Jean-François Champollion is celebrated as the first person to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs. Many of his insights were built on an intense and obsessive study of the Coptic language, to which he was introduced by a Coptic priest named Yuhanna Chiftichi. ¹

In 1809, soon after meeting Chiftichi and at just eighteen years old, Champollion wrote to his brother, Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac:

“I am totally immersed in Coptic, I want to know Egyptian as well as I know French… As for Coptic, I do nothing else. I dream in Coptic. I do nothing but that, I dream only in Coptic, in Egyptian. … I am so Coptic, that for fun, I translate into Coptic everything that comes into my head. I speak Coptic all alone to myself (since no one else can understand me).” ²

A striking example of his dedication is a note he wrote in the Bohairic dialect of Coptic in his personal copy of Georg Zoega’s Catalogus codicum copticorum manuscriptorum, published in 1810 (Fig. 1). ³

ⲡⲁⲓϫⲱⲙ ⲛ̀ⲧⲁ ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ ⲫⲣⲁⲛⲕⲓⲥⲕⲟⲥ ϣⲁⲙⲡⲟⲗⲗⲓⲟⲛ ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲓⲭⲏⲙⲓ ϧⲉⲛ ⲟⲩⲟⲛ ⲛⲓⲃⲉⲛ, ⲡⲓⲣⲉⲙⲅⲣⲁⲧⲓⲁⲛⲟⲡⲟⲗⲓⲥ ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲑⲟϣ ⲛ̀ⲓⲥⲁⲣⲁ, ϧⲉⲛ ⲣⲟⲙⲡⲓ ⲡⲙⲁϩϣⲟ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ϣⲟⲙⲧⲛ̀ϣⲉ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲙⲉⲧϣⲟⲙⲧ ⲛ̀ϯⲙⲉⲧϫⲫⲟ ⲙ̀ⲡⲭ︤ⲣ︦ⲥ︥ ⲡⲉⲛⲛⲏⲃ. ⲱ ⲡⲓⲣⲉϥⲱϣ ⲁⲣⲓⲫⲙⲉⲩⲓ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ϧⲁ ⲡⲓⲣⲉϥⲉⲣⲛⲟⲃⲓ.

“This book [is] owned by Jean-François Champollion, the Egyptophile in all things, the man of Grenoble in the department of Isère, in the 1313th (sic) year of the birth of Christ, our Lord. O reader, remember [me], I, the sinner!”

The intended year was perhaps 1813 AD, almost a decade before his famous Lettre à M. Dacier relative à l’alphabet des hiéroglyphes phonétiques, and while still living in the provincial city of Grenoble. It is important to note that in the early nineteenth century, very few Europeans had knowledge of Coptic, and fewer still could compose in it. The following comments should, therefore, be viewed in this context.

The note marks ownership of the book. Champollion uses the appurtenance marker ⲛⲧⲉ-/ⲛⲧⲁ⸗ to communicate this, which does not properly convey the intended meaning. One way to express ownership is to use the possessive pronoun ⲫⲁ-/ⲫⲱ⸗ (sing. masc.) in a nominal sentence: ⲡⲁⲓϫⲱⲙ ⲫⲁ ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ ⲫⲣⲁⲛⲕⲓⲥⲕⲟⲥ ϣⲁⲙⲡⲟⲗⲗⲓⲟⲛ ⲡⲉ “This book belongs to (lit. ‘is of, related to…’) Jean-François Champollion.”

Champollion uses a variety of methods to render his name in Coptic. For Jean, he uses the Greek or Bohairic form ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ (< Ἰωάννης); for François, the Greek form Φραγκίσκος and; for Champollion, he writes the name phonetically.

He describes himself as ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲓⲭⲏⲙⲓ, “the lover of Egypt, Egyptophile,” followed by ϧⲉⲛ ⲟⲩⲟⲛ ⲛⲓⲃⲉⲛ, which might be read “in all things.” However, it is possible he intended to convey a superlative sense: “the greatest lover of Egypt (out of everyone).”

