The Manuscripts of Bernard Maria of Naples

Abstract

The author's English summary from the article:

Key words: Bernard Maria of Naples, Antonio Cioffi, Georgia, archives, Kingdom of Kartli, Capuchin monks, National Library of Naples, Emmanuel of Naples, Rocco of Cesinale, Appolinarius of Valencia, Hugo Schuchardt, Francesco Castaldi, Michele Tamarati, Vincenzo Di Donna, Zhamtaaghmtsereli, Valeri Silogava.

The first data concerning the works by Bernard Maria of Naples are preserved in the work entitled Historical and Chronological News about the Minor Capuchin Brothers in the Naples Province written by Emmanuel of Naples in the middle of XVIII century, which is unpublished so far and preserved in the archives of the Naples Province. However, specialists have learnt about works first from Rocco of Cesinale, the historian of Capuchin Order. In the third volume of his monumental The Mission of Capuchin’s history published in 1873 in Rome, big interest is paid to Bernard Maria of Naples. His knowledge in philosophy and theology is highlighted, and is retold about his missionary work.

The topic explores the personal archives of an Italian Capuchin monk, Antonio Cioffi (Cioffo), better known as Bernard Maria of Naples (1628-2.02.1707). The only information we have had about his archives until today is that provided by Hugo Schuchardt and Michele Tamarati. As is well known about the life of this monk, a missionary in the Kingdom of Kartli from 1670 to 1677, Bernard Maria of Naples had learnt the Georgian language fluently and had become accustomed to the life and the customs of the Georgians; in addition, he left a unique body of materials in Georgian and Italian about the Georgia of his age. We have examined: the unpublished Historical and Chronological News about the Minor Capuchin Brothers in the Naples Province (mid-18th cent.) by Emmanuel of Naples, the 3rd volume of the History of the Capuchins’ Mission (1873) by Rocco of Cesinale, which is based on Emmanuel of Naples’s work, the Library of the Capuchin Brothers of the Naples Province (1886) by Appolinarius of Valencia, Hugo Schuchardt’s study in two different versions (1896), as well as the lists of manuscripts and printed materials compiled by Francesco Castaldi (1896), Michele Tamarati (1902), two unknown Italian archivists of the 19th century, Vincenzo Di Donna (1912), and, finally, the documents, preserved in the AS collection under the superintendence of the National Library of Naples, that concern the collocation of Bernard Maria’s manuscripts and printed materials within the library.

A comparative study of various lists of the manuscripts and the printed books from the personal archives of Bernard Maria of Naples, compiled by various scholars, as well as of other documentary material has led us to the conclusion that between the years 1886- 1936, five archival units were lost. Among them is a very important historical source: a 38-page excerpt from the Hundred Years Chronicle by Zhamtaaghmtsereli which had been copied by Bernard Maria of Naples. It is the oldest copy of the work and so to find it in the Italian and Vatican archives or private collections remains an important challenge for researchers.

Published in the journal Sjani, vol. 17 (2016), pp. 181–209. Open the paper