Walters Ms. W.836, Ethiopian Gospels

W.836

Ethiopian Gospels

Gospel Book

Vernacular: አርባዕቱ፡ ወንጌል፡

This Gospel Book was written in Tǝgray, Northern Ethiopia, in the early fourteenth century, and was once owned by the church of St. George in Däbrä Mä‛ar. It was written by the scribe Mäṭre Krǝstos (መጥሬ፡ ክርስቶስ፡) in the official liturgical language of Ethiopia, Gǝ‛ǝz. Most notable is its prefatory image cycle, which makes references to holy places in Jerusalem, such as Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher, as they appeared in the sixth century. The manuscript therefore appears to be based on a sixth-century exemplar containing images connected to the Byzantine cult of holy places. Several related manuscripts have been identified that seem to be based on the same prototype, most notably Paris, Bibliothèque nationale eth. 32, a fragment in the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, Inventory No. 3475 a-b, and another fragment in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, NM B 2034. The Paris manuscript contains a mid-fourteenth-century colophon which helps date the group. Although water has damaged some of its elaborately decorated pages, this Gospel Book is still an important record of the resurgence of monasticism that flourished in fourteenth-century Ethiopia.

Early 14th century CE

Tǝgray, Northern Ethiopia

As-written name: Mäṭre Krǝstos

Name, in vernacular: መጥሬ፡ ክርስቶስ፡

Book

Scriptural

The primary language in this manuscript is Geez.

Parchment

Heavy, yellow parchment

Foliation: 248

Modern pencil foliation upper right corners; stubs of two contemporary flyleaves, unfoliated, present at beginning of codex; fol. 128 blank

Formula: 1(8), 2(10-10), 3-30(8), 31(10,-1,8,9)

Catchwords: None

Signatures: None

Comments: Quires begin on fols. 1(1), 10(2), 18(3), 26(4), 34(5), 42(6), 50(7), 58(8), 66(9), 74(10), 82(11), 90(12), 98(13), 106(14), 114(15), 122(16), 130(17), 138(18), 146(19), 154(20), 162(21), 170(22), 178(23), 186(24), 194(25), 202(26), 210(27), 218(28), 226(29), 234(30), and 242(31)

16.5 cm wide by 26.6 cm high

12.0 cm wide by 21.0 cm high

1. Columns: 2
2. Ruled lines: 26
3. Hard-point ruling; layout does not apply to Eusebius letter and canon tables (fols. 1r-6r)

fols. 1r - 248v:

1. Title: Gospel Book
2. Text note: Complete
3. Hand note: A modern hand has attempted to correct the text in some places (especially obvious on fol. 246r).
4. Decoration note: Three full-page miniatures comprise prefatory cycle; Small Evangelist portraits before each Gospel do not fill page but are centered within it; three full-page colored harags framing Eusebius' Letter to Carpianus; eight framed Canon Tables; strong palette of red, blue, green, and yellow used for illuminations; rubrics, punctuation, margin ornaments in red and black; text in black ink

fols. 1r - 2r:

1. Title: Eusebius' Letter to Carpianus
2. Incipit: አውሴብስ፡ ለቀርጲያኖስ፡ ለዘ፡ አፈቅር፡ እኊየ፡ ፍሥሓ፡ ወዳኅና፡ ለከ፡
3. Decoration note: Ornate columned framework around text which includes interlace, Greek key designs, and birds; opening text in alternating lines of red and black; Chi rho in red ending text

fols. 2v - 6r:

1. Title: Eight Eusebian Canon Tables
2. Incipit: ሥርዓት፡ ፩ ዘኀብሩ፡ ፬፡ ማቴዎስ፡ ማርቆስ፡ ሉቃስ፡ ዮሐንስ፡
3. Text note: Complete; several groups of numbers in final table present but obscured due to water damage; tables ending with diagram showing how Four Gospels agree in words (fol. 6r)
4. Decoration note: Eusebian numbers divided into columns ranging from four to eight per table; large framing arches enclosing smaller arches, ranging from one to four, filled with elaborate interlace and cross patterns; birds perching on foliage growing from top; arches supported by two columns except in last table, which has eight columns; Eusebian numbers in black with canon titles and ruling lines in red

fols. 6v - 7v:

