Pistoia, Martini Et. 1

Shelfmark

Martini Et. 1 (olim Zanutto 1)

Owning institution

Biblioteca Forteguerriana of Pistoia

Typology

Codex

Copying date

19th century, dated on a paleographic basis

Title

Historical and chronological texts

Language

Gǝʿǝz

Short description of the content

Ff. 2ra–58va: Chronological computations and tables on the several calendric cycles.

Incipit (f. 4ra): ሐሳበ፡ ክንትሮስ፡ ክንትሮስሰ፡ ፩ዘከፈልዎ፡ ለ፩ሰዓት፡ ኀበ፡ ፴ውእቱ፡ ወለ፩ዕለት፡ ኀበ፡ ፫፻ወ፷ክፍል፤ አመ፡ ፴ሁ፡ ለመስከረም፡ ይትዔረይ፡ መዓልት፡ ምስለ፡ ሌሊት፡

F. 58ra–vb: List of kings of Ethiopia.

Incipit: ዓመታተ፡ ነገሥታተ፡ አክሱም፡ እለ፡ ነግሡ፡ በኢትዮጵያ፡ ዘአርዌ፡ ዓመት፡ ፬፻ዘብእሴ፡ እንጋቦ፡ ዘሰደዶ፡ ለአርዌ፡ ዓመት፡ ፪፻። ዘግዱር፡ ዘበኑሕ፡ ዓመት፨ ፩፻

F. 58vb: Chronological note on the Aksumite kings of Ethiopia.

Incipit: ዓመታተ፡ ነገሥተ፡ አክሱም፡ እምአርዌ፡ እስከ፡ ናልኬ፡ ነገሥቱ፡ ፲፩ዓመታቲሆሙ፡ ፱፻፸፪ወእምድኅረ፡ ናልኬ፡ ነግሠ፡ ብእሴ፡ ባዜን፡ ዓመት፡ ፲፯።

F. 59ra-vb: Excerpt from the “Chronicle of Giyorgis Wäldä ʿAmid” on the kings of Israel.

Incipit: በስመ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ መሐሪ፡ ወመስተሣህል፡ ንዌጥን፡ ጽሒፈ፡ መጽሐፈ፡ ዘይነግር፡ ኍልቈ፡ ዓመታተ፡ ዓለም፡ ዘአስተጋብአ፡ አብ፡ ክቡር፡ ወትሩፍ፡ ጊዮርጊስ፡ ወልደ፡ አሚድ፡ ዘብሔረ፡ ግብጽ፡ ጸሎቱ፡ የሀሉ፡ ምስሌነ፡ አሜን።

Ff. 59vb–61vb: Compendium of biblical and Christian history until the Solomonic kings.

Incipit: ወእምድኅረ፡ ኮነ፡ ክፍል፡ ዘ፲ነገድ፡ ኢዮርብዓም፡ ወልደ፡ ናባጥ፡ ነግሠ፡ ፳ወ፬ዓመተ፤ ናባጥ፡ ወልዱ፡ ነግሠ፡ ፪ዓመተ፤ በአስ፡ ወልደ፡ አኪያ፡ ነግሠ፡ ፳ወ፬ዓመተ።

F. 61vb: Short chronological note on the Aksumite kings.

The entire text is the following: እምልደተ፡ እግዚእነ፡ እስከ፡ አጽብሐ፡ ወአብርሃ፡ ፪፻፴ወ፭እምአብርሃ፡ ወአጽብሐ፡ እስከ፡ ገብረ፡ መስቀል፡ ወልደ፡ ካሌብ፡ ፻፸ወ፬። እምገብረ፡ መስቀል፡ እስከ፡ መንግሥተ፡ ዛጔ፡ ፪፻፵ወ፬።

Ff. 62rb–63vb: Chronological notes and computations, indicated as Fǝlṭätä ʿǝlätat zä-yǝnäqqǝz wä-zä-ʾi-yǝnäqqǝz.

