Avesta word for "praise-song" (Bartholomae: "Lobgesang"); that word is not actually attested in any text. The surviving texts of the Avesta, as they exist today, derive from a single master copy produced by Sasanian Empire-era (224–651 CE) collation and recension. That master copy, now lost, is known as the 'Sassanian archetype'. The oldest surviving manuscript ("K1") of an Avestan language text is dated 1323 CE. Summaries of the various Avesta texts found in the 9th/10th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition suggest that a significant portion of the literature in the Avestan language has been lost. Only about one-quarter of the Avestan
Violence and the Sacred Sacred" has been seen as hostile to religion. Violence and the Sacred Violence and the Sacred () is a 1972 book by the French anthropologist René Girard. The book received both positive and mixed reviews. "Violence and the Sacred" was written while Girard was distinguished professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Girard was influenced by the work of Georges Bataille. Girard discusses the ritual role of sacrifice. He reevaluates Sigmund Freud's "Totem and Taboo" (1913), writing that while it has been widely rejected, he views the work differently. He notes that Freud's concept of collective murder