List of Manuscript Archives and Their Abbreviations

The Abbaye d’En Calcat in Dourgne, France has a single Ethiopian/Eritrean codex. The microfilm is preserved at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. William F. Macomber created an unpublished catalog entry for this manuscript in 1979.

L’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome, Italy has a collection of at least 143 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. This includes the manuscript collection of Carlo Conti Rossini. Stefan Strelcyn catalogued the five Ethiopian/Eritrean in the Caetani collection as well as the first batch of 138 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts from the Conti Rossini collection in 1976. A second batch of materials from Conti Rossini was acquired by the library in 2000 and is yet to be cataloged.

PEMM did not have access to all ten manuscripts used to make this critical edition, some of which were at Aksum, Entotto, NALA, and Tanasee Dabra Maryam. But, we have used this edition to document them by proxy.

Tefera, Amsalu. 2015. The Ethiopian Homily on the Ark of the Covenant: Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of Dersanä Seyon. BRILL. 

The Armagh Robinson Library is a small library and museum in the city of Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1771, and holds 42,000 items, with a focus on the Enlightenment. The library has only one Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscript in the collection, P001947393.

The Art Institute of Chicago has a single Ethiopian codex. It was acquired from Sam Fogg Rare Books and Manuscripts through the Ada Turnbull Hertle and Marian and Samuel Klasstorner endowments in 2002. The manuscript has been cataloged by Getatchew Haile. For more information about the collection, go here.

Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library) is in the city of Wien. Ethiopian manuscripts appear in the Rhodokanakis catalogue.

The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin has a collection of 335 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. The first manuscripts in the collection were acquired from Theodor Petraeus in 1682. Multiple catalogs of this collection have been prepared, by August Dillmann (1878), Ernst Hammerschmitt (1983), and Veronika Six (1983, 1994, and 1999). View more information about this collection.

The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin has a collection of 335 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. The first manuscripts in the collection were acquired from Theodor Petraeus in 1682. Multiple catalogs of this collection have been prepared, by August Dillmann (1878), Ernst Hammerschmitt (1983), and Veronika Six (1983, 1994, and 1999). View more information about this collection

This collection belongs to the town of Beta Lahem’s Gayant church school near the city of Dabra Tabor. A single manuscript from this collection was photographed in the spring of 2000 by Dr. Kai Beermann. He gave the photographs to Dr. Stefan Bombeck, who created a website dedicated to the manuscript, titled "Die Geschichte Der Heiligen Maria in Einer Alten Äthiopischen Handschrift. The Beta Lahem Gayant manuscript is one of the oldest TM manuscripts to be cataloged to date. It was created at King Dawit I's court in the early 1400s, with sumptuous paintings, and given to Beta Lahem in Gayant, a church founded by the king's daughter, Dal Mägäsa (or Dal Mängäsa). The names of the patriarchs are listed in the manuscript. View more information about this collection.

The Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy has a collection of seven Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. Two of the manuscripts (no. 6 and 7) originally belonged to the monastery of Saint Macarius in Scetis, Egypt. Two other manuscripts originally belonged to the monastic library of Santo Stefano dei Mori in Rome. The collection was cataloged by Sylvain Grébaut in 1933.

The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana collection of over 2600 Arabic manuscripts is one of the largest and most studied collections in Europe. The Arabic Collections have been cataloged in several catalogs written by J.S. Assemani, E. Tisserant, and others.

The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana collection of over 970 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts is one of the largest and most studied collections outside of Ethiopia and Eritrea. This collection is made up of five distinct subcollections: the Vatican general collection (Vat. et.), the Borgiani collection (Borg. et.), the Comboniani collection, the Cerulli collection (Cerulli et.), and the Raineri collection. Multiple catalogs of this large collection have been prepared, by Sylvain Grébaut and Eugène Tisserand (1935-36), Arnold van Lantschoot (1962), Osvaldo Raineri (1986, 1994, 1998, and 2000), and Enrico Cerulli (2000).

The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana collection of over 970 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts is one of the largest and most studied collections outside of Ethiopia and Eritrea. This collection is made up of five distinct subcollections: the Vatican general collection (Vat. et.), the Borgiani collection (Borg. et.), the Comboniani collection, the Cerulli collection (Cerulli et.), and the Raineri collection. Multiple catalogs of this large collection have been prepared, by Sylvain Grébaut and Eugène Tisserand (1935-36), Arnold van Lantschoot (1962), Osvaldo Raineri (1986, 1994, 1998, and 2000), and Enrico Cerulli (2000).