Incipit: ንጽሕፍ፡ ፍልጠተ፡ ዕለታት፡ ዘይነቅዝ፡ ወዘኢይነቅዝ፡ ቦሙ፡ ዘፈለጡ፡ ወዘከፈልዎሙ፡ ጠቢባን፡ እምአውራኂሆሙ፡ ለዓመት፡ እንዘ፡ ይገዝሙ፡ (62va) ቦሙ፡ ዕፀ፡ ወየዓፅዱ፡ እክለ።

F. 64r: Drawing of the cardinal points, consisting of three concentric circles in red ink. The circular area between the two outer circles is divided internally into eight sections, labelled with the names of the eight cardinal directions.

F. 64v: Drawing of the cardinal points and the Ethiopian regions, consisting of three concentric circles in red ink. The circular area between the two outer circles is divided internally into twelve sections, labelled with the name of twelve Ethiopian region; the circular area between the two inner circles is divided internally into eight sections, labelled with the names of the eight cardinal directions. A central rectangle is labelled “Aksum”.

F. 65ra: Excerpt from the Liber Axumae on the cathedral of Aksum.

Incipit: ከመዝ፡ ኑባሬ፡ ሥርዓታ፡ ለእምነ፡ ጽዮን፡ ገበዘ፡ አክሱም፡ እስከ፡ ፲ወ፭በእመት፡ ኢረከቡ፡ መሠረታ፡ ወጸፍጸፉ፡ ከዲሕ፡ ፯በእመት፡ እምድር፡ እስከ፡ አፈ፡ ጽዮን፡ ወከርሠ፡ ንድቁ፡ ፯በእመት።

Ff. 65ra–66vb: Text closely related to the Śǝrʿatä betä mängǝśt (“Rule of Royal House”).

Incipit: ዝውእቱ፡ መጽሐፈ፡ ዘወሀቦ፡ ሰሎሞ(65rb)ን፡ ንጉሥ፡ ለአብነ፡ ሐኪም፡ ወልዱ፡ ወወሀቦ፡ ሰብአ፡ ሕግ፡ እለ፡ የሐውሩ፡ ምስሌሁ፡ ሀገረ፡ ኢትዮጵያ። ዝውእቱ፡ አስማቲሆሙ።

Ff. 66vb–67va: Lists of Aksumite kings.

Incipit: ዓመታተ፡ ነገሥታተ፡ አክሱም። ዘአርዌ፡ ፬፻ዓመት። ዘብእሴ፡ እንጋቦ፡ ዘሰደዶ፡ ለአርዌ፡ ወቀተሎ፡ ፪፻ዓመት። በግዱር፡ ዘበኑሕ፡ ፻ዓመት፤ ዘሰበጾ፡ በሳዩ፡ ፶ዓመት።

Ff. 67va–68rb: Additional notes on the Aksumite kings.

Incipit: ወዝ፡ ውእቱ፡ ዓመታተ፡ ነገሥተ፡ አክሱም፡ እምአርዌ፡ እስከ፡ናልኴ፡ ፲ወ፩ነገሥት፡ ወዓመታቲሆሙ፡ ፱፻ወ፸ወ፪። ወእምድኅረ፡ ናልኴ፡ ብእሴ፡ ባዜን፡ ፲ወ፯ዓመት፤

F. 68rb-vb: List of the kings of Jerusalem and of Ethiopia.

Incipit: እለ፡ ነግሡ፡ እስራኤል፡ በኢትዮጵያ፡ ዝውእቱ፡ አስማቲሆሙ፡ ፩እብነ፡ እልሐኪም፤ ፪ቶማይ፤ ፫አዝባይ፤ ፬አክሱማይ፤ ፭ተክላይ፤ ፮ሕንቁቃይ።

Ff. 68vb–69va: Genealogy from Adam to king Yaʿqob.

Incipit: ልደተ፡ አበው፡ አዳም፡ ወለዶ፡ ለሴት፡ ወሴት፡ ለሄኖስ፡ ወሄኖስ፡ለቀይናን፡ ወቀይናን፡ ወለዶ፡ ለመላሌል። ወመሳኤል፡ ወለዶ፡ ለያሬድ። ወያሬድ፡ ለሄኖክ፤ ወሄኖክ፡ ወለዶ፡
ለማቱሳላ።

Ff. 69va–74ra: several excerpts from the Liber Axumae on land grants, tax exemptions, historical events of the 14th–16th centuries, and the description of Aksum.

