Dawid Puniqoyo (ca. 1431 – ca. 1500) [Syr. Orth.]

Priest, author, and poet.

Priest, author, and poet. Based on ms. colophons and an extant correspondence with Patr. Nuḥ the Lebanese , it is known that Dawid lived in the latter half of the 15th cent. According to traditional biographical sources, he was born Dawid b. ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Ṣalāḥ in al-Qaryatayn in 1431. At a young age, he moved to Ḥimṣ , from which his sobriquet Puniqoyo (= of Ḥimṣ) derives. He became a monk and later a deacon at Dayr Mār Mūsā al-Ḥabashī . In 1459, he went to Dayr al-Zaʿfarān where he was ordained a priest. He then proceeded to Dayr al-Ṣalīb and in 1481 traveled to Constantinople. Dawid is one of the most prominent Syriac authors of the 15th cent. His prose works include an autobiography up to the middle of his life and a biographical piece on Yoḥannan of Dalyatha . In addition, he wrote a commentary on Psalms that incorporates material from various commentaries, especially those by Daniel of Ṣalaḥ , Dionysios bar Ṣalibi , and Bar ʿEbroyo . Dawid also composed a number of poetic works, some of which employ rhyme and / or are acrostics. These include mimre entitled ‘On Repentance’, ‘On Spiritual Life’, and ‘On the Afflictions of Exile’ (ed. with ET Butts). In addition to * mimre*, he wrote a * sedro* on resurrection and a number of liturgical poems. Despite his prolific literary activity, most of the works by Dawid remain unedited.