The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana collection of over 2600 Arabic manuscripts is one of the largest and most studied collections in Europe. The Arabic Collections have been cataloged in several catalogs written by J.S. Assemani, E. Tisserant, and others.

The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana collection of over 970 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts is one of the largest and most studied collections outside of Ethiopia and Eritrea. This collection is made up of five distinct subcollections: the Vatican general collection (Vat. et.), the Borgiani collection (Borg. et.), the Comboniani collection, the Cerulli collection (Cerulli et.), and the Raineri collection. Multiple catalogs of this large collection have been prepared, by Sylvain Grébaut and Eugène Tisserand (1935-36), Arnold van Lantschoot (1962), Osvaldo Raineri (1986, 1994, 1998, and 2000), and Enrico Cerulli (2000).

The Biblioteca Giovardiana in Veroli, Italy has a collection of twelve Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. This collection has been cataloged by the team of Antonella Brita, Karsten Helmholz, Susanne Hummel, and Massimo Villa in 2017.

The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze in Florence, Italy has a collection of six Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. The majority of the collection was copied in Egypt and Europe for J. M. Wansleben (1635-1679). Alessandro Bausi cataloged the five manuscripts in the Wansleben collection in 1989.

Bibliothèque du roi des Belges au château de Laeken is the king's private library in Laeken Castle, There is little information on this library, which is not open to the public.

The Ethiopian Collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris contains 1034 manuscripts, one of the largest collections of Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in Europe. This vast collection comprises several subcollections. First is the Antoine d’Abbadie Collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, which contains 283 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts acquired by Antoine d’Abbadie. The Antoine d’Abbadie Collection has been cataloged in several catalogs written by Antoine d’Abbadie (1859), Marius Chaîne (1912), and Carlo Conti Rossini (1914). Second are several subcollections that utilize the shelfmark “Éthiopien”. These include manuscripts from royal and imperial collections, manuscripts collected by Casimir Mondon-Vidhaillet, and manuscripts collected by Marcel Griaule in Gondar in 1932. The Éthiopien Collection has been cataloged in several catalogs written by Hermann Zotenberg (1877), Marius Chaîne (1913), and Sylvain Grébaut (1938, 1941, 1944, and 1954). Third is the manuscript collection acquired by Duchesne-Fourney, which was cataloged by J. Blanchart in 1909. Fourth is the manuscript collection acquired by Marcel Cohen, which was cataloged by Marcel Cohen (1912) and Marius Chaîne (1914).

The Ethiopian Collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris contains 1034 manuscripts, one of the largest collections of Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in Europe. This vast collection comprises several subcollections. First is the Antoine d’Abbadie Collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, which contains 283 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts acquired by Antoine d’Abbadie. The Antoine d’Abbadie Collection has been cataloged in several catalogs written by Antoine d’Abbadie (1859), Marius Chaîne (1912), and Carlo Conti Rossini (1914). Second are several subcollections that utilize the shelfmark “Éthiopien”. These include manuscripts from royal and imperial collections, manuscripts collected by Casimir Mondon-Vidhaillet, and manuscripts collected by Marcel Griaule in Gondar in 1932. The Éthiopien Collection has been cataloged in several catalogs written by Hermann Zotenberg (1877), Marius Chaîne (1913), and Sylvain Grébaut (1938, 1941, 1944, and 1954). Third is the manuscript collection acquired by Duchesne-Fourney, which was cataloged by J. Blanchart in 1909. Fourth is the manuscript collection acquired by Marcel Cohen, which was cataloged by Marcel Cohen (1912) and Marius Chaîne (1914).

The Arabic Collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris contains over 7000 manuscripts, one of the largest collections in Europe. The Arabic Collection has been cataloged in several catalogs written by G. Troupeau (1974), F. Déroche (1978 and 1985), Georges Vajda and Yvette Sauvan (1978 and 1985), Y. Sauvan and M.G. Guesdon (1987), W.M.G de Slane (1883), E. Blochet, and others.

