Syria, 18th century. MS 022

Broadly, a missal is a religious text that contains the chants, prayers, and lessons for Mass. This missal is from the Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic sect, prominent in Syria and Lebanon since the fourth century CE. Karshuni (alt. spelling Garshuni) is Arabic written in the Syriac script, as demonstrated in figure 1. Unusually, it is not written in the language of Syriac, which is the standard liturgical language for the Maronite Church. Maronite comes from St. Maron, a healing saint who lived in the third century CE near Antioch. Although it is one of the smallest Catholic church branches, it is still practiced world-wide today.

Since the Maronite Church derives from Eastern Orthodoxy which rarely depicts human figures, there are no figural decorations in this manuscript. Rather, there are geometric borders and headers in orange, gray, black, and white. The openings of the rites are in red, while the rest of the main text is in black.

Bibliography

Unknown. Missale Maronitarum: Syriac and Karshuni Rituals. University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives, MS 022. https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/3uoa1r/CP71269138450001451

“Syriac” in Oxford World Encyclopedia, 2004. Syriac - Oxford Reference (uoregon.edu)

Eflegahli, Antonio, Fr. “Maronites.” Maronite Heritage, 2010. Maronites - MARONITE HERITAGE (maronite-heritage.com)