He gives his demonym as ⲡⲓⲣⲉⲙⲅⲣⲁⲧⲓⲁⲛⲟⲡⲟⲗⲓⲥ “the man of Gratianopolis,” this being the Latin name for Grenoble. Initially, he wrote the French name, ⲅⲣⲟⲛⲟⲃⲗⲉ, phonetically, before striking it through. ⁴ He situates the city in the ⲡⲑⲟϣ ⲛ̀ⲓⲥⲁⲣⲁ “the department (lit. ‘nome, district’) of Isère, again, rendered phonetically.

Champollion conveys the year and era in an unconventional way, possibly attempting to express the concept of ‘era’ in Coptic through the abstract-forming function of ⲙⲉⲧ-. If so, ϯⲙⲉⲧϫⲫⲟ ⲙ̀ⲡⲭ︤ⲣ︦ⲥ︥ ⲡⲉⲛⲛⲏⲃ could be understood as “the state of the birth/existence (i.e. era) of Christ, our Lord.” Traditionally, Copts did not use the Dionysian era (i.e. anno Domini of the Western calendar) but instead used anno Martyrum: ⳩ ⳥ ͵ⲁ̅ⲫ̅ⲕ̅ⲉ̅ “Era of the Martyrs 1528” (or potentially the subsequent year).

The inspiration for Champollion’s decision to write the note in Coptic might lie in the colophons he encountered within the book itself. Particularly suggestive of this is the invocation at the end, which calls upon the reader to “remember me, I, the sinner.” This sentiment, which is more accurately expressed ⲁ̀ⲣⲓⲡⲁⲙⲉⲩⲓ̀ ⲁ̀ⲛⲟⲕ (ϧⲁ) ⲡⲓⲣⲉϥⲉⲣⲛⲟⲃⲓ, is typical of colophons and scribal notes found in Coptic manuscripts (Fig. 2).

The first line of this colophon, edited by Zoega (1810: 33), though with some errors, is illustrative of the type of formula used by Champollion. It bears reproducing in full:

[ⲁ]ⲣⲓⲡⲁⲙⲉⲩⲓ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲡⲓⲉⲗⲁ⸌ⲭⲓ⸍(ⲥⲧⲟⲥ) ⲛⲣⲉϥⲉⲣⲛⲟⲃⲓ ⲡⲓⲧⲁⲗⲉⲡⲱⲣⲟⲥ ⲉⲧⲭⲟⲛⲥ ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲓϣⲓⲕ ⲛⲧⲉ ⲛⲉϥⲛⲟⲃⲓ ϩⲁⲡⲓⲡ ⲡ⳪︦ ⲛⲁⲓ ⲛⲁϥ ⲁⲙⲏⲛ [ⲁⲓ]ⲥϧⲁⲓ ⲛⲥⲟⲩⲕ̅ⲏ̅ ⲙⲡⲓⲁⲃⲟⲧ ⲉⲡⲏⲡ ⳩ ⳥ ⲯ̅ⲡ̅ⲅ̅

“Remember me, I, the most humble sinner, the putrified wretch in the pit of his sins, Habib (i.e. حبيب). Lord forgive him, amen. [I] wr[o]te (it) on day 28 of the month ʾAbīb, era of the Martyrs 783 (= 22 July 1067 AD).”

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Image

The featured image is a famous oil painting of Jean-François Champollion by Léon Cogniet (1831). The background shows a scene from Thebes with the Colossi of Memnon seen over his left shoulder.

References

• Louca, A. (1991). “Chiftichi, Yuẖanna.” Coptic Encyclopedia, ed. Aziz S. Atiya, vol. 2, Macmillan, 516a-516b.
• O’Connor, J. J. and Robertson E. F. (2022). Jean-François Champollion [Online], MacTutor Index Available at: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Champollion/ (Accessed: 28 November 2024).
• Youssef, Y. N. (2008). A text of Jean François Champollion, Bulletin de la Société d’Archéologie copte XLVII, 89-91.
• Zoega, G. (1810) Catalogus codicum copticorum manuscriptorum. Rome: Typis Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide.

Footnotes

1. On Yuhanna Chiftichi, see Louca (1991). ↩︎
2. Quote from O’Connor & Robertson (2022). ↩︎
3. First published, translated and discussed by Youssef (2008). Youssef (2008: 89) states that the copy of Zoega’s catalogue containing Champollion’s note is held in the département de Manuscrits orientaux reading hall at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. ↩︎
4. This reading is not clear from the image but is read by Youssef (2008: 91). ↩︎