The Legend of Saint Aur and the Monastery of Naqlun

The Copto-Arabic Texts

by C.E. ten Hacken

Book cover: The Legend of Saint Aur and the Monastery of Naqlun

Extent: 486 pages

Publisher: Peeters Publishers

Subjects: Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies, Religious Studies

Series: Eastern Christian Studies

Series volume number: 26

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(March 2019)

ISBN: 9789042936577

Price: $112.00

In stock

PDF (Published)

(March 2019)

ISBN: 9789042938878

Price: $140.00

This book studies the literary heritage of the Coptic Orthodox monastery of the Archangel Gabriel at Naqlun in the Fayyum province in Egypt by focusing on the hagiographical cycle of Saint Aur, the presumed founder of its church. It presents the edition and translation, with extensive commentaries, of six previously unedited texts, all preserved in Middle Arabic. The author argues that the literary tradition around the monastery of Naqlun evolved in about the eleventh century, a period in which the monastery experienced a revival. The texts recall the memory of great saints from the past, among whom Saint Antony, and convey a new view of the Christian landscape of this region.


This book studies the literary heritage of the Coptic Orthodox monastery of the Archangel Gabriel at Naqlun in the Fayyum province in Egypt by focusing on the hagiographical cycle of Saint Aur, the presumed founder of its church. It presents the edition and translation, with extensive commentaries, of six previously unedited texts, all preserved in Middle Arabic. The author argues that the literary tradition around the monastery of Naqlun evolved in about the eleventh century, a period in which the monastery experienced a revival. The texts recall the memory of great saints from the past, among whom Saint Antony, and convey a new view of the Christian landscape of this region.

  • By (author) C. E. ten Hacken