Holdings
The shelfmark group Mss. orient. includes approximately 190 manuscripts and convolutes in various languages and
scripts. Arabic and Hebrew form the larger groups; other items are in Ottoman-Turkish, Persian, Syriac, some in
Samaritan, Jewish-Arabic, Ethiopian, Sinhalese, Burmese, Malay-Dutch, Tamil, Sanskrit and Urdu. Oluf Gerhard
Tychsen's correspondence includes numerous letters in Yiddish. Part of his papers include documents in cuneiform.
Pieces in Chinese include a handwritten thesaurus linguae Sinicae as well as block and type prints. Another
Japanese-language scribbled block book has not yet been identified. Among the Orientalia are examples of book
scrolls as well as palm leaf manuscripts.
Collection history
By far the largest part of the holdings, especially Arabica and Judaica, but also pieces in a wide variety of
other languages and scripts, came to the Universitätsbibliothek Rostock with the personal library and papers of
Oluf Gerhard Tychsen (1734−1815). Often the items are copies produced by himself or by his correspondence
partners. Main areas of interest are religion, linguistics and writing, as well as numismatics. From Count Adolf
Friedrich von Schack's (1815-1894) bequest, acquired in 1894, there are three manuscripts in Persian and one in
Arabic as well as a printed manuscript with his own extensive handwritten edition on Sanskrit. Other items are
single donations that were given to the library between the 18th and 20th century.
Catalogues
- Julius Assfalg, Syrische Handschriften. Wiesbaden 1963. Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften in
Deutschland, Bd. 5. (Nummern 31, 38, 62, 101, 102)
- Ernst Róth, Hebräische Handschriften, T. 2. Wiesbaden 1965, Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften in
Deutschland, Bd. 6,2. (Nummern 530-578).
- Walter Fuchs, Chinesische und mandjurische Handschriften und seltene Drucke, T. 1. Wiesbaden 1966, Verzeichnis
der orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland, Bd. 12,1. (Nummern 68, 71, 76, 77, 103, 108, 112, 113, 156,
168, 181, Anhang Nummern 10, 57, 82, 122).
- Ernst Hammerschmidt, Otto A. Jäger, Illuminierte äthiopische Handschriften. Wiesbaden 1968, Verzeichnis der
orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland, Bd. 15 (Nummer 44)
- Heinz Bechert, Singhalesische Handschriften, T. 1. Wiesbaden 1969, Verzeichnis der orientalischen
Handschriften in Deutschland, Bd. 22,1. (Nummern 8, 93, 110).
- Heinz Bechert, Singhalesische Handschriften, T. 2. Stuttgart 1997, Verzeichnis der orientalischen
Handschriften in Deutschland, Bd. 22,2. (Nummern 230, 352).
