Walters Ms. W.784, Ethiopian prayer book Introduction Reading for Monday (zä-Śänuy) Reading for Tuesday (zä-Śälus) Reading for Wednesday (zä-Räbu‛) Reading for Thursday (zä-Ḥamus) Reading for Friday (zä-‛Arb) Reading for Saturday (zä-Qädamit) Reading for Sunday (zä-Ǝḫud) Concluding prayer (Tämaḫṣ́änku) Theology of the Trinity (Zena Nägäromu) ዜና፡ ነገሮሙ፡ Täklä Maryam Principal cataloger Getatchew Haile, . Cataloger Herbert, Lynley Contributor Bockrath, Diane Contributor Emery, Doug Contributor Isaac, Ephraim Contributor Noel, William Contributor Pizzinato, Riccardo Contributor Tabritha, Ariel Contributor Toth, Michael B. Conservator Owen, Linda Conservator Quandt, Abigail The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.

 This twentieth-century Ethiopian prayerbook is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and its miracles, and contains readings for each day of the week. The text might have been composed by Täklä Maryam, whose name appears on fol. 13r. The author felt that the Trinity was not worshipped and celebrated as it should be, not even as much as the martyrs, the angels, and the desert fathers. The manuscript itself was owned by Gäbrä Mika’el (fols. 21v, 52v, and passim). It still retains its double leather satchel, complete with the remains of a carrying strap, which suggests that it may have been taken on pilgrimages. Small bits of colored thread have been attached to the corners of the first folios of the readings, an unusual solution to helping the reader navigate the text. Written in Gǝ'ǝz, Ethiopia's liturgical language, the manuscript appears to have been originally undecorated, with knot work added to the upper margins of the first two readings at a later date. Baltimore The Walters Art Museum W.784 The primary language in this manuscript is Geez. 1r - 78r Theology of the Trinity (Zena Nägäromu) ዜና፡ ነገሮሙ፡ Text is the Story of the Trinity, a devotional work divided into the introduction, seven parts for the seven days of the week, and a concluding prayer; in some manuscripts it is called the Sword of the Trinity, ሰይፈ፡ ሥላሴ፡ (Säyfä Śǝllase). 1r - 5v Introduction በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . ንጽሕፍ፡ ዜና፡ ነገሮሙ፤ በጽሒፍሰ፡ ኢንክል፡ ፈጽሞ፡ አላ፡ በከመ፡ አክሃለነ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ነገረ፡ ውዳሴሆሙሰ፡ ኢይክሉ፡ ሰማይ፡ ወምድር፡ 6r - 14v Reading for Monday (zä-Śänuy) በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . እነቅህ፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . .እትነሣእ፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . አአትብ፡ ገጽየ፡ በትእምርተ፡ መስቀል፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . አአምን፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . .እትመሐፀን፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . ፩አምላክ፡ . . . (continued on fol. 6v) ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በ፫ገጽ፡ ወበ፩መለኮት፡ Included in the reading for Monday: fols. 8r-9v: A salutation (sälam) hymn to the Trinity; fols. 13r-14v: A miracle of the Trinity: the heavenly reward a person who brings an offering in the name of the Trinity would be rewarded; Ten lines from the beginning of the reading for Monday were edited and translated by Débora Lifchitz (bibliography) 15r - 24v Reading for Tuesday (zä-Śälus) 1. : በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . አአትብ፡ ፍጽምየ፡ በመለኮተ፡ ሥሉስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ አአትብ፡ ከዋላየ፡ በመለኮተ፡ ሥሉስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ አአትብ፡ የማንየ፡ በመለኮተ፡ ሥሉስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ . . . (continued on fol. 15v) ከመ፡ ኢትቅርቡኒ፡ ሰይጣናት፡ መናፍስተ፡ ርኩሳን፡ . . . እሰድግ፡ ለአብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ለዘ፩፫፡ Included in the reading for Tuesday: fols. 24r-v: A miracle of the Trinity: how a man of Palestine made beer (mǝzr) for a commemorative feast (täzkar) for the Trinity and how he expelled many demons from the beer (mǝzr) and showed them to the people 25r - 32r Reading for Wednesday (zä-Räbu‛) በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . ኅቡራነ፡ ህልዋን፡ ሥሉስ፡ በተገጽዎ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ በጽማሬ፡ ሥሉስ፡ በሥላሴ፡ ጽሙር፡ Included in the reading for Wednesday: fols. 31r-32r: A miracle of the Trinity: how a governor of Palestine ordered his army to make a commemorative feast (täzkar) for the Trinity, if they wished to live in his country 32v - 41v Reading for Thursday (zä-Ḥamus) በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . በሥላሴ፡ አብ፡ ግጽው፡ ዋሕድ፡ አምላክ፡ ፫አዕማደ፡ ብርሃን፡ ፩አምጣኖሙ፡ ወ፩ስኖሙ፡ ፫መባርቅት፡ ወ፩ንጥረ፡ መለኮት፡ . . . Included in the reading for Thursday: fols. 40v-41v: A miracle of the Trinity: how those who celebrate the feast of the Trinity are taken to the seat of glory and crowned 42r - 52v Reading for Friday (zä-‛Arb) በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . ዓይን፡ (Sic) ልሳን፡ ወዓይ፡ ከናፍር፡ ዘይክል፡ ነቢበ፡ ግብሩ፡ ለሥላሴ፡ Included in the reading for Friday: fols. 45v-51r: A glorification (sǝbḥat) hymn to the Trinity; fols. 51r-52v: A miracle of the Trinity: how they bless with the cross those who read the book of the Trinity and cleanse their sins, and how they defend them from the enemy if they inscribe the name of the Trinity on their faces 53r - 61r Reading for Saturday (zä-Qädamit) በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . ሰላም፡ ለፍቅረ፡ መለኮት፡ በትስብዕቱ፡ ዘጾመ፡ እንበይነ፡ ዚአሁ፡ አርአያሁ፡ ከመ፡ የሀበነ፡ ሰላመ፡ Included in the reading for Saturday: fols. 53r-56v: A salutation (sälam) to the love of the Divinity; fols. 60r-61v: A miracle of the Trinity: how the voice of the Trinity will dominate the whole universe 61v - 69v Reading for Sunday (zä-Ǝḫud) በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . አኃሥሥ፡ ጽድቀ፡ እምኀቤከ፡ ኦቀመረ፡ ጽድቅ፡ አኃሥሥ፡ ጥበበ፡ እምኔከ፡ ኦሙዳየ፡ ጥበብ፡ ኦሥሉስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ Included in the reading for Sunday: fols. 67v-69v: A miracle of the Trinity: how they spoke and ordered the Keeping of the Feast of the Trinity as the annual feast of Easter, and how the faithful obeyed 70r - 78r Concluding prayer (Tämaḫṣ́änku) በስመ፡ አብ፡ . . . ተማኅፀንኩ፡ ብክሙ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ በከመ፡ አተውክሙ፡ ቤተ፡ አብርሃም፡ ከማሁ፡ አዕትውኒ፡ ውስተ፡ መንበርክሙ። ተማኅፀንኩ፡

