Pistoia, Martini Et. 2

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Pistoia, Martini Et. 2

Shelfmark

Martini Et. 2 (olim Zanutto 5)

Owning institution

Biblioteca Forteguerriana of Pistoia

Typology

Codex

Copying date

1438 (see the colophon)

Title

Octateuch

Subject

Old Testament

Language

Gǝʿǝz

Short description of the content

Ff. 6ra–40vb: Orit zä-lədät (“Genesis”), CAe 1546.

Incipit: በቀዳሚ፡ ገብረ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ሰማየ፡ ወምድር ሰ፡ ሀለወት፡ እምትካት፡ ወኢታስተርኢ፡ ወምድርሰ፡ ኢኮነ፡ ድልውተ፡ ወጽልመት፡ ወመልዕልተ፡ ቀላይ፡ ወመንፈሰ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ይጼልል፡ መልዕልተ፡ ማይ፡ ወይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ለይኩን፡ ብርሃነ፡ ወኮነ፡ ብርሃነ፡

Ff. 41ra–67vb: Orit zä-ḍäʾat (“Exodus”), CAe 1367.

Incipit: ዝውእቱ፡ አስማቲሆሙ፡ ለደቂቀ፡ እስራኤል፡ እለ፡ ቦኡ፡ ብሔረ፡ ግብጽ፡ ምስለ፡ ያዕቆብ፡ አቡሆሙ፡ ለአሐዱ፡ አሐዱ፡ በበአዕጻዲሆሙ፡ ቦኡ፡ ሮቤል፡ ወስምዖን፡ ወሌዊ፡ ወይሁዳ፡ ወይሳኮር፡ ወዛብሎን፡ ወብንያም። ወዳን፡ ወንፍታሌም፡ ወጋ ድ፡ ወአሴር፡ ወዮሴፍሰ፡ ሀሎ፡ ብሔረ፡ ግብጽ፡ ወኮነት፡ ኵሉ፡ ነፍስ፡ እንተ፡ እም፡ ፸ወ፭

Ff. 68ra–92va: Orit zä-lewawəyyan (“Leviticus”), CAe 1793.

Incipit: ወጸውዖ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ለሙሴ፡ ወተናገሮ፡ እምውስተ፡ ደብተራ፡ ዘመርጡል፡ ወይቤሎ{በሎ}ሙ፡ ለደቂቀ፡ እስራኤል፡ ወአይድዖሙ፡ እመ ቦ፡ ዘአብአ፡ ብእሲ፡ መባእ፡ እምኔክሙ፡ ለእግዚአብሔር፡ እምእንስሳ፡ ወእምነ፡ ላህም፡ ወ ምነ፡ አባግዕ፡ ታበውኡ፡ መባአክሙ፡

Ff. 93ra–125va: Orit zä-ḫwəlqw (“Numbers”), CAe 2075.

Incipit: ወነበቦ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ለሙሴ፡ በገዳም፡ ዘሲ ና፡ በውስተ፡ ደብተራ፡ ዘመርጡል፡ አመርእሰ፡ ሠርቀ፡ ከልርኅ፡ በካልእት፡ ዓመት፡ ዘወፅ ኡ፡ እምድረ፡ ግብጽ፡ ወይቤሎሙ፡ አኀዙ፡ እምጥንቱ፡ ወኆልቍዎሙ፡ ለኵሉ፡ ተዓይኒሆሙ፡ ለ ደቂቀ፡ እስራኤል፡ በበ፡ ነገዶሙ፡ ወበቤተ፡ አበዊሆሙ፡

Ff. 126ra–154vb: Orit zä-dagəm [ḥəgg] (“Deuteronomy”), CAe 2637.

