Copts

    The word 'Copt' is derived from the Greek 'Aigyptios' (which became 'Qibt' after the Arab invasion in the seventh century AD); it was first used in the sixteenth century AD in Europe to distinguish the Christian inhabitants of Egypt.

    The Egyptians readily adopted Christianity which developed several concepts which were already familiar to them. Their particular contribution was the concept of physical retreat from the material world, at first as hermits in desert caves and later in purpose-built monasteries. At the Council of Ephesus in AD 451, the doctrine that Christ combined a human and a divine nature was sanctioned, but the Egyptian Christians rejected this and adopted the monophysite heresy as the foundation of their beliefs, forming a sect which broke away from the rest of Christendom. By the sixth century AD, the Coptic Church had extended southwards into Nubia, but following the Arab conquest of Egypt in AD 640, many Egyptians were converted to Islam and the new faith reached Nubia in the thirteenth century AD. Strong pockets of Christianity survived in Egypt particularly in the south around Thebes; today, the Copts form an important minority group there, and the Coptic Patriarch also has nominal authority over the Ethiopian Church.

    Both native and Hellenistic styles influenced the culture of Coptic Egypt. At first, pagan themes predominated but by the fourth and fifth centuries AD, Coptic art increasingly expressed itself through Christian motifs, eventually becoming the distinctive art of Christian Egypt. Traces of its influence can also be seen in Islamic art. Some of the monasteries can still be visited and in these, as in the churches and houses, the artists have used decorative and ornamental frescoes.

    Coptic is the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language and was initially developed as a medium for the translation of Biblical texts. In Coptic, the Egyptian language, previously written in hieroglyphs, Hieratic and Demotic, now used the Greek alphabet with the addition of seven signs from Demotic for those Egyptian sounds which were unknown to the *Greeks. The oldest Coptic manuscripts date from the third century AD when Christianity began to spread through Egypt, but earlier attempts with this script had been made in previous centuries. Translations of the books of the Old Testament were followed by those of the Gospels and other writings, and the works of St. Antony (AD 251-356) were of particular importance. Coptic has a relatively small vocabulary and many Greek words were therefore included, but an important development was the introduction of written vowels which the earlier Egyptian scripts had omitted.

    Ultimately, Coptic was used to help with the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs and provided some information about the pronunciation of the ancient language. Coptic manuscripts were imported into Europe from the beginning of the seventeenth century AD, and some of these were acquired by a Jesuit, Athanasius Kircher, who, in his work Lingua Aegyptiaca restituta (1643), began a serious study of Coptic (which was understood) and Egyptian. He made the important discovery that Egyptian hieroglyphs and Coptic were related and later, when Champollion began to decipher hieroglyphs, his knowledge of Coptic advanced his studies and helped him to reach important conclusions.

    Gradually, Arabic replaced Coptic as Egypt's main language; Coptic was last spoken in Christian villages in the seventeenth century AD but it survives today as the liturgical language and script of the Coptic Church.

    Textiles were another major feature of early Coptic culture. Made of wool and linen, many still survive in the form of vestments, wrappings, tunics and domestic furnishings and provide a valuable insight into a lively and distinctive folk-art.

BIBL. Walters, C.C. Monastic Archaeology in Egypt. Warminster: 1974.

Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David