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Princeton Ethiopic Manuscript No. 57: Miracles of Mary With Three Miracles of Saint George, mid 18th century

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Collection Creator:
Princeton University. Library. Special Collections
Dates:
mid 18th century
Located In:
Item 57
Physical Description:
Mostly in numbered gatherings of 8 leaves, the manuscript is in excellent condition and shows no damage and only a little natural wear to the edges of some leaves, 1 col. of 15 lines, written in black with the usual rubrics (alternate opening lines of sections, the name of Mary and Saint George as well as those of the owners, major punctuation) in a generally well-formed early räqiq hand [4-5mm], deteriorating somewhat towards the end of the text, datable to the first half or middle of the eighteenth century, many of the miracle texts are marked with small coloured threads sewn on to the edge of the leaves, ruling and pricking visible throughout, there are 49 full page miniatures, 6 half page miniatures; bound between wooden boards covered and with a spine in tooled leather, brocade insert panels on the inside of the covers. Fols. 1v-3r, 4v, 15v, 22v, 35v, 48v, 82v, 95v, 112v, 116v, 143r, 163r, 164-165: blank.
Languages:
Geez
Scope and Contents

The paintings are high quality examples painted in the Second Gondarene style, which is associated with the patronage of Empress Mentewwab and her son, Iyasu II (r. 1730-55), though it continued in use later into the eighteenth century. The paintings are mostly framed within a double red border and include descriptive text in red or black, either directly on the painting or in the top or bottom margins.

Illustration: Fol. 3v: Painting 1: St. George and the dragon.

Illustration: Fol. 4r: Painting 2: Virgin and Child with the archangels Michael and Gabriel; below is the prostrate figure of a supplicant, named as Awsabyos.

Illustration: Fol. 12r: Painting 3: The Virgin Mary presents a robe and a throne to Däqseyos.

Illustration: Fol. 12v: Painting 4: The archangel Michael strikes down the bishop who sat on Däqseyos' throne.

Illustration: Fol. 15r: Painting 5: The Virgin Mary gives food and clothes to the monk.

Illustration: Fol. 18v: Painting 6: The Virgin blesses the artisan.

Illustration: Fol. 22r: Painting 7: The Virgin revives the Jew of Akhmim.

Illustration: Fol. 25v: Painting 8: Demyanos writing the Miracles of Mary.

Illustration: Fol. 26r: Painting 9: The Virgin shows Demyanos the pillar of gold in heaven.

Illustration: Fol. 29v: Painting 10: Abbas cuts off his hand.

Illustration: Fol. 30r: Painting 11: The Virgin restores Abbas' hand.

Illustration: Fol. 35r: Painting 12: The Virgin appears to Isaac and raises him up.

Illustration: Fol. 39v: Painting 13: The Virgin makes the girl follow her.

Illustration: Fol. 40r: Painting 14: The girl receives communion.

Illustration: Fol. 44v: Painting 15: [left] The artist falls, dragged down by a demon; [right] the Virgin raises him up.

Illustration: Fol. 47v: Painting 16: The Virgin brings the sick man to Jerusalem (he is shown being baptized in the Jordan).

Illustration: Fol. 48r: Painting 17: A rectangular: building or church representing Jerusalem.

Illustration: Fol. 54v: Painting 18: Zäkaryas crowns the Virgin with roses.

Illustration: Fol. 55r: Painting 19: Zäkaryas is rescued from the thieves.

Illustration: Fol. 58v: Painting 20: The thief's teeth shatter when he tries to eat the bread he has stolen.

Illustration: Fol. 59r: Painting 21: The repentant thieves do homage to the Virgin.

Illustration: Fol. 63r: Painting 22: The two shipwrecked Arabs look on whilst their companion is swallowed by a whale.

Illustration: Fol. 64v: Painting 23: The two surviving Arabs bring their gifts to the church.

Illustration: Fol. 67r: Painting 24: The Virgin appears in a dream to the priest of the church.

Illustration: Fol. 67v: Painting 25: The church appears by the sea shore.

Illustration: Fol. 72r: Painting 26: The Virgin restores Yohannes' sight.

Illustration: Fol. 76r: Painting 27: The merchant is struck in the eye by an arrow.

Illustration: Fol. 76v: Painting 28: The Virgin restores the merchant's sight through an image of him.

