Manuscripts in yemen
The Yemeni literary tradition is among the richest and most variegated traditions within Islamic civilization and at the same time one of the least studied. The literary production by Yemeni scholars stretched over more than one thousand years covering a wide spectrum of traditional disciplines, such as law and legal theory, exegesis, Qur'anic sciences and traditions, geography and encyclopedias, medicine and mathematics, history and biography, grammar and philology, theology and literature (prose as well as poetry). Moreover, Yemeni Scholars were at all times intimately familiar with the relevant intellectual strands beyond the confines of Yemen and actively engaged with scholars outside of Yemen, and the typical library of a Yemeni scholar would comprise not only works belonging to his own religious tradition but also an array of titles of authors from other communities.
It is fortunate that the majority of Yemeni literature is still extant, mostly in the form of manuscripts. On the downside, the Yemeni manuscript tradition is widely dispersed. The most significant and by far largest collections of manuscripts are housed by the many public and private libraries of Yemen.
Over the course of the second half of the 20th century and during the early 21st century, various microfilming and digitization projects have been carried out by teams from Egypt, Kuwait, Iran, Germany and the US in an attempt to facilitate access to the manuscript holdings of the libraries in Yemen.
The most recent initiatives include the various digitization efforts funded by entities such as the German Foreign Office, Prince Claus Fund, and the Gerda Henkel Foundation.
While ordering digital images of holdings in European libraries (provided the costs are affordable) is usually possible, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to get hold of reproductions of any of the duplicates that are held by Middle Eastern libraries.
Our work across the last 30 years has been to provide access to manuscripts in Yemen. Our purpose is threefold; (1) Provide documentation of the various collections and libraries, public and private, (2) Serve as a comprehensive research guide to relevant collections of Yemeni manuscripts, and (3) Provide accurate information on the location of each collection with a full list of its holdings (shelf marks) and the relevant bibliography for every single codex.
It is fortunate that the majority of Yemeni literature is still extant, mostly in the form of manuscripts. On the downside, the Yemeni manuscript tradition is widely dispersed. The most significant and by far largest collections of manuscripts are housed by the many public and private libraries of Yemen.
Over the course of the second half of the 20th century and during the early 21st century, various microfilming and digitization projects have been carried out by teams from Egypt, Kuwait, Iran, Germany and the US in an attempt to facilitate access to the manuscript holdings of the libraries in Yemen.
The most recent initiatives include the various digitization efforts funded by entities such as the German Foreign Office, Prince Claus Fund, and the Gerda Henkel Foundation.
While ordering digital images of holdings in European libraries (provided the costs are affordable) is usually possible, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to get hold of reproductions of any of the duplicates that are held by Middle Eastern libraries.
Our work across the last 30 years has been to provide access to manuscripts in Yemen. Our purpose is threefold; (1) Provide documentation of the various collections and libraries, public and private, (2) Serve as a comprehensive research guide to relevant collections of Yemeni manuscripts, and (3) Provide accurate information on the location of each collection with a full list of its holdings (shelf marks) and the relevant bibliography for every single codex.
digital copiesResearchers may request reproductions of manuscripts in our collections for use in personal research. Our partners charges fees for reproductions in order to offset the cost of producing the copies, and assist further digitization projects.
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researchersWe know that visiting Yemen is not an easy step for those working on research related to Yemen. Our qualified staff across Yemen can search for the information you need, and attempt to locate resources required for your work.
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GuidesIf you are planning to be in Yemen our research guides will be with you from the day you arrive, and work closely with you on the research, pr project you are working on. They also will work on your plan before arrival, and schedule visits, meetings, and onsite work you may require.
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