1. Title: Prefatory cycle
2. Incipit: No text
3. Decoration note: Prefatory cycle with three full-page miniatures related to Christ's death and resurrection

fols. 8r - 247r:

1. Title: Gospels
2. Incipit: አርእስተ፡ ምንባብ፡ ዘእምወንጌለ፡ ማቴዎስ።
3. Contents: Fols. 8r-9r: list of sixty-eight traditional chapters of Matthew (last numbers illegible); fols. 9v-78r: Gospel of Matthew; fols. 78r-79r: list of forty-eight traditional chapters of Mark; fols. 80r-120v: Gospel of Mark; fols. 120v-122v: list of eighty-three traditional chapters of Luke; fols. 124r-192v: Gospel of Luke; fol. 192v-193r: list of nineteen traditional chapters of John; fols. 194r-247r: Gospel of John; in the opening text of Matthew, the word mǝta ምታ፡ "husband of (Mary)," has been erased (according to Church teaching, Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but he did not marry her); number of words of John and the total number of section titles (218) are given at the end (fol. 217r); a note on the same folio states that "every word in the Gospel[s] is true [because] the Son himself had uttered it."
4. Decoration note: Small Evangelist portraits at beginning of each Gospel (fols. 9v, 79v, 123v, 193v), each enclosed in frames made of three bands of color with an overall height of 18-20 lines; opening lines of Gospels in alternating red and black lines; explicits accented by red and black dot and dash designs

fols. 122v - 123r:

1. Title: Added prayer: excerpt from Ordinary of the Mass
2. Incipit: ዝውእቱ፡ ጊዜ፡ ባርኮት፡ ዝውእቱ፡ ጊዜ፡ ዕጣን፡ ኅሩይ፡
3. Text note: Prayer added in an early eighteenth-century hand to originally blank space; concludes with a note of the copyist (name erased) asking users of this prayer to pray for him
4. Decoration note: None

fol. 1r:

1. 
2. Title: Eusebius' Letter to Carpianus
3. Form: Full-page miniature

fol. 1v:

1. 
2. Title: Eusebius' Letter to Carpianus
3. Form: Full-page miniature

fol. 2r:

1. 
2. Title: Eusebius' Letter to Carpianus
3. Form: Full-page miniature

fol. 2v:

1. 
2. Title: Canon table
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Eusebian Canon I
5. Comment:

   The inscription for the agreement of the Four Gospels begins "ሥርዓት፡ ፩ ዘኀብሩ፡ ፬፡ ማቴዎስ፡ ማርቆስ፡ ሉቃስ፡ ዮሐንስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ቀዳሚ፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ አርባዕቱ።."

fol. 3r:

1. 
2. Title: Canon table
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Eusebian Canon II
5. Comment:

   The inscription for the agreement of Matthew, Mark, and Luke begins "ሥርዓት፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ሠለስቱ፡ ማቴዎስ፡ ማርቆስ፡ ሉቃስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ዳግም፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ሠለስቱ።."

fol. 3v:

1. 
2. Title: Canon table
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Eusebian Canons III and IV
5. Comment:

   The inscription for the third Śǝr‛at for the agreement of Matthew, Luke, and John reads "፡፫፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ሠለስቱ፡ ማቴዎስ፡ ሉቃስ፡ ዮሐንስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ሣልስ፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ሠለስቱ።." The inscription for the fourth Śǝr‛at for the agreement of Matthew, Mark, and John reads "፡፬፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ሠለስቱ፡ ማቴዎስ፡ ማርቆስ፡ ዮሐንስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ራብዕ፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ሠለስቱ።."

fol. 4r:

1. 
2. Title: Canon table
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Eusebian Canon V
5. Comment:

   The inscription for the fifth Śǝr‛at for the agreement of Matthew and Luke reads "፡፭፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ፡ ማቴዎስ፡ ሉቃስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ኃምስ፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ።."

