É. Apor (ed.): Codex Cumanicus. Ed. by Géza Kuun with a Prolegomena to the Codex Cumanicus by Lajos Ligeti. (Budapest Oriental Reprints, Ser. B 1.)
L. Ligeti: Prolegomena to the Codex Cumanicus
PROLEGOMENA TO THE CODEX CUMANICl'S 49 225 glosses on the blank sheets at the beginning of the second part (8 German glosses corresponding to 8 Latin words are missing on page 114 due to damage), and to the 254 glosses on the blank pages at the end of the second part, we arrive at the total number of German glosses in the Codex Cumanieus, 499. The location of the German glosses in the Codex coincides with that of similar Latin glosses, both are located at the beginning and the end of the second part. To sum up, only 50 of the 54 pages of the extant second part contain written texts. 40 of these pages contain only Latin glosses next to the Coman material (some of these were inserted in small letters above certain words of the Coman text which needed elucidation). Only 10 pages come indisputably from German friars. Out of respect for the tradition of my predecessors, I retained the label «German» for the second part, with the restriction that it should, in fact, be called the Book of Franciscan missionaries. These missionaries naturally included Germans (the authors of the German glosses), as well as other nationalities. Our sources reveal that there were Hungarian, German, English, French, Italian and even Polish friars in these monasteries. The sources also bear out, as confirmed by Miss Driill (p. 130, note 257), that the Hungarians, Germans and Englishmen mastered the Coman language most easily, while the French and Italian friars had difficulties. 6 5 Whenever they had the chance, the nonGerman monks added their comments to the Codex naturally in Latin. 6 6 This statement is based on a letter of 1323 sent by a Franciscan friar from Kaffa to Avignon. The Hungarian friars' ability to master the Coman language quickly must have been due to the fact that Coman was not totally alien to them as in those days a significant number of Comans lived in Hungary, and they still used their language. Richard, La Papauté et les missions cl'Orient, p. 94 sqq enlarged upon the activities of missionaries in the territories of the Golden Horde. Between 1279 and 1284 the provost of the Franciscan order sent numerous missionaries of various nationalities ad partes infidelium aquilonares. Several letters from these missionaries tell of the hardships and occasional successes of the propagation of their faith. E.g., in a letter to the provost of the order, Frater Johanca of Hungary reported that he and his companions were following the migrating nomads ( castra Tartarorum seguendo). While visiting Sarai, some Bashkir dignitaries asked them for missionaries, and in response three Franciscans, an Englishman and two Hungarians, were sent to the Bashkirs. The Mongol lord of Sibir, around Tobol, also asked for missionaries. Johanca complained that he was unable to meet the requirements, and begged the order to send more missionaries, possibly Englishmen, Germars, or Hungarians. Johanca was apparently very efficient as in 1321 he baptized Estokis, «domilius totius Baschardiae». Incidentally, the Franciscans often purchased slaves for themselves. «Convertis au christianisme, ils recevaient la cléricature, certains devenaient convers ou mème frères dans l'ordre franciscain. Et dans ces missions où la question des languages se posait avec acuite, les Franciscains pouvaient ainsi disposer de catéchistes ou d'interprètes» (Richard, op. cit., p. 97).
