Shelfmark

Zanasi-Li Volsi 7

Inventory number

–

Owning institution

Private collection of Giuseppina Zanasi, Rome

Typology

Accordion book

Copying date

20^th century, dated on a paleographical basis.

Title

Collection of prayers and sälam-hymns to the Cross

Subject

Prayers; Hymn

Language

Gǝʿǝz

Short description of the content

Pp. 3–8: Aʿattǝb wäʾǝtnäśśaʾ (“I make the sign of the cross and rise up”, hymn to God)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … አአትብ፡ ወእትነሣእ፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ፫ተ፡ አስማተ፡ ነሢእየ፡ እትመረጐዝ፡ እመኒ፡ ወደቁ፡ እትነሣእ፡ ወእመኒ፡ ሖርኩ፡ ውስተ፡ ጽልመት፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ያበርህ፡ ሊተ፡ በእግዚአብሔር፡ ተወከልኩ።

Pp. 8–13: Mäsqäl bǝhil mälʿǝltä k^wǝllu nägär (Praise to the Cross)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … መስቀል፡ ብሂል፡ መልዕልተ፡ ኵሉ፡ ነገር፡ መስቀል፡ ሐፁር፡ ወጥቅም፡ መስቀል፡ ነሳቴ፡ ፀር፡ መስቀል፡ ለቤተ፡ ክርስቲያን፡ ዓምዳ፡ ወድዳ፡ መስቀል፡ ለቢተ፡ ክርስቲያን፡

Pp. 13–22: Aminyä kiyahu ǝsäbbǝk bäḫaylä mäsqälu ǝnzä ǝbǝl hale luya (“Having faith in Him, I preach the power of the Cross saying ‘hallelujah’”, hymn to the Cross)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ፫አስማተ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን። አሚንየ፡ ኪያሁ፡ እሰብክ፡ በኃይለ፡ መስቀሉ፡ እንዘ፡ እብል፡ ሃሌ፡ ሉያ፡ መስቀል፡ እምነቱየ፡ መስቀል፡ ብርሃንየ፡ መስቀል፡ ተስፋየ፡ መስቀል፡ ረድኤትየ፡ ሃሌ፡ ልያ፡

P. 22: Sador alador danat adera rodas (“Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas”, i.e. names of the wounds of Christ, protective text)

Full text: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ሳዶር፡ አላዶር፡ ዳናት፡ አዴራ፡ ሮዳስ፡ በዝንቱ፡ አስማት፡ ቅንዋቲከ፡ አማኅፀንኩ፡ ነፍስየ፡ ወሥጋየ፡ ብእሲትየ፡ ወወሉድየ፡ ወእንስሳየ፡ ከመ፡ ኢይቅረበኒ፡ እኩይ፡

Pp. 22–24: Ḫabekä Ǝgziʾo anqaʿdoku näfsǝyä zätǝnäbbǝr wǝstä sämay (“To you, o Lord, I turn my soul that dwells in heaven”, hymn to the Lord, beginning with Ps 24:1).

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ኀቤከ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አንቃዕዶኩ፡ ነፍስየ፡ ዘትነብር<፡> ውስተ፡ ሰማይ፡ ኦመስቀል፡ ወከመ፡ ዓይነ፡ አግብርት፡ ውስተ<፡> እደ፡ አጋዕዝቲሆሙ።

Pp. 24–31: Kʷǝllomu śärawitä mälaʾǝkt yǝsebbǝḥǝwwo lämäsqäl (“All hosts of the angels praise the Cross”, hymn to the Cross).

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ኵሎሙ፡ ሠራዊተ፡ መላእክት፡ እለ፡ ብዙኃት፡ አዕይንቲሆሙ፡ ወእለ፡ ፮ክነፊሆሙ፡ ይሴብሕዎ፡ ለመስቀል። ሱራፌል፡ ወኪሩቤል፡ እለ፡ ልዑላን፡ በነበልባል፡ ኃይል፡ ይሴብሕዎ፡ ለመስቀል፡

Pp. 31–34: Mäsqäl ǝsmä mǝśṭir yǝssebbaḥ wäyǝʾtakk^wät mäsqäl bäʾamsalä betä krǝstiyan (“Cross, that is the Mystery is praised and glorified, Cross in the likeness of the church”, hymn to the Cross)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … መስቀል፡ እስመ፡ ምሥጢር፡ ይሴባሕ፡ ወይትአኰት፡ መስቀል፡ በአምሳለ፡ ቤተ፡ ክርስቲያን፡ ማዕዘን፡ ወአፍረየ፡ ሠናየ፡ እለ፡ አብቈለ፡ ሥከ፡ ወአሜከላ፡ መስቀል፡ ክቡር፡ ገብር፡