Incipit: ዝውእቱ፡ ዘተናግሮሙ፡ ሙሴ፡ ለኵሉ፡ እስራ ኤል፡ በማዕዶተ፡ ዮርዳኖስ፡ መንገለ፡ ዐረቢሃ። በኀበ፡ ባሕረ፡ ኢርትራ፡ በማእከለ፡ ፋረንጦፌል፡ ወ ሎቦላ፡ ወአውሎን፡ ወዘከሪሴአ። በዐሡር፡ መዋዕል፡ በኮሬብ፡ በፍኖተ፡ ደብር፡ ሰይር፡ እስከ፡ ቃዴ ስ፡ በርኔ፡ ወኮነ፡ አመ፡ ፵ዓም፡ አመ፡ ፲ወ፩ወርኅ፡ አመ፡ ሠርቀ፡ ወርኅ፡

Ff. 155ra–173vb: Orit zä-ʾIyasu (“Joshua”), CAe 1696.

Incipit: ወኮነ፡ እምድኅረ፡ ሞተ፡ ሙሴ፡ ገብረ፡ እግዚ አብሔር፡ ለኢያሱ፡ ወልደ፡ ኔዌ፡ ለለአኩ፡ (sic) ለሙሴ፡ እንዘ፡ ይብል፡ ናሁ፡ ሞተ፡ ሙሴ፡ ቍል ዔየ፡ ወይእዜኒ፡ ተንሥእ፡ ወዕድዎ፡ ለዝንቱ፡ ዮርዳኖስ፡ አንተ፡ ወኵሉ፡ ሕዝብ፡ ውስተ፡ ምድር፡ እንተ፡ እሁበክሙ፡ አነ፡ ለክሙ፡ ለደቂቀ፡ እስራኤል፡ ኵሉ፡ መካን፡ ኀበ፡ ኬደት፡ እገሪክሙ፡ ለክ ሙ፡ እሁበክሙ።

Ff. 174ra–192vb: Orit zä-mäsafənt (“Judges”), CAe 1700.

Incipit: ወኮነ፡ እምድኅረ፡ ሞተ፡ ኢያሱ፡ ወተስእሉ፡ ደቂቀ፡ እስራኤል፡ እንዘ፡ ይብሉ፡ መኑ፡ የዐርግ፡ ለነ፡ ኀበ፡ ከናኔዎን፡ መልአክ፡ ዘይትቃተሎሙ፡ ለነ። ወይቤሎ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ለይሁዳ፡ ይዕርግ። ወናሁ፡ አግባእክዋ፡ ለምድር፡ ውስተ፡ እዴሁ፡ ወይቤሎ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ለስምዖን፡ እኁሁ፡ ዕርግ፡ ምስሌየ፡ በውስተ፡ መክፈልትየ፡

Ff. 194ra–195rb: Orit zä-Rut (“Ruth”), CAe 2229.

Incipit: ወኮነ፡ በመዋዕለ፡ ይኴንኑ፡ መሳፍንት፡ መጽ አ፡ ረኀብ፡ ውስተ፡ ብሔር፡ ወሖረ፡ አሐዱ፡ ብእሲ፡ እምነ፡ ቤተ፡ ልሔም፡ ዘይሁዳ፡ ከመ፡ ይንበ ር፡ ውስተ፡ ሞአብ፡ ውእቱ፡ ወብእሲቱ፡ ወደቂቁ፡ ወስሙ፡ ለውእቱ፡ ብእሲ፡ አቢሜሌክ፡ ወአስማ ተ፡ ደቂቁ፡ ክልኤቱ፡ መሐሎን፡ ወኬሌዎን፡ ኤፍራታዊያን፡ እምነ፡ ቤተ፡ ልሔም፡ ዘይሁዳ፡ ወመ ጽኡ፡ ውስተ፡ ሐቅለ፡ ሞአብ፡ ወነበረ፡ ህየ። =።

Writing material

Sheep parchment

Outer size (included the binding)

470 x 340 x 116 mm

Outer size of the textblock

462 x 339 x 95 mm

Number of folia

195

Blank folia

ff. 1r–5r, 195v

Binding

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

Sewing

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

Sewing pattern

Bozzacchi A

Slip case (maḫdär)

