DENMARK
Kongelige Bibliotek
Copenhagen
The most important collection of Avestan manuscripts in Europe is located in the Kongelige Bibliotek in Copenhagen. Its Avestan manuscripts were purchased by R. Rask during his stay in Bombay in 1820, from where he returned to Copenhagen in 1823 with 34 Avestan and Pahlavi manuscripts. L. Westergaard added later to this collection 15 Avestan manuscripts (numbers 35-43), purchased in India and Iran during 1841-1844. Several manuscripts of this collection, preserved at that time in the Bibliotheca Universitatis Hafniensis, were published as facsimiles by A. Christensen & K. Barr (1931-1944), Codices Avestici et Pahlavici Bibliothecae Universitatis Hafniensis, 12 vols., Copenhagen. Nowadays they are preserved in the Kongelige Bibliotek in Copenhagen. These manuscripts were catalogued by Westergaard, N. L. & Olshausen, J. & Mehren, A. (1846-1857), Codices Orientales Bibliothecae Regiae Havniensis, iussu et auspiciis Regis Daniae Christiani Octavi enumerati et descripti. Pars I, Copenhagen (in:http://www.kb.dk/export/sites/kb_dk/da/nb/samling/os/osdownloads/Samtlige_codices_orientales_1.pdf).
These are the Avestan manuscripts preserved in this library:
- Pahlavi Yasna: K5, K6 (with Skr. translation), K15 (with Skr. translation), K43 (only Y 57.2-6)
- Yasna Sade: K4, K11, K20, K21
– Pahlavi Visparad: K7a
– Visparad Sade: K4, K7b, K8,K11
– Xwardag Abastag Phl.: K7c (with Bha?a translation), K15 (with Skr. translation), K18, K20, K21, K22
– Xwardag Abastag Sade: K8, K11, K12, K13, K14, K16,K17, K19b, K36 (=M1 in Westergaard), K37 (=M2 in Westergaard), K38 (=M3 in Westergaard), K39 (=M4 in Westergaard), K40 (=M5 in Westergaard)
– Pahlavi Videvdad: K1,K2, K3a, K3b
– Videvdad Sade: K9, K10
– Nerangestan: K41
– Hadoxt Nask Phl.: K20, K21
– Vištasp Yašt Sade: K4
– Nerang i Ataxš: K7c