Illustration: Fol. 82r: Painting 29: The Virgin restores the girl's sight.

Illustration: Fol. 87v: Painting 30: The Virgin appears in a dream to the widow and promises to look after her daughters.

Illustration: Fol. 88r: Painting 31: Téwog takes the daughters to be married.

Illustration: Fol. 91v: Painting 32: The two brothers writing.

Illustration: Fol. 92r: Painting 33: The Virgin rescues the soul of the good brother.

Illustration: Fol. 95r: Painting 34: The Virgin rescues George in the form of a dove.

Illustration: Fol. 100r: Painting 35: The guardian of the church drives out Kät'ir.

Illustration: Fol. 100v: Painting 36: The Virgin instructs the angels to punish the guardian.

Illustration: Fol. 106v: Painting 37: St. George strikes down the dishonest merchant who had Näzib falsely accused.

Illustration: Fol. 107r: Painting 38: Näzib brings his testimony before the judge.

Illustration: Fol. 111v: Painting 39: The man praying in church.

Illustration: Fol. 112r: Painting 40: The man shows his healed foot to the bishop.

Illustration: Fol. 116r: Painting 41: The Virgin cures Märqoréwos of his leprosy.

Illustration: Fol. 120v: Painting 42: The Virgin cures the woman of her lameness.

Illustration: Fol. 129r: Painting 43: Sofya is delivered of her child by the angels.

Illustration: Fol. 129v: Painting 44: The child, now grown, comes before the bishop.

Illustration: Fol. 132v: Painting 45: Barok is attacked and killed by his enemies, and [right] his corpse is shown in the church.

Illustration: Fol. 135r: Painting 46: The Virgin appears to Anest'asyos in a dream.

Illustration: Fol. 138v: Painting 47: [left] The monk (called Sämalusi in the inscription) is attacked by his fellow monks, and [right] throws his cap to make a hole in the wall.

Illustration: Fol. 143v: Painting 48: [top] The cannibal approaches the farmer; [bottom] he is shown eating his victims.

Illustration: Fol. 144r: Painting 49: [top] His soul is saved by the Virgin after it has been weighed in the balance by the archangel Michael; [bottom] the cannibal gives water to the leper.

Illustration: Fol. 146r: Painting 50: The widow prays to the Virgin Mary.

Illustration: Fol. 146v: Painting 51: The Virgin comes to rescue the widow's son after he has been hanged.

Illustration: Fol. 149v: Painting 52: The Virgin protects the woman and her child with her cloak.

Illustration: Fol. 152v: Painting 53: The Virgin gives the dog water to drink from her shoe.

Illustration: Fol. 155v: Painting 54: [top] Christ grants Mary the Covenant of Mercy; [below] a prostrate supplicant, identified as Awsabyos in the text below.

Illustration: Fol. 163v: Painting 55: [top] The Trinity; [bottom] a prostrate supplicant, identified also as Awsabyos in spite of being clearly female.

Date and provenance: Mid-18th century. There is no colophon giving the date of composition. However, the hand and style of the paintings are in keeping with a mid eighteenth century date. The invocations for blessings throughout the text are mostly made for one Lätes'un (m.) occasionally in conjunction with that Wälättä Täklä Haymanot (f.). However, the name Awsabyos (m.) has been inserted in the top margin of many leaves, and also appears alongside the picture of the prostrate supplicant in paintings 2, 54 and 55, though in the last instance the figure is clearly female.

The text comprises 34 miracles of the Virgin Mary together with 3 miracles of St. George.

Fol. 1r: Blank except for pen trial.

Purchase, Sam Fogg, London.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Credit this material:

Princeton Ethiopic Manuscript No. 57: Miracles of Mary With Three Miracles of Saint George; Princeton Ethiopic Manuscripts, C0776, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Processing Information

The present finding aid was prepared in June-July 2009 by Kesis Melaku Terefe , Virgin Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in Los Angeles, with assistance of Prof. Wendy Laura Belcher , Department of Comparative Literature and Center for African American Studies, Princeton University. This cataloging project was made possible through generous support from the David A. Gardner '69 Magic Project, Princeton University.

In 2022, restrictions on manuscripts No. 54, 57, and 65 were lifted as part of a restrictions review project.

In 2022, manuscripts nos. 86-95 were added to the collection.