Incipit: በአኰቴተ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ንሕነ፡ እለ፡ አብርሃ፡ ወአጽብሐ፡ ነገሥተ፡ አክሱም፡ ጐለትነ፡ ጕልተ፡ ለገበዘ፡ አክሱም፡ ሐውስታ፡

F. 74ra-b: interpretation of a passage from the Qälemǝnṭos (III, 9, 20).

Incipit: እመጽሐፈ፡ ቀሌምንጦስ፡ ገይን፡ ዘይቤ፡ ጋብዮስ፤ ቃፍ፡ ዘይቤ፡ ቅላውዴዎስ፤ ኖን፡ ዘ፡ አሮን፤ አልድ፡ ዘ፡ አስባስያኖስ፤ ጣ፡ ዘ፡ ጢጦስ፤ ዳል፤ ዘ፤ ድምጥያኖስ፤

Ff. 74rb–74vb: list of Muslim caliphs.

Incipit: ጥያቄ፡ ጥንተ፡ ዕለተ፡ ዘመኖሙ፡ ለተንበላት፡ በዕለተ፡ ሐሙስ፡ አመ፡ ፳ወ፩ለወርኃ፡ ሐምሌ። በ፷፻ወ፩፻ወ፲ወ፬እምዓመተ፡ ዓለም። ፩መሐመድ፤ ፲ወ፬ዓመት። ፪አቡበከር፡ ፪ዓመት፤

Ff. 74vb–76vb: list of the patriarchs of Alexandria.

Incipit: ዝውእቱ፡ ዜና፡ ስሞሙ፡ ለአበዊነ፡ ሊቃነ፡ ጳጳሳት፡ ዘእለ፡ እስክንድርያ፡ ቀ(75ra)ዳሚ፡ ማርቆስ፡ ወንጌላዊ፡ ነበረ፡ በመንበረ፡ ጵጵስና፡ ፯ዓመተ፡ ወ፲ወ፩ወርኃ።

F. 76vb: Protective prayer.

The entire text is the following: ዘነበቦ፡ ለሙሴ፡ ፭፻ወ፹ወ፪ግርማ፡ ምጽአቱ፡ ለእግዚእ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ፯ሺሕ፡ ነጐድጓደ፡ ክረምት፡ ኢይከውን፡ ቃለ፡ ዘአሜሃ፡ እንዘ፡ ይብል፡ ሑሩ፡ እምኔየ፡ ርጉማን፡ ውስተ፡ እሳት።

Ff. 76vb–77ra: excerpt from the Liber Axumae on deeds emanated by king Zärʾa Yaʿqob.

Incipit: ዘሠርዓ፡ ሐፄ፡ ዘርአ፡ ያዕቆብ፡ ዣን፡ ጽጌ፡ ፯አድባራት፡ በበ፡ ፯መነኮሳት። ፩ደምባ፡ ተምቡኽ፤ ፪ጠሪጣ፤ ፬ማይ፡ በራዝየ፤ ፬ክብርቶ፤ ፭ፀዓዳ፡ አምባ፤ ፮ዘለ፡ አንበሳ። ፯ሰቃድርባ፤

Ff. 77ra–78rb: Universal history from Moses to the Byzantine emperor Eraclius.

Incipit: እሉ፡ መሳፍንት፡ ዘእስራኤል፡ ሙሴ፡ ነቢይ፡ ኰነኖሙ፡ ፵ዓመተ። ኢያሱ፡ ኰነኖሙ፡ ፵ዓመት። ጎቶንያል፡ ፶ዓ። ንጉሠ፡ ሞአብ፡ ፲ወ፰ዓ። ናዖድ፡ ፹፤ ሴሜገር፡ ዓ፤

Ff. 78rb–79ra: Genealogy of the Virgin Mary and other notes taken from the Mäṣḥafä Särgis and the Synaxarion.

