James Bruce - Legacy

Legacy

• Several of Bruce's drawings were presented to King George III and are in the royal collection at Windsor Castle. According to Edward Ullendorff, "There is little doubt that those volumes contain the pick of Bruce's work, and when they were shown, in 1862, by permission of Queen Victoria, to the Society of Antiquaries, all who saw them were greatly impressed."
• Bruce also brought back to Europe a select collection of Ethiopian manuscripts. "They opened up entirely new vistas for the study of Ethiopian languages and placed this branch of Oriental scholarship on a much more secure basis," writes Ullendorff. "It is not known how many MSS. reached Europe through his endeavours, but the present writer is aware of at least twenty-seven, all of which are exquisite examples of Ethiopian manuscript art. Bruce presented a fine and specially prepared copy of the Book of Enoch to Louis XV in Paris." While most of these manuscripts are in Ge'ez, one notable exception is a version of the Song of Songs written in Gafat, a language which Ullendorff states "is known to us only from this manuscript."
• Bruce's travels and discoveries inspired the founders of the British African Association (1788) in their efforts to promote exploration to discover the course of the Niger and the city of Timbuktu.