Heavy, slightly yellowed parchment; colored thread attached to corners of folios to mark the beginnings of readings

 Foliation: iv+8013.1 9.9 8.8 7.0 The last two folios of the manuscript are blank, and have not been foliated, but are integral to the structure of the manuscript; two sets of pencil foliation: one that includes the blank pages, in parenthesis in upper right corners; one that begins foliation on first page of text, below other foliation (used here)

iv, 1(10), 2(10), 3(10), 4(10), 5(10), 6(10), 7(10), 8(10) Quires begin on fols. 1(1), 11(2), 21(3), 31(4), 41(5), 51(6), 61(7), and 71(8)

 Added headpiece, fol. 1r Added winged knot, fol. 6r Undecorated except for possibly added headpiece with interlace design, fol. 1r, and knot with wings in upper margin, fol. 6r; headings in red ink; text in black Knotwork headpiece Theology of the Trinity: Introduction Headpiece

This is a later addition.

 Winged knot Theology of the Trinity: Reading for Monday Marginal decoration

This is a later addition.

Bound between two plain wooden boards, open spine; housed in a mahdar double leather case with strap

 Mid 20th century CE Ethiopia Gäbrä Mika’el, mid twentieth century, ownership inscriptions on fols. 21v, 52v, and passim Gabra Mika'el Wubnah, possibly different from above and third owner, inscription on fol. 71v Museum purchase, 1976 Relevant Works Holbert, Kelly, ed. Ethiopian Art: The Walters Art Museum. Baltimore: Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery, 2001. Haile, Getatchew and William F. Macomber. A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville. Vol. V: Project Numbers 1501-2000. Collegeville, Minnesota: 1981, p. 392. See this for Täklä Maryam. Lifchitz, Débora. Textes éthiopiens magico-religieux, Université de Paris. Travaux et memoires de l'Institut d'Ethnologie, no. 38 (1940), pp. 216-217. See this for Reading for Monday. Art Medicine Museum Poetry Script Muhammad, the Prophet Kashmiri Horses Walters Art Museum Document Astrology Devotion History Legal Literature -- Poetry Literature -- Prose Liturgy Philosophy Science Science -- Medicine Scripture Sufism Theology Mineralogy Logic Geography Geomancy Cosmology Cartography Fortune-telling Koran Qur`an Firman Palimpsest Prayer Bible Gospels Psalter Missal Lectionary Book of Hours Antiphonary Homilary Processional Horologion Breviary Hymnal Chronicle Maghreb Sub-Saharan (West) Africa Turkey Afghanistan Central Asia Egypt England India Iran Iraq Pakistan Germany France Austria Netherlands Ethiopia Armenia Flanders Greece Mamluk Mughal Ottoman Ottonian Armenian Byzantine Abbasid Qajar Rajput Christian Arabic Austrian Dutch Egyptian Fatimid German Indian Islamic Persian Safavid Timurid Turkish Umayyad English French Flemish Ethiopian Carolingian Calligraphy Colophon Headpiece Illumination Illustration Medallion Miniature Ornament Painting Early Abbasid script Ragini Romanesque Gothic Watermark Grotesques Historiated initial Inhabited initial White-vine lettering Textura Batarda Humanistic Uncial Accordion book Album Book Codex Manuscript Heraldry Saint's Life Drawing Grisaille Binding New Abbasid style Musical notation Russia Romania Charter Russian Genealogy Mass book Prayer book Gospel Lectionary Psalter-Hours Treatise Grammar Gloss Pontifical Private devotional text Gradual Protective scroll Scroll 10th century 11th century 12th century 13th century 14th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 8th century 9th century Block book Caroline minuscule Central Arab lands (Near East) Chart English secretary hand Kufic Gothic book hand Original binding Treasure binding Gospel Book Spanish Spain Italian Italy Liturgical Devotional Scriptural Theological Legal Historical Scientific Scientific -- Medical Literary -- Prose Literary -- Poetry Philosophical Astrological Sufi English Book Christian Codex Manuscript Walters Art Museum Devotion Prayer book Ethiopia Ethiopian Original binding 20th century