Pp. 34–42: Sälam läŚǝllus Qǝddus aḫaze k^wǝllu ʿaläm wäzäʾiyǝtmäwwaʾ läḍärr (“Salutation to the Holy Trinity, ruler of all the world and undefeated by the enemy”, hymn to the Cross)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ሰላም፡ ለሥሉስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ አኃዜ፡ ኵሉ፡ ዓለም፡ ወዘኢይትመዋዕ፡ ለፀር። ሰላም፡ ለአብ፡ ለፈጣሬ፡ ኵሉ፡ ዓለም፡ ሰላም፡ ለሥሉስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ለአኃዜ፡ ኃይል።

Pp. 42–48: Ǝgziʾabǝḥer zätäsäqlä bäqǝddusan yǝtqeddäs wäʾǝmḫabä mälaʾǝkt yǝtweddäs (“God who was crucified is sanctified among the saints and praised from the angels”)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘተሰቅለ፡ በቅዱሳን፡ ይትቄደስ፡ ወእምኀበ፡ መላእክት፡ ይትዌደስ፡ ዘበድማሬ፡ ይሤለስ፡ ሎቱ፡ ስብሐት፡ እስከ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን። ግነዩ፡ ለእግዚአብሔር

Pp. 48–52: Qǝddus Ǝgziʾabǝḥer qǝddus ḫayyal qǝddus ḥǝyaw zäʾiyǝmäwwǝt zätäwäldä ǝmMaryam (“Holy God, holy, mighty, living, immortal, begotten by Mary”, supplication to the Lord)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ቅዱስ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ቅዱስ፡ ኃያል። ቅዱስ፡ ሕያው፡ ዘኢይመውት፡ ዘተወልደ፡ እማርያም፡ እምቅድስት፡ ድንግል፡ ተሣሃለነ፡ እግዚኦ።

Pp. 53–59: Mäsqäl mǝḥrät wäśahl wäqǝddus ḫayyal omäsqäl (“Cross, mercy, compassion, holy, mighty, o Cross”, hymn to the Cross)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … መስቀል፡ ምሕረት፡ ወሣህል፡ ወቅዱስ፡ ኃይል፡ ኦመስቀል፡ ምሕረት፡ ወሰላም፡ ወቅዱስ፡ ኃይል፡ መስቀል፡ ታው፡ ለትቅረብ፡ ስእለትየ፡ ኀቤከ፡ እግዚኦ።

Pp. 60–63: Awlogǝyos geryos Iyäsus Krǝstos agyos manṭos (“Blessed Lord [cp. Gr. κύριος] Jesus Christ, holy [cp. Gr. ἅγιος], manṭos” hymn to the Lord)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … አውሎግዮስ፡ ጌርዮስ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ አግዮስ፡ ማንጦስ፡ እምኀበ፡ መላእክት፡ ተአኵተ፡ ፍሬ፡ ስብሐት፡ ሠረፀ፡ እምኀበ፡ አቡሁ፡ ሎቱ፡ እስከ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን።

Pp. 64–71: Wäld ǝḫuyä wärädä wǝstä gännät (“The son, my brother, descended in Paradise”)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ወልድ፡ እኁየ፡ ወረደ፡ ውስተ፡ ገነት፡ ወወስተ፡ ቤተ፡ አፈዋተ፡ ገነት። ገነት፡ ብሂል፡ ውስተ፡ ርስቶሙ፡ ለጻድቃን፡ መስቀል፡ ሶበ፡ ይሴባሕ፡

Pp. 71–78: Alfa wäʾo wǝʾǝtu qädamawi wäwǝʾǝtu däḫarawi (“The Alpha and the O[mega]: He is the First and He is the Last”)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … አልፋ፡ ወኦ፡ ውእቱ፡ ቀዳማዊ፡ ወውእቱ፡ ደኃራዊ፡ በመስቀሉ፡ ይትፌሣሕ፡ ሰማይ፡ ወበመስቀሉ፡ ይመውዖ፡ ለኵሉ፡ መስቀል፡ መልዕልተ፡ ኵሉ፡ ነገር።

Pp. 78–83: Nahu yǝhub qalo qal ḫayl habu akk^wätetä läʾƎgziʾabǝḥer (“Here He speaks with might voice, give thanks to God”, hymn to the Lord, beginning with Ps 67:37).

