Iain Gardner (Sydney) visiting scholar in Leiden
Prof. dr. Iain Gardner (University of Sydney) will be a visiting scholar at Leiden University Centre for the study of Religion (LUCSoR) in September-November 2015
Iain Gardner is one of the foremost international specialists in the field of Coptic Manichaean documents. In Leiden he will continue his work on the first edition of the Dublin Kephalaia, an important text for the teachings and history of Manichaeism. Apart from his work on the
Kephalaia, Gardner has edited and translated the literary and documentary letters from
Kellis (Ismant el-Kharab, in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt). The documents and the excavation of this village are important because they are among the very few sources that shed light on the religious lives of ordinary people in Antiquity. Gardner and his expertise on the Kellis documents are important for several research projects in Leiden, including
Mattias Brand’s PhD project on Manichaean identity and religious change.
Later this autumn a seminar will be organised around Gardner’s work.