–

Quires

Quire marks

Quires are numbered with Ethiopian numerals in black ink on the upper or lower inner margin of the first and last folio of each quire: ፩ (f. 13v, lower margin), ፪ (f. 14r, upper margin), ፪ (f. 21v, lower margin), ፫ (f. 22r, upper margin), ፫ (f. 29v, lower margin), ፬ (f. 30r, upper margin), ፬ (f. 37v, lower margin), ፭ (f. 38r, in alto), ፭ (f. 45v, lower margin), ፮ (f. 46r, upper margin), ፮ (f. 53v, lower margin), ፯ (f. 54r, upper margin), ፯ (f. 61v, lower margin), ፰ (f. 62r, upper margin), ፰ (f. 67v, lower margin), ፱ (f. 68r, upper margin), ፱ (f. 75v, lower margin), ፲ (f. 76r, upper margin), ፲ (f. 83v, lower margin), ፲፩ (f. 84r, upper margin), ፲፩ (f. 89v, lower margin) ፲፪ (f. 90r, upper margin), ፲፪ (f. 92v, lower margin, partially illegible), ፲፫ (f. 93r, from here onwards on the upper margin), ፩ (f. 100v), ፪ (f. 101r), ፫ (f. 109r), ፬ (f. 116v), ፬ (f. 117r), ፭ (f. 124v), ፭ (f. 125r), ፬ (f. 126v), ፬ (f. 127r), ፮ (f. 132v), ፮ (f. 133r), ፯ (f. 140v), ፯ (f. 141r), ፰ (f. 148v), ፰ (f. 149r), ፱ (f. 156v), ፱ (f. 157r), ፲ (f. 164v), ፲ (f. 165r)

Text area

353 x 115/118 mm (margins: top 45, bottom 67, left 24, right 73, intercolumn 26 mm). Data from f. 97r

Layout

Number of lines per column

36 (30 in the incipit pages)

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

Mälkä Ṣedeq (ff. 93r–173v), Ṗawlos (ff. 5v–92va, 174ra–195rb)

Rubrication

The incipit lines of all texts, alternating with black lines, and the incipit lines of the inner sections of the texts; the caption of the miniature; some of the marginal notes indicating liturgical occasions on which a given section should be recited; the subscriptiones of Leviticus, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth; numerals; elements of the interpunction, text dividers and caesura signs, quire marks

Colophon

F. 195rb: ተፈጸመ፡ ኦሪት፡ ዘሩት። ወተጽሐፈት፡ ዛቲ፡ መጽሐፍ፡ በ፺ዓመተ፡ ምሕረት፡ ወተወጠነት፡ በወር፡ የካቲት፡ ወተፈጸመት፡ በወርኃ፡ ነሐሲ፡ ወንጉሥነ፡ ዘርአ ያዕቆብ፡ ወጳጳስነ፡ አባ፡ በርተሎሜዎስ። ወዘአፅሐፈ፡ አቡነ፡ ገብረ፡ ማርያም፡ ይጽሐፍ፡ ስሞ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ኀበ፡ ዓምደ፡ ወርቅ፡ በቀለመ፡ ዕንቍ፡ ውስተ፡ ኢየሩሳሌም፡ ሰማያዊት፡ ምስለ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ ደቂቁ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን። ኆልቍ፡ ወዘዳግም፡ ሕግ፡ ወዮሴዕ፡ መልከ፡ ጼዴቅ፡ ጸሐፈ፡ ወዘካልኣንሰ፡ አነ፡ ጳውሎስ፡ ለእመቦ፡ ዘወሰክነ፡ ወዘከፈልነ። እመሂ፡ በአእምሮ፡ ወእመሂ፡ በኢያእምሮ፡ ስረዩ፡ ወባርኩነ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን። ወለሰረሕተ፡ ብራና፡ በርክዎሙ፡ እስመ፡ ጸመዉ፡ ብዙኃ። “This book was written in the year of mercy […]. It was begun in the month of Yäkkatit and finished in the month of Näḥase, while our king was Zärʾa Yaʿqob and metropolitan Abba Bärtälomewos, and the one who had it written was Abunä Gäbrä Maryam. May the Lord write his name on a golden pillar with a jeweled ink in the Heavenly Jerusalem, together with all his [spiritual] children, forever and ever, amen. Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua were written by Mälkä Ṣedeq, and the rest [I wrote] I, Ṗawlos. If we have added or taken away anything, knowingly or unknowingly, forgive us and bless us, forever and ever, amen. Bless those who produce the parchment, for they have worked hard.” The colophon mentions Gäbrä Maryam as the commissioner of the manuscript, and Mälkä Ṣedeq and Ṗawlos as the scribes