Collection Overview

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The paintings are high quality examples painted in the Second Gondarene style, which is associated with the patronage of Empress Mentewwab and her son, Iyasu II (r. 1730-55), though it continued in use later into the eighteenth century. The paintings are mostly framed within a double red border and include descriptive text in red or black, either directly on the painting or in the top or bottom margins.

Illustration: Fol. 3v: Painting 1: St. George and the dragon.

Illustration: Fol. 4r: Painting 2: Virgin and Child with the archangels Michael and Gabriel; below is the prostrate figure of a supplicant, named as Awsabyos.

Illustration: Fol. 12r: Painting 3: The Virgin Mary presents a robe and a throne to Däqseyos.

Illustration: Fol. 12v: Painting 4: The archangel Michael strikes down the bishop who sat on Däqseyos' throne.

Illustration: Fol. 15r: Painting 5: The Virgin Mary gives food and clothes to the monk.

Illustration: Fol. 18v: Painting 6: The Virgin blesses the artisan.

Illustration: Fol. 22r: Painting 7: The Virgin revives the Jew of Akhmim.

Illustration: Fol. 25v: Painting 8: Demyanos writing the Miracles of Mary.

Illustration: Fol. 26r: Painting 9: The Virgin shows Demyanos the pillar of gold in heaven.

Illustration: Fol. 29v: Painting 10: Abbas cuts off his hand.

Illustration: Fol. 30r: Painting 11: The Virgin restores Abbas' hand.

Illustration: Fol. 35r: Painting 12: The Virgin appears to Isaac and raises him up.

Illustration: Fol. 39v: Painting 13: The Virgin makes the girl follow her.

Illustration: Fol. 40r: Painting 14: The girl receives communion.

Illustration: Fol. 44v: Painting 15: [left] The artist falls, dragged down by a demon; [right] the Virgin raises him up.

Illustration: Fol. 47v: Painting 16: The Virgin brings the sick man to Jerusalem (he is shown being baptized in the Jordan).

Illustration: Fol. 48r: Painting 17: A rectangular: building or church representing Jerusalem.

Illustration: Fol. 54v: Painting 18: Zäkaryas crowns the Virgin with roses.

Illustration: Fol. 55r: Painting 19: Zäkaryas is rescued from the thieves.

Illustration: Fol. 58v: Painting 20: The thief's teeth shatter when he tries to eat the bread he has stolen.

Illustration: Fol. 59r: Painting 21: The repentant thieves do homage to the Virgin.

Illustration: Fol. 63r: Painting 22: The two shipwrecked Arabs look on whilst their companion is swallowed by a whale.

Illustration: Fol. 64v: Painting 23: The two surviving Arabs bring their gifts to the church.

Illustration: Fol. 67r: Painting 24: The Virgin appears in a dream to the priest of the church.

Illustration: Fol. 67v: Painting 25: The church appears by the sea shore.

Illustration: Fol. 72r: Painting 26: The Virgin restores Yohannes' sight.

Illustration: Fol. 76r: Painting 27: The merchant is struck in the eye by an arrow.

Illustration: Fol. 76v: Painting 28: The Virgin restores the merchant's sight through an image of him.

Illustration: Fol. 82r: Painting 29: The Virgin restores the girl's sight.

Illustration: Fol. 87v: Painting 30: The Virgin appears in a dream to the widow and promises to look after her daughters.

Illustration: Fol. 88r: Painting 31: Téwog takes the daughters to be married.

Illustration: Fol. 91v: Painting 32: The two brothers writing.

Illustration: Fol. 92r: Painting 33: The Virgin rescues the soul of the good brother.

Illustration: Fol. 95r: Painting 34: The Virgin rescues George in the form of a dove.

Illustration: Fol. 100r: Painting 35: The guardian of the church drives out Kät'ir.

Illustration: Fol. 100v: Painting 36: The Virgin instructs the angels to punish the guardian.

Illustration: Fol. 106v: Painting 37: St. George strikes down the dishonest merchant who had Näzib falsely accused.

Illustration: Fol. 107r: Painting 38: Näzib brings his testimony before the judge.

Illustration: Fol. 111v: Painting 39: The man praying in church.

Illustration: Fol. 112r: Painting 40: The man shows his healed foot to the bishop.

Illustration: Fol. 116r: Painting 41: The Virgin cures Märqoréwos of his leprosy.

Illustration: Fol. 120v: Painting 42: The Virgin cures the woman of her lameness.

