Sidrak and Bokkus
Encyclopedia
Sidrak and Bokkus is a late-medieval English work of general knowledge in question-&-answer form, and dealing with the fictional encounter between King Bokkus, a heathen, and Sidrak, a wiseman. The English versions are translations of a French document which, although dating from the Middle Ages
, is set in ancient Babylonia
.
The book is a compendium of medieval popular culture and belief. In hundreds of short exchanges between Bokkus and Sidrak, the latter answers questions posed by the former. These are often connected with religious matters as Sidrak tries to teach Bokkus to believe in the one true God of the Hebrew Bible
. Sidrak also predicts the birth of Jesus, still many centuries in the future, and repeatedly explains how this will fulfill God's covenant with his believers.
Many of the other exchanges are less theological. Health and medicine are two of the most common themes addressed by Sidrak and his explanations rely on a simplistic version of the four-humor theory of the ancient Greeks
. Other questions revolve around fashion, marriage, sex, business and geography.
T. L. Burton
edited a two-volume version of Sidrak and Bokkus, in which he exhaustively compared the two most complete English recenscions both with each other and with the French original. The English translations date from the late fifteenth to early sixteenth centuries, while the French original is from the thirteenth century. The late Middle English
is considerably closer to Modern English
, and therefore easier for modern readers to understand, than is the Middle English of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
In an extensive introduction, Burton asks how Sidrak and Bokkus was so widely read in the Middle Ages but failed to leave any appreciable influence on later literature. His answer is that while immensely popular, the book itself is rather unsophisticated in both its language and the general quality of its information. Sidrak's answers are often formulaic and not infrequently fail to directly answer the question posed by Bokkus.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, is set in ancient Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
.
The book is a compendium of medieval popular culture and belief. In hundreds of short exchanges between Bokkus and Sidrak, the latter answers questions posed by the former. These are often connected with religious matters as Sidrak tries to teach Bokkus to believe in the one true God of the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. Sidrak also predicts the birth of Jesus, still many centuries in the future, and repeatedly explains how this will fulfill God's covenant with his believers.
Many of the other exchanges are less theological. Health and medicine are two of the most common themes addressed by Sidrak and his explanations rely on a simplistic version of the four-humor theory of the ancient Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
. Other questions revolve around fashion, marriage, sex, business and geography.
T. L. Burton
T. L. Burton
T. L. Burton is a professor at the University of Adelaide and a reputed scholar of medieval English literature, language, and dialectics. He is the editor of the two volume Sidrak and Bokkus, which once was one of the most popular books in Middle English...
edited a two-volume version of Sidrak and Bokkus, in which he exhaustively compared the two most complete English recenscions both with each other and with the French original. The English translations date from the late fifteenth to early sixteenth centuries, while the French original is from the thirteenth century. The late Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
is considerably closer to Modern English
Modern English
Modern English is the form of the English language spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England, completed in roughly 1550.Despite some differences in vocabulary, texts from the early 17th century, such as the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible, are considered to be in Modern...
, and therefore easier for modern readers to understand, than is the Middle English of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
In an extensive introduction, Burton asks how Sidrak and Bokkus was so widely read in the Middle Ages but failed to leave any appreciable influence on later literature. His answer is that while immensely popular, the book itself is rather unsophisticated in both its language and the general quality of its information. Sidrak's answers are often formulaic and not infrequently fail to directly answer the question posed by Bokkus.