The Ethiopian Collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris contains 1034 manuscripts, one of the largest collections of Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in Europe. This vast collection comprises several subcollections. First is the Antoine d’Abbadie Collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, which contains 283 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts acquired by Antoine d’Abbadie. The Antoine d’Abbadie Collection has been cataloged in several catalogs written by Antoine d’Abbadie (1859), Marius Chaîne (1912), and Carlo Conti Rossini (1914). Second are several subcollections that utilize the shelfmark “Éthiopien”. These include manuscripts from royal and imperial collections, manuscripts collected by Casimir Mondon-Vidhaillet, and manuscripts collected by Marcel Griaule in Gondar in 1932. The Éthiopien Collection has been cataloged in several catalogs written by Hermann Zotenberg (1877), Marius Chaîne (1913), and Sylvain Grébaut (1938, 1941, 1944, and 1954). Third is the manuscript collection acquired by Duchesne-Fourney, which was cataloged by J. Blanchart in 1909. Fourth is the manuscript collection acquired by Marcel Cohen, which was cataloged by Marcel Cohen (1912) and Marius Chaîne (1914).

The Bodleian collection at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom contains at least 128 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts, including a number of manuscripts acquired by James Bruce during his travels in Ethiopia in the late 1700s. Multiple catalogs of this collection have been prepared, by August Dillmann (1848), Edward Ullendorff (1951), and Demeke Berhane with Steve Delamarter (2007).

The Bent Juel-Jensen Manuscript Collection at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, United Kingdom contains 55 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. A catalog of the collection is being prepared by Dorothea Reule and Jacopo Gnisci. For more information about the collection, go here.

The Bodleian collection at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom contains at least 128 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts, including a number of manuscripts acquired by James Bruce during his travels in Ethiopia in the late 1700s. Multiple catalogs of this collection have been prepared, by August Dillmann (1848), Edward Ullendorff (1951), and Demeke Berhane with Steve Delamarter (2007).

The British Library collection of over 600 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts is one of the largest and most studied collections outside of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The acquisition of manuscripts began under the auspices of the British Museum in 1753. The collection has over thirty Täˀammərä Maryam manuscripts. This collection includes 349 manuscripts looted by British forces from the Ethiopian stronghold at Magdala in 1868. Multiple catalogs of this large collection have been prepared, by August Dillmann (1847), William Wright (1870), and Stefan Strelcyn (1978). View more information about this collection.

The British Library collection of over 600 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts is one of the largest and most studied collections outside of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The acquisition of manuscripts began under the auspices of the British Museum in 1753. The collection has over thirty Täˀammərä Maryam manuscripts. This collection includes 349 manuscripts looted by British forces from the Ethiopian stronghold at Magdala in 1868. Multiple catalogs of this large collection have been prepared, by August Dillmann (1847), William Wright (1870), and Stefan Strelcyn (1978). View more information about this collection.

The Library of the India Office, now a part of the British Library collection in London, collected 1050 Arabic manuscripts. These manuscripts were arranged in two collections. The first collection was the Muslim manuscripts of the East India House. The second collection was the Bijapur collection (the city of Bijapur is now known as Vijayapura in the Karnataka state of India). Otto Loth cataloged this manuscript collection in 1877.

Brown University Library in Providence, Rhode Island, USA has a collection of three Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. The collection has not yet been cataloged.

The Cambridge University Library in the United Kingdom has a collection of approximately 130 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. This includes 45 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts from the Bible House Library that belonged to the British and Foreign Bible Society. The manuscripts of the Bible House Library were catalogued by Roger W. Cowley in 1982. Multiple catalogs of the original Cambridge University Library collection have been prepared, by Edward Ullendorff with Stephen Wright (1961) and by Demeke Berhane with Steve Delamarter (2007). For several highlights of the collection, go here.

The Centre d’Etudes Orientales Chrétiennes du Mouski in Cairo, Egypt has a collection of five Ethiopian/Eritrean codices and scrolls. These manuscripts were cataloged by William F. Macomber in 1985.

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) digitized 582 Arabic, Syriac, and Garshuni manuscripts at Mar Hirmiz Keldani Kilisesi in Mardin, Turkey. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed manuscripts in the world. Metadata and cataloging information is available in the Reading Room of HMML.

The Chester Beatty is located in Dublin, Ireland. Enrico Cerulli cataloged the 53 codices and scrolls that make up the Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscript collection in 1965 (shelfmarks 901-953); which Macomber called CCBE (Cerulli catalog of Chester Beatty Library). View highlights of the collection.

