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SOURCES ON NAVOI’S WORKS IN THE LIBRARIES OF GREAT BRITAIN
Sevinch Avazova
PhD student at Tashkent
State University of uzbek language
and literature named after Alisher Navoi
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15737484
Abstract:
This thesis provides information about the sources related to Alisher Navoi that
are preserved in libraries in Great Britain. It also mentions the scholars who have worked in
British libraries and compiled catalogs.
Keywords:
library, manuscript, catalog, Navoi studies.
Sources related to Alisher Navoi's works and creativity can be found in various parts of
the world. In particular, some manuscripts and manuscript copies of Navoi's works, as well as
references to his name and literary legacy, are preserved in several libraries in Great Britain,
including the British Library, the Cambridge University Library, and the Bodleian Libraries at
the University of Oxford. Important sources on Navoi have also been digitized on online
platforms such as JSTOR, Artstor, Europeana, Digital Bodleian, and the British Library Online
Gallery.
The Bodleian Library, one of the largest academic library networks in England, is the
collective name for the libraries of the University of Oxford. The Bodleian Libraries group
includes the main university library—the Bodleian Library itself—as well as 25 other libraries
across Oxford, including major research libraries, faculty, departmental, and institute libraries.
In total, these libraries house over 13 million printed materials related to the medieval and
Renaissance periods, including scholarly works, treatises, and letters, as well as over 80,000
electronic journals and rare collections. These collections include rare books and manuscripts,
classical papyri, maps, musical scores, artworks, and printed ephemera. The main Bodleian
Library, established in 1602, holds legal deposit status, meaning a copy of every work published
in Britain must be preserved there. Among its holdings are several manuscripts of Navoi’s
works, including both Turkic and Persian versions of the poem
Layli and Majnun
. Although the
cataloging work was a collective effort by three scholars—Eduard Sachau, Hermann Ethé, and
Alfred Biddulph Biston—the “Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindustani, and Pashto
Manuscripts” (1889), mainly attributed to Hermann Ethé, contains reliable references to Navoi.
The British Library in London, one of the largest libraries in Europe, holds more than 170
million items. Its collection includes early printed books (incunabula), ancient copies of the
Quran, the Bible, and the Torah, scientific discovery documents, musical scores, maps, and
newspapers. This vast library holds more than 20 manuscripts related to Alisher Navoi. Among
them are
Khamsa
,
Lison ut-Tayr
,
Mezon ul-Avzon
,
Majolis un-Nafois
, and other treatises. Most of
the manuscripts date from the 16th to 18th centuries and include works such as
Layli and
Majnun
,
Farhod and Shirin
, as well as fragments from lyrical diwans. Notably, the catalogs
compiled by Charles Rieu—considered the first Navoi scholar in England—are also preserved
here:
Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts
(1879–1883),
Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts
(1888), and
Supplement to the Catalogue of the Arabic
. The Navoi manuscripts in the British
Library mainly originated from India, Iran, and Bukhara and were brought to England in the
19th century. Some manuscripts are decorated with miniatures and ornamentation, making
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each of them a valuable resource for art, literature, and history.
The Cambridge University Library is also considered one of the key academic resource
centers in England. It holds Eastern manuscripts, including several works by Navoi among the
Turkic literary materials. These are mostly in the form of literary anthologies (
tazkiras
),
including Persian translations of
Majolis un-Nafois
. The library also contains commentary and
articles by Orientalists about Navoi. In Edward Granville Browne’s
A Descriptive Catalogue of
the Persian Manuscripts
, Navoi’s works are described in many instances. Although the catalog
is based on Persian literature and manuscripts, it includes discussions about Navoi and his
influence on Persian literature.
References:
Используемая литература:
Foydalanilgan adabiyotlar:
1.
Rieu, Charles.
Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum
, Vol. II. London:
British Museum, 1895.
2.
Browne, Edward G.
A Literary History of Persia
, Vol. IV. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1924.
3.
4.
https://digital.Bodlean.ox.ac.uk
5.
https://marco.ox.ac.uk/search?q=navai
6.
