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W.838, Ethiopian canon tables

Abstract

This fragmentary manuscript, comprised of four canon tables spread over one bifolium, would originally have been the introductory pages of a fourteenth- or early fifteenth-century Gospel book. Written in the Lake Tana region of Ethiopia, the pages contain canons I-V, which relate the concordance of the Gospels through a chart in which each number corresponds to a Gospel passage, a system originally created by Eusebius of Caesarea in the early fourth century. The numbers here, in keeping with a long tradition, are placed within an arcade of brightly decorated columns and arches. Common within Ethiopian canon table decoration are the curtains, which hang from the sides of the columns, and the interlace-filled arches adorned with birds. These pages provide an excellent example of Ethiopian canon table illumination from the early Solomonic period.

Manuscript Description (in a new window) | TEI (XML format) | View at art.thewalters.org

Persistent URLs (PURLs)

The following URLs are assured to route to the named resources. For more information see the ReadMe file.

  • http://purl.thewalters.org/art/W.838/data
  • http://purl.thewalters.org/art/W.838/browse
  • http://purl.thewalters.org/art/W.838/TEI
  • http://purl.thewalters.org/art/W.838/description
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    1. Upper board outside

      W.838, Upper board outside
    2. Upper board inside

      W.838, Upper board inside
    3. Front flyleaf i, r

      W.838, Front flyleaf i, r
    4. Front flyleaf i, v

      W.838, Front flyleaf i, v
    5. fol. 1r

      W.838, fol. 1r
    6. fol. 1v

      W.838, fol. 1v
    7. fol. 2r

      W.838, fol. 2r
    8. fol. 2v

      W.838, fol. 2v
    9. Back flyleaf i, r

      W.838, Back flyleaf i, r
    10. Back flyleaf i, v

      W.838, Back flyleaf i, v
    11. Lower board inside

      W.838, Lower board inside
    12. Lower board outside

      W.838, Lower board outside
    13. Spine

      W.838, Spine
    14. Fore-edge

      W.838, Fore-edge
    15. Head

      W.838, Head
    16. Tail

      W.838, Tail

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