fol. 4v:

1. 
2. Title: Canon table
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Eusebian Canon VI and VII
5. Comment:

   The inscription for the sixth Śǝr‛at for the agreement of Matthew and Mark reads "፡፮፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ፡ ማቴዎስ፡ ማርቆስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ [ቀመር፡] ሳድስ፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ።." The inscription for the seventh Śǝr‛at for the agreement of Matthew and John reads "፡፯፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ፡ ማቴዎስ፡ ዮሐንስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ሳብዕ፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ።."

fol. 5r:

1. 
2. Title: Canon table
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Eusebian Canons VIII, IX, and first half of X
5. Comment:

   The inscription for the eighth Śǝr‛at for the agreement of Luke and Mark reads "፰ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ፡ ሉቃስ፡ ማርቆስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ሳምን፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ።." The inscription for the ninth Śǝr‛at for the agreement of Luke and John reads "፱ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ፡ ሉቃስ፡ ዮሐንስ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ታስዕ፡ ዘኀብሩ፡ ክልኤቱ።." The inscription for the first part of the tenth Śǝr‛at for Matthew alone reads "፲ ዘማቴዎስ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ዓሥር፡ ዘማቴዎስ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡." The inscription for the second part of the tenth Śǝr‛at for Mark alone reads "፲ ዘማርቆስ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ዓሥር፡ ዘማርቆስ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡."

fol. 5v:

1. 
2. Title: Canon table
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Eusebian Canon X, second half
5. Comment:

   The inscription for the third part of the tenth Śǝr‛at for Luke alone reads "፲ ዘሉቃስ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ዓሥር፡ ዘሉቃስ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡." The inscription for the fourth part of the tenth Śǝr‛at for John alone reads "፲ ዘዮሐንስ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡," and ends with "ተፈጸመ፡ ቀመር፡ ዓሥር፡ ዘዮሐንስ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡."

fol. 6r:

1. 
2. Title: Diagram showing how the Four Gospels agree in words
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Comment:

   The inscription reads "ኑባሬ፡ ሥርዓት፡ ዘከመ፡ ኀብሩ፡ አርባዕቱ፡ ወንጌላት፡ ቃላተ፡."

fol. 6v:

1. 
2. Title: Crucifixion, with Christ Represented as Lamb on top of the Cross
3. Form: Full-page miniature

fol. 7r:

1. 
2. Title: Christ's Resurrection, flanked by two women
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Comment:

   The moon and the sun (one of them not giving its light) and the three crosses are depicted at the top.

fol. 7v:

1. 
2. Title: Ascension and Enthronement of Christ
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Faces list of sixty-eight traditional chapters of Matthew (አርእስተ፡ ምንባብ፡ ዘእምወንጌለ፡ ማቴዎስ።)

fol. 9v:

1. 
2. Title: Portrait of the Evangelist Matthew
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Gospel of Matthew (ወንጌል፡ ዘማቴዎስ፡); Incipit: መጽሐፈ፡ ልደቱ፡ ለእግዚእነ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ወልደ፡ ዳዊት፡ ወልደ፡ አብርሃም፡ . . .
5. Comment:

   Under the portrait there is a note regarding the donation of the manuscript "to [the church of] Mary [of] Ṣǝku‛" (ማርያም፡ ጽኩዕ) by "Abba Arkä Śǝllus" (አርከ፡ ሥሉስ፡), in an early eighteenth-century hand.

fol. 79v:

1. 
2. Title: Portrait of the Evangelist Mark
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Gospel of Mark (ወንጌል፡ ዘማርቆስ።); incipit: ቀዳሚሁ፡ ለወንጌለ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ወልደ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በከመ፡ ጽሑፍ፡ ውስተ፡ መጽሐፈ፡ ኢሳዪያስ፡ . . .
5. Comment:

   The inscription on the image names Mark and reads "ቅዱስ፡ ማርቆስ፡."

fol. 123v:

