Parma, Palatina 3852

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Parma, Palatina 3852

Shelfmark

3852

Owning institution

Biblioteca Palatina, Parma

Typology

Codex

Copying date

1943/44, according to the colophon

Title

Hagiographical cycle on King Lalibäla

Subject

Hagiography

Language

Gǝʿǝz

Short description of the content

1. Ff. 1ra–128vb: Hagiographical cycle on King Lalibäla (CAe 1470).

Incipit: በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ፩አምላክ። ሥላሴ፡ ዋህድ፡ ዕሩይ፡ ዘኢይሰደቅ፡ ታሉት፡ ዘኢይነፍድ፡ ዘሀሎ፡ እምቅድም፡ እምክዋኔሁ፡ እንዘ፡ ኢይትበዓድ።

Writing material

Sheep parchment

Outer size (included the binding)

220 x 157 x 56 mm

Number of folia

134 (I–IV + 130)

Blank folia

Ir–IVv, 129r–130v

Binding

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

Sewing

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

Sewing pattern

Bozzacchi A1

Slip case (maḫdär)

Leather case. The leather is light brown. Size: 257 x 210 x 75 mm

Quires

14 (13 + one initial protective quire)

Quire marks

Indicated in black and red ink on the upper margin of the first folio of each quire: ff. 1r (፩,), 11r (፪), 21r (፫), 31r (፬), 41r (፭), 51r (፮), 61r (፯), 71r (፰), 81r (፱), 91r (፲), 101r (፲፩,), 111r (፲፪), 121r (፲፫)

Layout

2 columns

Number of lines per column

18–21

Ruling

Blind ruling, from inside to outside. Lines are written above the ruling

Ruling pattern

Nosnitsin 1

Scribe

Aläqa Wäldä Giyorgis (ff. IVv, 57ra, 118va, 128vb)

Colophon

F. 128vb: “ዝንቱ፡ መጽሐፍ፡ ተጽሐፈ፡ በ፲፻ወ፱፻፴ወ፪ዓመተ፡ ምሕረት፡ በዘመነ፡ ዮሐንስ፡ በወርኃ፡ ታኅሣስ፡ በራብዓይ፡ ዓመተ፡ መንግ[ሥ]ቱ፡ ለአማኑኤል፡ ንጉሠ፡ ሮማ፡ ወኢትዮጵያ፡ discritto: Alaca Uolde Ghiorghis Lalibela”. The colophon states that the manuscript was completed on Taḫśaś 1932 Year of Mercy, i.e. between December 1939 and January 1940, in the fourth year of Amanuʾel (Victor Emmanuel III), Emperor of Rome and Ethiopia. The colophon also mentions the name of the scribe in Latin script

Additional notes

F. IVv: “Uolde Ghiorghis Tecle Micael. Eritrea Segheneiti”. The note is written in black pen in Latin script and mentions the name of the scribe, Wäldä Giyorgis, of another individual (Täklä Mikaʾel) and the name of the place of provenance of the manuscript, i.e. Sägänäyti in Eritrea

Decoration

F. 1r: polychrome ornamental band (ḥaräg)

State of preservation of the binding

Good

State of preservation of the textblock

Good

Provenance and history

According to the colophon on f. 128vb, the manuscript was copied by a certain Aläqa Wäldä Giyorgis (also mentioned on ff. IVv, 57ra, 118va) in Sägänäyti (Eritrea) between December 1939 and January 1940. The scribe was presumably a Catholic Eritrean.

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)