182

THE TAESCHNER COLLECTION (Or. 12.396)

Cod.Or. 12.396 A poetic miscellany. The collection, in which no date or the name of a copyist is given, was clearly copied by one scribe. (1) ff. lb-27a Mevlüd-i Ke§ft u' a A long poem in mesnevf rhyme on the life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ke$fF. The title is found in a heading preceding the text on f. lb and again in f. 4a: 12 ('bu mevlud’). The pen-name of the author occurs also in 4a:9. The identity of the poet is uncertain. Only one other manuscript copy seems to be documented, which is preserved in the Cairo National Library. (Fihris ascribes the work to Ke§fi Ca‘fer Efendi, d. 1053/1643-4, but there is no reference in literature to his authorship of a mevlud.) The work is preceded by an introduction (lb-4b), including an author’s preface (3b-4b), and consists of a number of sections (fast) which describe various aspects of the Prophet, his life and importance, among them his birth, attributes, traditions and miracles; the work ends with his death (25b-27a). A few marginal additions, among them two hemistichs, in one of which the name Ke§fT occurs (6a), and a prayer in Arabic (8a). Begins (lb, after a besmele): From the preface (4a): Ia» aJjI j LSI jLi * Lt j a-u^I LkdtS [...] j*ji Aj Lalua i-J^jjl JjA aL* int * jJai Au/j±>l •*>!>« fA

Ends (27 a):

aJjI C.J-U» AaS fJjA |*>*L? * W 4Ï/I j Ij

Catalogue entry: Fihris 4848 (IV, p. 194).