1. 
2. Title: Portrait of the Evangelist Luke
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Gospel of Luke (ወንጌል፡ ዘሉቃስ፡); incipit: እስመ፡ ብዙኃን፡ እለ፡ ወጠኑ፡ ይንግሩ፡ ወይማህሩ፡ በእንተ፡ ግብር፡ ዘአምኑ፡ በላዕሌነ፡ በከመ፡ መሀሩነ፡ እለ፡ ቀደሙነ፡ . . .
5. Comment:

   The inscription on the image names Luke and reads "ሉቃስ፡."

fol. 193v:

1. 
2. Title: Portrait of the Evangelist John
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Gospel of John (ወንጌል፡ ዘዮሐንስ፡ ); incipit: ቀዳሚሁ፡ ቃል፡ ውእቱ፡ ወውእቱ፡ ቃል፡ ኀበ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ውእቱ፡...

The binding is not original.

Bound in Tǝgray, Ethiopia; plain wooden boards, broken and stitched, front and back; chain stitching at four points

Copied by Mäṭre Krǝstos (መጥሬ፡ ክርስቶስ፡) (see colophon, fol. 217v) in Northern Ethiopia, early fourteenth century, based on stylistic analysis and comparanda

Note of donation of the manuscript "to [the church of] Mary [of] Ṣǝku‛" (ማርያም፡ ጽኩዕ) by "Abba Arkä Śǝllus" (አርከ፡ ሥሉስ፡), in an early eighteenth-century hand under the portrait of Matthew (fol. 9v)

Owned by church of St. George at Dabra Ma'ar before 1973

Robert and Nancy Nooter collection (Nooter 20.15), Washington, D.C., until 1996

Alton W. Jones Foundation Acquisition Fund purchase from the Robert and Nancy Nooter Collection, 1996

መጽሐፈ፡ ቅዳሴ። በግዕዝና፡ በአማርኛ። አዲስ፡ አበባ፡ ፲፱፻፶፩፡ ዓመተ፡ ምሕረት። (Mäṣḥafä Qǝddase. bä-Gǝ‘ǝz-ǝnna bä-Amarǝñña. Addis Ababa 1951 EC. = 1958/9 AD.), pp.39-41(parag. 160-175). Used for added prayer, fols. 122v-123r.

Daoud, Marcos and Marsie Hazen. The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church. Cairo: The Egyptian Book Press, 1959, pp. 48-50 (parag. 160-175). Used for added prayer, fols. 122v-123r.

Heldman, Marilyn. "An Early Gospel Frontispiece in Ethiopia." Konsthistorisk Tidskrift, 48, 1979, pp. 107-121.

Novum Testamentum Aethiopice: The Synoptic Gospels. General Introduction. Edition of the Gospel of Mark. Edited by Rochus Zuurmond. Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1989. Edition used for Mark text.

Heldman, Marilyn, Stuart C. Munro-Hay and Roderick Grierson. African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia. Yale University Press, 1993, pp. 130-131.

Vikan, Gary. "Recent Acquisitions: Ethiopian Art at the Walters." 49, No.7. The Walters Monthly Bulletin. 10/1996:cover, fig. 2 (fol. 7r); pp. 2-3.

Novum Testamentum Aethiopice Part III. Edited by Rochus Zuurmond. Harrasowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2001. Edition used for Matthew text - it is clearly a copy of what Zuurmond calls B-Text.

Ethiopian Art: The Walters Art Museum. Third Millennium Publishing, 2001, pp. 96-97, cat. no. 10 (fols. 6v-7r).

Evangelium Iohannis Aethiopicum. Edited by Michael G. Wechsler. Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientaliun, vol. 617, script. aeth. t. 109 (2005).

Principal cataloger: Getatchew Haile, .

Cataloger: Herbert, Lynley

Conservators: Owen, Linda; Quandt, Abigail

Contributors: Bockrath, Diane; Emery, Doug; Isaac, Ephraim; Noel, William; Pizzinato, Riccardo; Tabritha, Ariel; Toth, Michael B.

The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.