Shelfmark

3834 (olim Mordini 104)

Owning institution

Biblioteca Palatina, Parma

Typology

Codex

Copying date

16th century, dated on a paleographical basis.

Title

Visions and ascetic councils of Abba Näbyud of Däbrä Sǝnhat

Subject

Monastic literature

Language

Gǝʿǝz

Short description of the content

Ff. 1ra–118rb: Zätänäbbäyä Abba Näbyud zäDäbrä Sǝnhat (“Visions and ascetic councils of Abba Näbyud of Däbrä Sǝnhat

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ … ዘተነበየ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ወብፁዕ፡ አቡነ፡ አባ፡ ነብዩድ፡ መነኮስ፡ ዘድብረ፡ ስንሀት፡ ጸሎቱ፡ ወበረከቱ፡ … ወዝንቱ፡ ኄር<፡> ወፈራሄ፡ እግ(1rb)ዚኣብሔር፡ እምንእሱ፡ ዘኀይወ፡ ውስተ፡ ምኔተ፡ መነኮሳት፡ እምከመ<፡> ኀደገ፡ ጥበ፡ እሙ፡ ፶ወ፫፡ ዓመት፡ ወከፈሎ፡ ይርአይ፡ ዘበሰማያት፡ ወዘበምድር።

Writing material

Sheep parchment

Outer size (included the binding)

146 x 125 x 70 mm

Outer size of the textblock

148 x 122 x 62 mm

Number of folia

125 (I–IV + 118 + Iʹ–IIIʹ)

Blank folia

Iv–IIIv, IVv, 118v, Iʹr–IIIʹv

Binding

Originally two wooden boards (the back board is missing), originally covered with leather (remains on the upper inner side of the front board. Four sewing stations.

Sewing

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

Sewing pattern

Bozzacchi A5

Slip case

–

Quires

17 (15 + 1 initial and 1 final protective quires)

Quire marks

–

Layout

2 columns.

Number of lines per column

18–19

Ruling

Blind ruling, from inside to outside.

Lines are written above the ruling.

Ruling pattern

Nosnitsin 1

Scribe

Unknown

Colophon

–

Additional notes

1. F. Ir: the title of the book is indicated in pencil in Italian, presumably by the hand of Antonio Mordini, “Nabyud di Dabra Sanhat. Apocalissi”.

2. F. IVr: ownership note written in a recent untrained hand: ዛቲ፡ መጽሐፍ፡ ዘማርያም፡ ጒንድጒንዴ፡ ምዕራገ፡ ጸሎት፡ ደብረ፡ ቅዱሳን፡. The note informs that the book belongs to the church of Mary in G^wǝndǝg^wǝnde, i.e. Gundä Gunde.

State of preservation of the binding

Mediocre.

State of preservation of the textblock

Mediocre.

Provenance and history

The ownership note states that the book was part of the monastic library of Gundä Gunde. The book is mentioned by Antonio Mordini in the inventory list of the books of Gundä Gunde (Mordini, A., 1953. ‘Il convento di Gunde Gundiè’, Rassegna di Studi Etiopici, 12, 29–70, p. 53 n. 9).

The manuscript was 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 collection, which until then had remained the property of the family of Antonio Mordini, who had died in 1975. The collection then entered the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma (cp. Fiaccadori, G., 1995, ‘I manoscritti etiopici di Antonio Mordini’. Malacoda 57 (1995), 24–27).