The Qurʼan in the Manuscript Tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina

With the political and economic expansion of the Ottoman Empire into the Balkans from the mid-14th century onward, significant changes occurred in the religious, cultural, and civilizational spheres of life in many Balkan medieval states and among their populations. Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter referred to as BiH) was one of the countries in the western Balkans where these changes were particularly evident. Moreover, in the context of hand-copying, illuminating, and the calligraphic transcription of the Qur’an, BiH holds a prominent position in the western Balkans. Some sources suggest that the tradition of hand-copying and illuminating the Qur’an, introduced to BiH with the spread of Islam, greatly relied on the pre-existing practices in BiH. During the late medieval period, BiH exhibited a profound respect for sacred Christian texts, both Catholic and Orthodox. The Hvalov Zbornik, which is the most complete surviving work from the Bosnian Church of the medieval ages, demonstrates high standards in the illumination and embellishment of religious books. This illustrates that the spread of Islam in BiH from the 15th century did not begin from scratch. During the late medieval period, BiH experienced a strong religious ferment and movement. With the arrival of Islam, the further strengthening of a ‘cult of the book’ took place, expressed not only towards the New Testament but also towards the foundational Islamic book —the Qur’an. From the earliest acceptance of Islam in BiH, the Qur’an has been revered, according to Muslim belief, both as the oral liturgical Divine Word of God, recited in Arabic, and as the written Divine Word. Naturally, these two sacred receptions of the Qur’an— according to Muslim religious practice— must be supplemented by a third: the interpretation of the Qur’an. BiH has had, and still has, prominent figures of global renown in these three fundamental receptions of the Qur’an: A) melodious recitation, B) calligraphic transcription, and C) intellectual and spiritual interpretation. This study offers a concise focus on one of these receptions: the tradition of hand-copying, illuminating, and calligraphically preserving the Qur’an in BiH, as well as the devotional attitude towards the transcription of the Qur’an in general. In this context, the study presents the centers in BiH where the Qur’an was copied by hand, describes the most significant examples of written copies of the Qur’an in BiH, provides information about notable calligraphers, discusses the veneration of the practice of copying the Qur’an by hand, and explores the aesthetics of Qur’anic manuscripts, among other aspects.