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
The Sacred Art of Stealing The Sacred Art of Stealing The Sacred Art of Stealing is a satirical crime novel by the Scottish writer Christopher Brookmyre. It is the author's seventh book and is a stand-alone sequel to "A Big Boy did it and Ran Away". The book is a tale of the unusual romance between likable thief, half Scottish half Mexican, Zal Innez and D.I. Angelique de Xavia, the police officer whose job it is to catch him. Martial arts expert de Xavia is recovering from her recent experiences as told in "A Big Boy did it and Ran Away". The book uses a