, K5, Pt4

Skt-Y: S1, P11 (mazda.θā) IrYS: Mf1 IrVS: Ave976, Ave977/978, RSPA230, Jp1

IrVrS: K4 Ind-VS: B2, Bb1, G112 Ind-YS: B3, H1

mazdā.θβā (“you, Mazdā”) Ind-YS: L17, G26b, Bh5, J6,7, K11, C1, P6, L13, L20 IndVS: L1, T46, B4, ML630, G106, L3 Skt-Y: T7 PY: F2, M1 Mazdaδātā (« created by Mazdā ») IrVrS: G18b IrYS: Ml15284 PY: M1 (transcription of K5, but corrected prim.man.)

Bartholomae, Die Zend-Hss., 2.3:

Original text Exegetical manuscripts

Liturgical manuscripts

A (B2, T46, L1, P1) B (O2, L5, G106) C (L2, E4, B4, Ml630, FIRES1, G112)

spaiieti draošəm spaiieiti yātuγnīm spaiieiti asauuaγnīm

spaiieti draošəm spaiieiti asauuaγnīm

spaiieti draošəm spaiieiti yātuγnīm spaiieiti asauuaγnīm

spaiieti draošəm auuaγnīm spaiieiti yātuγnīm spaiieiti asauuaγnīm

spaiieti draošəm spaiieiti auuaγnīm spaiieiti yātuγnīm spaiieiti asauuaγnīm

V3.41 (s. Cantera, Lost in transmission, BSOAS 2010)

Original lines distribution daēna. māzdaiiasniš. narš. āstauua nahe. baṇdəm. spaiieite. draošəm. spaiieite. yātuγnīm. spaiieiti. aš auuaγnīm. spaiieite. nasuspaēm.

Mistake daēna. māzdaiiasniš. narš. āstauua nahe. baṇdəm. spaiieite. draošəm. auuaγnīm. spaiieite. yātuγnīm. spaiieiti. ašauuaγnīm. spaiieite. nasuspaēm.

TATEC (Tools for Avestan Text Criticism): http://ada.usal.es/analizador.

Excel Datasheets

TATEC: Interface for the philological evaluation of the data

TATEC: encoding the “local-stemmata”

varədasəmcaL4,T44,E10,G25

varədsīmca G34

(a) varədaϑəmca

varədaϑəmcaK1,M3,B1,D62,P10,P2

TATEC: Index of agreement of K1

B1, M3, P10 are copies from K1

TATEC: Index of agreement of L4

TATEC: Agreements of level 3 between L4 and B1

TATEC: Agreements of level 3 between L4 and G34

TATEC: Index of agreement of G34

TATEC: Prior and posterior variants

Prior variants of K1 Posterior variants of K1

TATEC: Prior and posterior variants

Prior variants of B1 Posterior variants of B1