Gotha Manuscript Talks start a new round

"We invite researchers to the 'Gotha Manuscript Talks' to discuss with them how specific manuscripts have changed the way we look at objects of research," explains Dr Feras Krimsti, academic speaker for the Oriental manuscript collection at the Gotha Research Library. "Using manuscripts written in Arabic, Persian, Turkish-Ottoman, Syriac, Ethiopian, Hebrew and many other 'oriental' languages, we trace stories of the reception of knowledge, but also stories that tell of forgetting. For example, we deal with historical or literary developments that become tangible in manuscripts, with theological problems that are revealed or solved through them, with transmission processes, social and intellectual networks, artistic and museum practices, economic developments and many other social and intellectual phenomena at the centre of which are oriental manuscripts."

Topics and guests at the upcoming events are:

• 14. October 2026 // “Crafting Ottoman Flowery Letters: Practices, Drafts, and Fair Copies” // speaker: Ercan Akyol (University of Vienna)
• 28. October 2026 // "Marginal Commentaries on Vernacular Texts: Beyond the Learned-Vernacular Dichotomy in Ottoman Manuscripts" // speaker: Aslıhan Gürbüzel (McGill University)
• 11. November 2026 // "Marginal Voices? Commentary Glosses in Arabic Manuscripts" // speaker: Stefanie Brinkmann (Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities)
• 25. November 2026 // “This Cursed Book of Falconry!”: The al-Khānjī Archive, a Manuscript, and the Layered Networks of the Arabic Manuscript Trade // speaker: Rana Mikati (College of Charleston)

Each lecture will last 45 minutes and will be followed by a discussion. If you would like to attend, you can register at https://uni-erfurt.webex.com/meet/veranstaltungen.fb to dial into the respective event. Recordings of the events will then be available later in the media centre of the Gotha Research Library.