Oxyrhynchite Coptic
Oxyrhynchite Coptic, also called Mesokemic or Middle Egyptian, is a minor Coptic dialect that developed a highly standardized written form, probably flourishing chiefly in the fourth and fifth centuries.[^1]
Also known as: Oxyrhynchite · Mesokemic · Middle Egyptian · Mesokemic Coptic · Middle Egyptian Coptic · M
Name and historical setting
Oxyrhynchite Coptic, also known as Mesokemic or Middle Egyptian, is designated by the siglum M. A relatively minor Coptic idiom, it probably flourished only briefly during the fourth and fifth centuries, but developed into a highly standardized written dialect.1
Its homeland may have been the region of Oxyrhynchus. Both in its linguistic system and in the probable geography of Coptic dialects, it occupies a position between Fayyumic and Lycopolitan.2
Surviving texts and scholarly recognition
P. E. Kahle first postulated Mesokemic as an independent dialect in 1954, working from a small number of fragments. Three larger manuscripts subsequently came to light as its principal witnesses:3
- P. Mil. Copti 1, a fragmentary papyrus codex containing the Pauline Epistles.3
- Codex Scheide, a small parchment codex preserved complete, containing the Gospel of Matthew and the so-called Great Doxology.3
- Codex Glazier, another small parchment codex preserved complete, containing Acts 1:1–15:3.3
Another parchment codex containing the Psalms was also excavated in Egypt.3
Beyond these biblical witnesses, the oldest surviving Coptic glossary is preserved in a Mesokemic manuscript tentatively dated to the second half of the third century.5
Linguistic characteristics
In its general outward form, Mesokemic is closest to varieties associated with Fayyumic, especially V, described as Fayyumic without lambdacism, and W, described as crypto-Mesokemic with a comparatively Fayyumic phonology. Its strongest phonological affinities are with these two varieties rather than with central Fayyumic.4
Mesokemic lacks the consonant /x/ found in dialects P, i, Akhmimic, and Bohairic, and the /ç/ found in P and i.4
The djinkim, a reader’s sign placed above a written character, is commonly found in Mesokemic. Its use differs between dialects and within individual dialects; pre-classical and classical Mesokemic systems are distinguished.6
References
Sources
- 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 8 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 359)
The Mesokemic or Middle Egyptian dialect, siglum M (also called Oxyrhynchite), belongs to the Coptic dialects of Middle Egypt. It is one of the relatively minor Coptic idioms and probably flourished only briefly in the early period of the Coptic language (fourth and fifth centuries), but nevertheless developed in this period into a highly standardized written dialect.
- 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 8 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 359)
Both according to its theoretical system and according to the probable geography of the Coptic dialects (see GEOGRAPHY, DIALECTAL), M lies between FAYYUMIC (siglum F) and LYCOPOLITAN (siglum L). Its homeland may have been the region of Oxyrhynchus.
- 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 8 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 359)
It is to the abiding credit of P. E. Kahle that on the basis of a very few small fragments he was the first to postulate M as an independent dialect (1954). Since then, three larger manuscripts written in this dialect have come to light. These three primary witnesses for this dialect are P. Mil. Copti 1, a fragmentary papyrus codex containing the whole Corpus Paulinum (Pauline Epistles), and Codex Scheide and Codex Glazier, two small parchment codices preserved complete, the first containing the Gospel of Matthew with the so-called Great Doxology, the second containing the first half of Acts (
- 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 8 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 359)
In comparison with other dialects, M in its general outward form comes closest to Fayyumic, not to Fayyumic’s central variety, F (characterized by its lambdacism), but to varieties like V (defined as Fayyumic without lambdacism) or even better W (said to be a kind of crypto-Mesokemic with a rather Fayyumic phonology, although without lambdacism; see below). Indeed, the phonology of M shows its most important affinities with that of W and V. Its consonants are those of every Coptic dialect, except P, i, A, and B. (Like F, V, W, L, S etc., dialect M does not have the /x/ of P, i, A, and B, or th
- 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 8 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 228)
The oldest extant Coptic glossary is in a manuscript in the MESOKEMIC dialect that seems to be from the second half of the third century (Bell and Thompson, 1925).
- 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 8 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 235)
The djinkim ( ) is a Coptic reader’s sign in the form of a point (derived from a much teduced supralinear stroke?) or, in BOHAIRIC (B) only, a grave accent, placed above a grapheme—a sign that is commonly found in B (cf. Polotsky, 1949) or in M, or Mesokemic (cf: Kasser, 1981; Schenke, 1981, pp. 26-30) and of which only a few taces have been discovered in V. (None are known in F or in any other of the Coptic dialects.) Polotsky (1949, p. 25, n. 1) wrote, “The name is inspired by the position of the point above some letters, superficially similar to that of the harakat in relation to the huruf
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This article was drafted from the sources listed above with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor before publication.