Illustration: Fol. 129r: Painting 43: Sofya is delivered of her child by the angels.

Illustration: Fol. 129v: Painting 44: The child, now grown, comes before the bishop.

Illustration: Fol. 132v: Painting 45: Barok is attacked and killed by his enemies, and [right] his corpse is shown in the church.

Illustration: Fol. 135r: Painting 46: The Virgin appears to Anest'asyos in a dream.

Illustration: Fol. 138v: Painting 47: [left] The monk (called Sämalusi in the inscription) is attacked by his fellow monks, and [right] throws his cap to make a hole in the wall.

Illustration: Fol. 143v: Painting 48: [top] The cannibal approaches the farmer; [bottom] he is shown eating his victims.

Illustration: Fol. 144r: Painting 49: [top] His soul is saved by the Virgin after it has been weighed in the balance by the archangel Michael; [bottom] the cannibal gives water to the leper.

Illustration: Fol. 146r: Painting 50: The widow prays to the Virgin Mary.

Illustration: Fol. 146v: Painting 51: The Virgin comes to rescue the widow's son after he has been hanged.

Illustration: Fol. 149v: Painting 52: The Virgin protects the woman and her child with her cloak.

Illustration: Fol. 152v: Painting 53: The Virgin gives the dog water to drink from her shoe.

Illustration: Fol. 155v: Painting 54: [top] Christ grants Mary the Covenant of Mercy; [below] a prostrate supplicant, identified as Awsabyos in the text below.

Illustration: Fol. 163v: Painting 55: [top] The Trinity; [bottom] a prostrate supplicant, identified also as Awsabyos in spite of being clearly female.

Date and provenance: Mid-18th century. There is no colophon giving the date of composition. However, the hand and style of the paintings are in keeping with a mid eighteenth century date. The invocations for blessings throughout the text are mostly made for one Lätes'un (m.) occasionally in conjunction with that Wälättä Täklä Haymanot (f.). However, the name Awsabyos (m.) has been inserted in the top margin of many leaves, and also appears alongside the picture of the prostrate supplicant in paintings 2, 54 and 55, though in the last instance the figure is clearly female.

The text comprises 34 miracles of the Virgin Mary together with 3 miracles of St. George.

Fol. 1r: Blank except for pen trial.

Purchase, Sam Fogg, London.

Arrangement

Arranged in manuscript number order, by accession. Numbers 29 and 67-71 are unassigned.

Collection History

Sponsorship:

This cataloging project was made possible through generous support from the David A. Gardner '69 Magic Project, Princeton University.

Processing Information

The present finding aid was prepared in June-July 2009 by Kesis Melaku Terefe , Virgin Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in Los Angeles, with assistance of Prof. Wendy Laura Belcher , Department of Comparative Literature and Center for African American Studies, Princeton University. This cataloging project was made possible through generous support from the David A. Gardner '69 Magic Project, Princeton University.

In 2022, restrictions on manuscripts No. 54, 57, and 65 were lifted as part of a restrictions review project.

In 2022, manuscripts nos. 86-95 were added to the collection.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Princeton Ethiopic Manuscript No. 57: Miracles of Mary With Three Miracles of Saint George; Princeton Ethiopic Manuscripts, C0776, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

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Related Materials

In addition to Princeton Ethiopic codices, the Library also has a collection entitled Garrett Ethiopic Manuscripts (C0744.03), gift of Robert Garrett (Princeton Class of 1897). There is one Ethiopic manuscript in The Scheide Library (Manuscript 119).

The Library also has three substantial collections of Ethiopic magic scrolls . Professor David Appleyard, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, compiled the online checklist of these scrolls, with support from the David A. Gardner '69 Magic Project, Princeton University.

Bibliography

Ephraim Isaac, "Princeton Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts," Princeton University Library Chronicle 42:1 (Autumn 1980), pp. 33-52. Richard Pankhurst, "Secular Themes in Ethiopian Ecclesiastical Manuscripts: V.: A Catalogue of Illustrations of Historical and Ethnographic Interest in Princeton University Library and Art Gallery," Journal of Ethiopian Studies 22 (November 1989), pp. 31-64. Don C. Skemer, "Princeton's Ethiopic Manuscript Collections at 100," Princeton University Library Chronicle 71:3 (Spring 2010), pp. 461-466.