Incipit: ከመዝ፡ ልደታ፡ ለእግዝእትነ፡ ማርያም፡ ዘተረክበ፡ እመጽሐፈ፡ ሰርጊስ፡ ወሰን(75ra)ክሳር። ቅስራ፡ ወማጣት፡ ወናታን፡ አኃው፡ እሙንቱ። ቅስራ፡ ወለዶ፡ ለኢያቄም፡ አበ፡ እግዝእትነ፡ ማርያም፤

Ff. 79ra–80r: Mäṣḥafä zä-yǝfällǝt lǝsanatihomu lä-80wä1-mäsaḥǝft (“Book of the separation of the languages of the 81 books”).

Incipit: መጽሐፍ፡ ዘይፈልጥ፡ ልሳናቲሆሙ፡ ለ፹ወ፩መጻሕፍት፡ ቀዳሚ፡ አመ፡ ተከፍሉ፡ ፸ወ፪ልሳናት፡ በጽሐቶ፡ ለሴም፡ በብሔረ፡ ጽባሕ፡ እምኢየሩሳለኢም፡ እስከ፡ ምዕራብ።

F. 80rb–va: Prayer entitled Säʾalnakä mäḥari säʾalnakä (“We have asked you, O Merciful One, we have asked you”).

Incipit: ሰአልናከ፡ መሐሪ፡ ሰአልናከ፡ ዘሰአልናከ፡ እንተ፡ ኢትከልእ፡ ወኢትፈልጥ፡ ወኢትሌሊ፡ የማንከ፡ ነቅዓ፡ ሕይወት፤ የማንከ፡ ነቅዓ፡ በረከት፤

Writing material

Sheep parchment

Outer size (included the binding)

245 x 218 x 43 mm

Outer size of the textblock

236 x 217 x 28 mm

Number of folia

81

Blank folia

Ff. 1r-v, 40r, 81v

Binding

Two wooden boards covered with reddish-brown leather. Both boards have textile inlays. The front, back and spine cover are decorated with blind-tooled ornament. Four sewing stations

Sewing

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

Sewing pattern

Bozzacchi A2

Slip case (maḫdär)

The maḫdär consists of two cases, one inside the other. Material: yellow-brownish leather. Size: 275 x 252 x 62 mm Thickness of the leather: ca. 2.15–2.75 mm

Quires

11

Quire marks

Text area

1) Pages with two tables: 192 x 81/82 mm (margins: top 8, bottom 33, left 16, right 30, intercolumn 15 mm). Data from f. 10r. Page with one table: 174 x 178 mm (margins: top 27, bottom 37, left 17, right 29 mm). Data from f. 14r. 2) Text: 177 x 81/83 mm (margins: top 28, bottom 35, left 17, right 30, intercolumn 12 mm). Data from f. 44r

Layout

2 column

Number of lines per column

27

Ruling

Blind ruling, from the flesh side to the hair side. Lines are written above the ruling (pattern Nosnitsin 1)

Ruling pattern

Muzerelle 1-1-11/0/0/C

Scribe

Unknown

Rubrication

Several lines of the incipits of the texts, included subsections; holy names; elements of the interpunction, text dividers, and numerals

Colophon

Additional notes

F. 1r: “27 – 4 – 1931 – IX. Questo codice consta di carte 81, delle quali sono bianche le cc. 1, 39v, 40r e 81”. The note was written in Italian in pencil on 27 April 1931 and is followed by a barely understandable initial, most probably that of the librarian Quinto Santoli (1875–1959), who also wrote similar notes on the first pages of MSS Martini Et. 3, 4

Decoration

State of preservation of the binding

Good

State of preservation of the textblock

Discrete

Provenance and history

The manuscript can be palaeographically dated to the 19th century. It was possibly produced in the area of Aksum, since it hosts textual materials also transmitted in the Liber Axumae (Lusini G., 2002. ‘I Codici Etiopici del Fondo Martini nella Biblioteca Forteguerriana di Pistoia’. Aethiopica 5 (2002), pp. 156–176, here p. 158). The manuscript came into possession of Governor Ferdinardo Martini between 1897 and 1907 and was later acquired by the Biblioteca Forteguerriana between 1930 and 1931. The book is mentioned in Zanutto S., Bibliografia etiopica, in continuazione alla «Bibliografia etiopica» di G. Fumagalli, II: Manoscritti etiopici (Roma, 1932), pp. 81–84. It was first catalogued in Lusini (2002)

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