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ናሁ፡ ይሁብ፡ ቃሎ፡ ቃለ፡ ኃይል፡ ሀቡ፡ አኮቴተ፡ ለእግዚአብሔር፡ ላዕለ፡ እስራኤል፡ ዓቢይ፡ ስብሐቲሁ፡ ወኃይሉሂ፡ እስከ፡ ደመናት፡ መንክር፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በላዕለ፡ ቅዱሳኒሁ።

Pp. 83–86: Hedraʾel Hedraʾel qalä Ǝgziʾabǝḥer qal nǝṣuḥ (“Hedraʾel, Hedraʾel, the words of God are pure words”, hymn to God, cp. Ps 11:7)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ሄድራኤል፡ ሄድራኤል፡ ሄድራኤል፡ ቃለ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ቃል፡ ንጹሕ። ርሱን፡ ቃልከ፡ ፈድፋደ፡ መስቀል፡ ሞዖ፡ ለሞት፡ መስቀል፡ ብርሃኑ፡ ለፀሐይ፡ መስቀል፡ ሥኑ፡

Pp. 86–93: Wǝstä ǝdeka amaḥḍänku näfsǝya wäśǝgayä bäk^wǝllu gize (“In your hands I entrusted my soul and my body at all times”, hymn to the Cross)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ውስተ፡ እዴከ፡ አማኅፀንኩ፡ ነፍስየ፡ ወሥጋየ፡ በኵሉ፡ ጊዜ፡ ወበኵሉ፡ ሰዓት፡ ተሕየወኒ፡ ነፍስየ፡ ወንሴብሕከ፡ ወይርድአኒ፡ ኵነኔ፡ ዚአከ፡ መስቀል፡ ለድውያን፡ ፈውስ።

Pp. 93–96: Iyosedeq liqä kahǝnatihu läʾƎgziʾabǝḥer bäkämä śimätu läMälkä Ṣedeq (“Iyosedeq, High Priest of the of God, in the order of Melchizedek”, cp. Heb 7:17, hymn to the Cross)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ኢዮሴዴቅ፡ ሊቀ፡ ካህናቲሁ፡ ለእግዚአብሔር፡ በከመ፡ ሢመቱ፡ ለመልከ፡ ጼዴቅ፡ እስመ፡ ኵሉ፡ ግብሩ፡ በምሥጢር፡ ይሴባሕ፡ እስመ፡ ተበዓለ፡ ቦሙ፡ መልዕልተ፡ መስቀሉ፡

Pp. 96–98: Nahu śǝnnay wänahu Addam wäqomä maʾkälomu (“Here the virtuous Adam, and he stood among them”, supplication to the Cross)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ናሁ፡ ሥናይ፡ ወናሁ፡ አዳም፡ ወቆመ፡ ማዕከሎሙ፡ ወተለዓለ፡ በክንፍ፡ ወጸለሎሙ። በመስቀሉ፡ አሥረፀ፡ አዕጹቀ፡ መስቀል፡ አንቀዓ፡ ደመ፡ ወማየ፡ እምገቦሁ፡

Pp. 98–99: Qalä Ǝgziʾabǝḥer qal nǝṣuḥ wäbämäsqälu gäbrä mädanitä (“The words of God are pure words, and through His Cross He gave salvation”, hymn to Jesus Christ, cp. Ps 11:7)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ቃለ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ቃል፡ ንጹሕ፡ ወበመስቀሉ፡ ገብረ፡ መድኃኒተ፡ ቃለ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በከመ፡ ፈትሖ፡ ሙቁሐነ፡

Pp. 99–101: Alfa wäʾo konä qädamawi wäwǝʾǝtu däḫrawi (“The Alpha and the O[mega]: He was the First and He is the Last”)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … አልፋ፡ ወኦ፡ ኮነ፡ ቀዳማዊ፡ ወውእቱ፡ ዳኅራዊ፡ ዘአልቦቱ፡ ጥንት፡ ወኢተፍጻሜት፡ ዘቢዓይ፡ በትኬንዎቱ፡ ወኃይል፡ በምግባሩ፡ ዘህልው፡ ውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡

