Abstrakt
This paper provides a brief review of the manuscripts originating from the Crimea and constituting a part of the collection of Karaite manuscripts assembled in the 1950s and 1960s by the Turkologist Józef Sulimowicz. An inventory list that is currently being compiled comprises 96 such items.
However, this number may change as in many cases no precise information on their provenance is available and it will require a more detailed analysis to determine the origin of some of the documents. This part of the collection includes manuscripts with a religious and secular content, written in Karaim and in Hebrew.
As far as the Karaim manuscripts are concerned, the mejumas, i.e. collections of popular literature, and a 17th-century translation of the Bible are particularly worthy of attention. The physical condition of the manuscripts is not infrequently poor since they might have been stored in lofts or basements before they came into the hands of Józef Sulimowicz.
In 2012 the Association of Polish Karaims launched a project to restore and preserve Karaim manuscripts. Financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland the project made it possible to complete the conservation of the 20 most valuable items in the collection, including the above-mentioned Bible translation.
In 2015 two other Crimean manuscripts are due to undergo restoration and subsequently digitalization, which will make them accessible to researchers.