REF. [HIST12_114VRO]
= Paper =
by Lucas VAN ROMPAY, in Luc COURTOIS (ed.), Les études orientales à l’Université de Louvain depuis 1834 (Histoire, 12), Brussels, 2021.
The first part of the paper highlights the contributions of Damião de Gόis (1502-1574) and Jacobus Wemmers (1598-1645), who may be considered forerunners of the academic study of Ethiopian Christianity. The second part introduces Henri De Vis (1885-1949) and Victor Arras (1901-1996), who held part-time appointments at the University of Louvain to teach the classical language (Geʿez) and its literature. While De Vis’ publications deal mostly with Coptic, Arras is the author of an impressive list of text editions and translations, in the fields of hagiography, ascetic literature, and Apocrypha concerning the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Unfortunately, at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21th century, teaching of the Ethiopic language, a rich repository of a unique Christian tradition in Africa, was discontinued at both universities of Louvain.
Keywords: Ethiopic language and literature, Africa, Christian East, Damião de Gόis, Jacobus Wemmers, Henri De Vis, Victor Arras, Christian liturgy, hagiography, ascetic literature, Apocrypha
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