Shelfmark |
3850 |
Owning institution |
Biblioteca Palatina, Parma |
Typology |
Codex |
Copying date |
19th century, dated on a paleographical basis. |
Title |
Life and homily on John the Baptist |
Subject |
Hagiography, Liturgy, Poetry. |
Language |
Gǝʿǝz |
Short description of the content |
1. Ff. 3ra–33rb: Gädlä Yoḥannǝs mäṭmǝq (“Life of John the Baptist”, CAe 5768). Introduction: በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ፩አምላክ፡ በስመ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ቀዳማዊ፡ ብሑተ፡ ሕሊና፡ ዘእን[በ]ለ፡ ትማልም፡ ወማዕከላዊ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ዮም፡ ወደኃራዊ፡ ኅቡዓ፡ ፍጻሜ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ጊሠም፡ ብሉየ፡ መዋዕል፡ Incipit: ንዌጥን፡ ገድሉ፡ ለብፁዕ፡ ወለቅዱስ፡ ዮሐንስ፡ ነቢየ፡ ልዑል፡ ወመጥምቀ፡ ቃል። ወን(3vb)ዜኑ፡ ጥንተ፡ ነፈሮ፡ እምጊዜ፡ ፅንሰቱ፡ ወልደ፡ ወዘከመ፡ ልህቀ፡ ውስተ፡ በም፡ እንበለ፡ ይርአይ፡ ሰብአ። 2. Ff. 33rb–50rb: Dǝrsan zädäräsä Yoḥannǝs Afä Wärq bäʾǝntä kǝbrä Yoḥannǝs mäṭmǝq (“Homily by John Chrysostom on the glory of John the Baptist”, CAe 1623). Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ፩አምላክ። ድርሳን፡ ዘቅዱስ፡ ዮሐንስ፡ መጥምቅ፡ ዘደረሰ[፡] (33va) ዮሐንስ፡ አፈ፡ ወርቅ፡ ሊቀ፡ ጳጳሳት፡ ዘሀገረ፡ ቍስጥንጥንያ፡ ዘተናገረ፡ ወበእንተ፡ ክብረ፡ ዮሐንስ፡ መጥምቅ፡ ጸያሔ፡ ፍኖት፡ በከመ፡ ጽሑፍ፡ ውስተ፡ ወንጌለ፡ ማቴዎስ፡ 3. Ff. 50rb–51rb: Hymn to John the Baptist (CAe 2786). Incipit: ሰላም፡ ለከ፡ ወልደ፡ ካህን፡ ካህን፡ ወል[ደ፡] [c. 50va] ኤልሳቤጥ፡ መካን። ወጣኔ፡ ክርስትና፡ ዮሐንስ፡ ሰባኬ፡ ብርሃን፡ በሳሌም፡ ወበሔሮን፡ Subscription: ይትባረክ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ (51rb) ዘአፈጸመኒ፡ በደህና፡ ዐበ{ሳ s.l.}ስም፡ (sic) |
Writing material |
Sheep parchment |
Outer size (included the binding) |
75 x 150 x 45 mm |
Number of folia |
53 |
Blank folia |
– |
Binding |
Two wooden boards covered with blind-tooled leather. Both boards have textile inlays. Three sewing stations. |
Sewing |
Two Z-twisted threads (each thread is S-twisted) of animal origin. |
Sewing pattern |
Bozzacchi B |
Slip case |
– |
Quires |
7 |
Quire marks |
Indicated on the upper inner margin of the first folio of each quire: ff. 11r (፪), 19r (፫), 27r (፬), 35r (፭), 43r (፮). |
Layout |
2 columns. |
Number of lines per column |
16–17 |
Ruling |
Blind ruling, from inside to outside. Lines are written above the ruling. |
Ruling pattern |
Nosnitsin 1 |
Scribe |
Unknown. |
Colophon |
– |
Additional notes |
1. F. 1r: title of the book, written in pencil in Italian, presumably by Antonio Mordini: Gadla Yohannes nabiy (matmeq)”. |
Decoration |
F. 3r: ornamental band (ḥaräg) outlined in black ink and decorated with geometrical motifs and interlaces. |
State of preservation of the binding |
Good. |
State of preservation of the textblock |
Good. |
Provenance and history |
Unknown provenance. The codex was presumably purchased by Mordini in the early 1940s and became part of his private collection in Barga (Lucca). In 1994 the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage bought the Mordini collection, which entered the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma (cf. Fiaccadori, G., 1995, ‘I manoscritti etiopici di Antonio Mordini’. Malacoda 57 (1995), 24–27). |