Salle 746,  54 boulevard Raspail 75006 Paris

An incomplete manuscript in Tamil language from the BnF in Paris ― INDIEN 511 in, made of 12 ōlai (palm leaves) ― describes miracles (putumai) performed by St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) on the Fishery Coast (Gulf of Mannar). These miracles are well known and have been described in more detail in the texts relating to his canonization in 1622. The official inquiry of his miracles took place in 1616 in Tuttukudi and the miracles in this texts refer to Punnaikayal and Manappad. If one is to trust the short note (paratext) in French that accompanies the manuscript (« L’on croit que c’est une enquête pour la Canonisation de St. François Xavier »), one hypothesis is that this is an original text of the canonization inquiry. On the basis of the philological analysis and taking into account other elements from the text, this hypothesis can be safely rejected. We hope to propose a different periodization of and purpose for this text in our current research.

Cette présentation continue une série de séances consacrées à la lecture de manuscrits tamouls en lien avec le projet TST (FRAL 2018 ANR-DFG).