Additional notes

F. 4v: “4 Maggio 1931 A. IX. Questo codice consta di 195 carte, delle quali sono bianche le cc. 1–4, 5a e 195b. È ornata con 3 figure umane (stanti) la c. 5b, con fregio marginale superiore e con ornamenti ai margini laterali e nello spazio fra le 2 colonne di scrittura sono ornate le cc. 6a, 41a, 93a, 126a, 155a, 174a e 193a”. The note was written in Italian in pencil by Quinto Santoli (1875–1959), librarian of the Forteguerriana; it is dated 4 May 1931.
F. 195rb: Ṣälotä haymanot (“Prayer of faith”, Cae 3308) or Nicene Creed. Incipit: ጸሎተ፡ ሀይማኖት፡ ነአምን፡ በ፩አምላክ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ አብ፡ አሀዜ፡ ኵሉ፡ አለም፡ ገባሬ፡ ሰማያት፡ ወመድር፡ ዘይሬኢ፡ ወዘኢወበ (sic)

Decoration

F. 5v: Full-page coloured miniature depicting Moses with the tablets of the Law, together with Joshua and Aron. The miniature was executed by the same scribe Ṗawlos according to the caption below: ዘአሥዐለ፡ አቡነ፡ ገብረ[፡] ማርያም፡ ወዘሠዓልክዎ፡ አነ፡ ጳውሎስ፡. On the miniature, see Fiaccadori G. 1993. ‘Bisanzio e il regno di ˒Aksum. Sul manoscritto Martini etiop. 5 della Biblioteca Forteguerriana di Pistoia’. Bollettino del Museo Bodoniano di Parma 7 (1993), pp. 161–199; Fiaccadori G., 1994. “Prototipi miniati dell’Ottateuco etiopico”, Bollettino del Museo Bodoniano di Parma 8 (1994), pp. 69–102.
Coloured ḥaräg-bands decorate the incipit pages of each text (ff. 6r, 41r, 68r, 93r, 126r, 155r, 174r, 194r)

State of preservation of the binding

Discrete. The manuscript has been restored

State of preservation of the textblock

Discrete. The manuscript has been restored

Provenance and history

According to the predominant interpretation of the colophon, the manuscript was produced between February and July 1438 (i.e. year of mercy 90), at the time of king Zärʾa Yaʿqob (r. 1434–1468) and metropolitan Bärtälomewos, in tenure between 1399 and the 1430s. The manuscript was probably produced in the monastery of Däbrä Sǝqwǝrt (Säḥart, Tǝgray; cf. Fiaccadori 1993: 163–64). It came into possession of governor Ferdinardo Martini between 1897 and 1907 and was later acquired by the Biblioteca Forteguerriana between 1930 and 1931. It is mentioned in Zanutto S., 1932. Bibliografia etiopica, in continuazione alla «Bibliografia etiopica» di G. Fumagalli, II: Manoscritti etiopici (Roma, 1932), pp. 81–84. It was first catalogued in Lusini G., 2002. ‘I Codici Etiopici del Fondo Martini nella Biblioteca Forteguerriana di Pistoia’. Aethiopica 5 (2002), pp. 156–176. A detailed description of the manuscript is in Lusini G. et al., 2024. Pistoia, Biblioteca Forteguerriana, Martini etiop. 2, Ottateuco. CaNaMEI Reports, 5 (Napoli, 2024)