Shelfmark

Zanasi-Li Volsi 1

Owning institution

Private collection of Giuseppina Zanasi, Rome

Typology

Codex

Copying date

19th century

Title

Dawit (Psalter) and hymns

Subject

Old Testament, Prayers, Hymns

Language

Gǝʿǝz

Short description of the content

Ff. 3r–188vb: Dawit (Psalter)

1. Ff. 3r–146r: Mäzmurä Dawit (“Psalms of David”);

2. Ff. 146r–161r: Mäḥalǝyä näbiyat (“Canticles of the Prophets”);

3. Ff. 161r–169v: Mäḥalǝyä mäḥalǝy (“Song of Songs”);

4. Ff. 170ra–182vb: Wǝddase Maryam (“Praise of Mary”);

5. Ff. 182vb–188vb: Anqäṣä bǝrhan (“Gate of Light”).

F. 189ra: Oʾǝgziʾǝyä Iyäsus Krǝstos mäḥaränni oʾǝgziʾǝyä Iyäsus Krǝstos täśahalänni (“O my Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, o my Lord Jesus Christ be gracious to me”, Hymn to Jesus Christ).

Ff. 189ra–190vb: Yǝweddǝsǝwwa mälaʾǝkt läMaryam (“The angels are praising Mary”, Hymn to Virgin Mary, Chaine nr. 388)

Ff. 190vb– 193vb: Bäḥakki Maryam ǝmǝnnä ǝgzǝtǝnä tǝmkǝhtomu anti läzämädǝnä (“Hail Mary, our mother, our Lady, you are the glory of our kin”, Hymn to Virgin Mary, Chaine nr. 243)

Writing material

Goat parchment

Outer size (included the binding)

184 x 159 x 74 mm

Outer size of the textblock

178 x 157 x 52 mm

Number of folia

196

Blank folia

1r–2v

Binding

Two wooden boards covered with reddish-brown leather. Both covers are decorated with blind tooled ornament (a cross and other tools). The spine is uncovered. Four sewing stations.

Sewing

Two Z-twisted threads (each thread is S-twisted) of animal origin.

Sewing pattern

Bozzacchi A4

Slip case

Leather case, externally brown and internally beige; 250 x 165 x 75 mm.

Quires

26 (24 + 1 initial and 1 final protective quire)

Quire marks

–

Layout

1) Ff. 3r–169v: 1 column;

2) Ff. 170ra–193vb: 2 columns.

Number of lines per column

19

Ruling

Blind ruling, from outside to inside.

Lines are written above the ruling.

Ruling pattern

Nosnitsin 1

Scribe

Unknown

Colophon

–

Additional notes

1. F. 189vb: supplication formula, in black and red ink. The name of the supplicant is erased.

2. Ff. 194ra–195vb: unidentified mälkǝʾ-hymn written on two columns in pale black ink. The incipit is missing due to material damage.

3. F. 196r: list of the unlucky days for each month, written in the same hand as the previous text. The text is partly illegible because the right side of the folio has been cut off.

State of preservation of the binding

Decent

State of preservation of the textblock

Fairly good, except for the first and last quires.

Provenance and history

Unknown provenance. The manuscript came into possession of the Zanasi-Li Volsi family at some time in the 20^th century.