P. 101: Taw lätǝqräb sǝʾlätǝyä ḫabekä Ǝgziʾo bäʿǝḍä mäsqälkä rǝdʾani (“Tau, may my invocation come to you, o Lord, help me with the wood of your Cross”, short supplication to the Lord, beginning with Ps 118:169)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ታው፡ ለትቅረብ፡ ስእለትየ፡ ኃቤከ፡ እግዚኦ፡ በዕፀ፡ መስቀልከ፡ ርድአኒ፡ በዕፀ፡ መስቀልከ፡ ከልለኒ፡ በዕፀ፡ መስቀልከ፡ ዕቀበኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ ወአማኅፀንኩ፡ ነፍስየ፡ ወሥጋየ፡ አነ፡

Pp. 101–102: Sador alador danat adera rodas (“Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas”, short text on the Crucifixion)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ሳዶር፡ አላዶር፡ ዳናት፡ አዴራ፡ ሮዳስ፡ በዕለተ፡ አርብ፡ ሶበ፡ ጸራኅኩ፡ አነ፡ አንቀልቀልኩ፡ ዓለም፡ ወተሠጠ፡ መንጦላዕተ፡ ምኵራብ፡ በኃይለ፡ መስቀልከ፡ ሰጥጥ፡ መጽሐፈ፡ ዕዳየ፡

Pp. 106–107: Ǝgziʾo mǝḥrätkä laʿlenä näfsǝnä yǝmṣaʾ (“O Lord, may your mercy come upon our souls”, short supplication to the Lord)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … እግዚኦ፡ ምሕረትከ፡ ላዕሌነ፡ ነፍስነ፡ ይምጻእ፡ ሣህልከ፡ ዘያስተፈሥሐ፡ ልብነ፡ በወልታ፡ መስቀልከ፡ ከልለኒ፡ በምስቀልከ፡ ዕቀበኒ፡ በኃይለ፡ መስቀሉ፡ ለእግዚእነ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡

Pp. 107–112: Agyon agyos manṭon manṭos … əllontä haymanot aʾammən (“Holy holy [cp. Gr. ἅγιος] manṭon manṭos … to this faith I believe”, creed and hymn)

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … አግዮን፡ አግዮስ፡ ማንጦን፡ ማንጦስ፡ ጥንዋ፡ ማንጦን፡አሜን። እሎንተ፡ ሃይማኖት፡ አአምን፡ በ፩አምላክ፡ እንዘ፡ ፩ዱ፡ ፫ቱ፡ ወእንዘ፡ ፫ቱ፡ ፩ዱ፡ ዘኢይትፈለጥ፡ ወዘኢይትሌለይ፡ አኃዜ፡ ዓለም፡

Writing material

Parchment

Outer size (included the binding)

65 x 55 x 25 mm

Outer size of the textblock

65 x 53 (single page) / 3455 (total length) x 23 mm

Number of strips

5

Number of folia

66

Blank folia

Pp. 1–2, 67–68, 114–131.

Binding

Two wooden boards. The spine is uncovered. Two sewing stations.

Sewing

Two S-twisted threads (each thread is Z-twisted), made of green cotton.

The thread passes twice through the two sewing stations and is bound with two knots.

Slip case

–

Layout

1 column

Number of lines per column

12–15

Ruling

Blind ruling, from the flesh side to the hair side. Blind pricking, from the flesh side to the hair side. Lines are written above the ruling.

Ruling pattern

Nosnitsin 1.

Scribe

Unknown

Colophon

–

Additional notes

1. Pp. 112–113: a short supplication against the diseases caused by the demons is added in red ink by a less trained hand. The text reads as follows: ዕቀባ፡ ወአድኅና፡ ወፈውሳ፡ እምሕማመ፡ ባርያ፡ ወሌጌዎን፡ እምሕማመ፡ ዓይነ፡ ጥላ፡ ወዓይነ፡ ወርቅ፡ ዓይነ፡ ፈለሻ፡ ቡዳ፡ ወቁመኛ፡ ላቲ፡ ለአመትከ፡ [….]፡ ሥላሴ።. The name of the supplicant [….] Śǝllase (most probably Askalä Śǝllase) is partly illegible due to erasure of the last line. Another name (most probably that of Wälättä Maryam), written in red ink and encircled in a frame, has been erased at the top of the supplication.

Decoration

A cross is drawn in red ink at the end of the additional note.

Individuals mentioned in the MS

The name of an individual, a certain Wälättä Maryam, is mentioned in several supplication formulas (e.g. pp. 5, 7, 13). Her name has been replaced throughout the book by that of Askalä Śǝllase. Both probably owned the book at different times.

State of preservation of the binding

Discrete.

State of preservation of the textblock

Good.

Provenance and history

Unknown provenance.

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