This book studies the literary heritage of the Coptic Orthodox monastery
of the Archangel Gabriel at Naqlun in the Fayyum province in Egypt by
focusing on the hagiographical cycle of Saint Aur, the presumed founder
of its church. It presents the edition and translation, with extensive
commentaries, of six previously unedited texts, all preserved in Middle
Arabic. The author argues that the literary tradition around the
monastery of Naqlun evolved in about the eleventh century, a period in
which the monastery experienced a revival. The texts recall the memory
of great saints from the past, among whom Saint Antony, and convey a new
view of the Christian landscape of this region.