Under the supervision of Professor Dr. Alaa Nafi Jassim, Director of the Center, the Continuing Education Unit at the Center for the Revival of Arab Scientific Heritage / University of Baghdad, in the hall of Professor Nabila Abdel Moneim Dawoud, and in the presence of 39 participants, organized a course entitled (Manuscript Verification) for the period from 10-22-26-2023. The first lecture was given by Professor Dr. Alaa Nafi Jassim, entitled (How to Verify Historical and Scientific Texts)
Speaking, there are many books that have been written in the science of editing manuscripts whose rules were derived from the experiences of their authors in the world of editing. If the experiences are specific to literary manuscripts, then these rules came to address the methods of editing this type of manuscripts, as is the case in other fields.
There are fixed rules that are common denominators for investigation of different types of verified books, such as collecting manuscript copies, identifying the mother from among them, and conducting interviews with others.
Then, Assistant Professor Dr. Zainab Kamel Karim’s lecture at our center entitled (Methodological Foundations in Editing Manuscript)
To know the manuscript: It is a book that has not been printed or is still written handwriting of its author or in the handwriting of another copyist.
Manuscripts are everything that was written by hand, whether it was a book, a document, or a letter, because of the ancient times in which they were written, and printing tools were not available at that time.
Investigation: It is the effort and investigation of research in order to reach the truth of what the author of the text said, or it is a complex process that requires producing a text that is exact to the image written by the author, or as close as possible to that.
Then there was a lecture by Assistant Professor Dr. Wasan Hussein Muhaymid, Head of the Manuscripts Department at our center, entitled (The Materials on which the Manuscript is Written)
It includes references to the definition of the manuscript, its importance, and the materials with which the manuscript is written since the beginning of its inception among the Arabs in the pre-Islamic era and the emergence of Islam and what followed it in successive eras. These materials include wood, cartons, parchment, leather, and many others. When the Islamic lands were conquered, Egyptian papyrus and Coptic paper appeared as a new writing material. In the Abbasid era, paper appeared on the horizons of Arab life. The Arabic manuscript entered a new stage of its growth and development, characterized by its large production, abundance, and ease of consumption among readers. Thus, it enriched Arab and European libraries. And many other diverse scientific and cultural manuscripts
Dr. Bayda Abdel Hassan Radam’s teaching lecture at our center is entitled (Paper Used in Islamic Manuscripts), speaking: Man knew writing many centuries before he knew paper, and for thousands of years he began writing on different materials depending on the environment in which he lived, says Ibn al-Nadim. “The first to write was Adam on clay, then for a while after that the nations wrote on copper and stones for eternity… and they wrote on wood and leaves… and they wrote on the walnuts with which the bows are supported… then the skins were tanned and the people wrote on them.” The people of Egypt wrote on Egyptian paper, made from papyrus reeds… The Romans wrote on white silk, parchment, etc., on the Egyptian tumar, and on the faljan, which is the skin of zebras. The Persians wrote on the skins of buffaloes, cows, and sheep, and the Arabs wrote on the shoulders of camels and sheep. These are stones, white parchment, and palm fronds, and China in Chinese paper made from hashish, which is the highest country in the country, and India in copper, stones, and white silk.”
The course concluded with a lecture by Mr. Latif Abdel Zahra, Director of the Restoration Department at the Al-Fadl Center for the Preservation and Maintenance of Manuscript Heritage, speaking about the damage to manuscripts and the factors causing damage, including biological damage and chemical damage causing damage to papers, as well as the impact of humans and climatic factors on manuscripts. After that, the course included practical applications. In how to repair damage and damage to manuscripts, my work was applied on how to restore papers using paper pulp prepared from paper fibers and cellulose adhesives. The second method is to restore papers using Japanese paper and how to compensate for missing parts and remove damages. At the end of the course, the center director thanked the lecturers. The participants wish them continued success