The Chester Beatty is located in Dublin, Ireland. Enrico Cerulli cataloged the 53 codices and scrolls that make up the Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscript collection in 1965 (shelfmarks 901-953). View highlights of the collection.

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) digitized 1091 Arabic, Syriac, and Garshuni manuscripts at Church of the Forty Martyrs in Mardin, Turkey. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed manuscripts in the world. Metadata and cataloging information is available in the Reading Room of HMML.

The Coptic Museum in Old Cairo, Egypt has a vast collection of Arabic, Coptic, and Greek manuscripts. The collection was partially microfilmed by Brigham Young University. The microfilmed manuscripts have been cataloged by William F. Macomber in 1990.

Brigham Young University microfilmed the vast collection of Arabic, Coptic, Latin, Syriac, Garshuni, and French manuscripts in the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Cairo, Egypt in 1990. William F. Macomber cataloged the Arabic and Coptic manuscripts in 1995.

Endangered Archives Programme grant EAP432 was a digitization project directed by Mersha Alehegne Mengistie of Hamburg University, Germany. The project digitized 61 manuscripts from the Debre Koreb we Qeranyo Medhane’Alem monastery in the East Goğğam province of Ethiopia. Cataloging for the project has been carried out by Mersha Alehegne Mengistie. For more information about the project, go here.

Sixteen manuscripts from Dabra Śāhel Agwazā Monastery in the Tigray province of Ethiopia were digitized by Ewa Balicka-Witakowska and Michael Gervers in 2007. These image sets are hosted at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. The collection has been cataloged by Ted Erho.

Endangered Archives Programme grant EAP340 was a digitization project directed by Michael Gervers of the University of Toronto at Scarborough. The project aimed to digitize 98 manuscripts at the monastery of Dabra Sarabi in the Tigray province of Ethiopia. The project was only able to digitize four manuscripts prior to permissions being revoked. Cataloging for the project has been carried out by Michael Gervers. For more information about the project, go here.

This manuscript was digitized at Dabra Sehay Selassie Mekelle in the city of Mekelle, in Tigray Province, northern Ethiopia.

The HMML Sep. Ethiopia contains photographs taken by Marilyn Heldman at the Dābrā Wārq Monastery in Goggam. Ms. S. n.

Donald Davies microfilmed 35 manuscripts in 23 monasteries during his travels in Ethiopia and Eritrea in the 1960s and 1970s, including the renowned Abba Garima Gospels. The Ethiopian Manuscript Imaging Project (EMIP) digitized the microfilm. A copy of these microfilms is kept at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. Many of the manuscripts in this microfilm collection have been cataloged by William F. Macomber in 1979.

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) digitized 77 Arabic and Coptic manuscripts at Dayr al-Qiddīs Anbā Maqār Monastery in the Wadi al-Natrun area of Egypt. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed manuscripts in the world. Ugo Zanetti cataloged this collection in 1986. Additional metadata and cataloging information is available in the Reading Room of HMML.

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) digitized 274 Arabic, Syriac, and Garshuni manuscripts at Dayr Za‘farān (Mor Hananyo) Monastery in Mardin, Turkey. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed manuscripts in the world. Metadata and cataloging information is available in the Reading Room of HMML.

The William R. Perkins Library at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, USA has a collection of 29 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. The microfilms are preserved at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. William F. Macomber prepared an unpublished catalog for this collection in 1979.

The Ethiopian Manuscript Digital Archive (EMDA) at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) is a collection of several digitization projects that have been carried out in Ethiopia beginning in 2011. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. Locations for the EMDA project include Moṭā Giyorgis Church in Goğğām Province, Marṭula Māryām Monastery in Goğğām Province, Dabra Ḍaḥāy Qeddus Mārqos Church in Goğğām Province, Dimā Giyorgis Monastery in Goğğām Province, Na'akkweto La'ab Church in Wallo Province, and Qarānyo Madḫānē Ālam Church in Goğğām Province. There are currently 566 manuscripts in this collection.

The Ethiopian Manuscript Digital Library (EMDL) was a project directed by Meley Mulugetta when she was at the Harriett Tubman Institute in Toronto, Canada. The project digitized several hundred manuscripts in the Tigray province of Ethiopia in the 2010s. The collection has been partially cataloged by Meley Mulugetta and is not available publicly or privately.

The Institute of Christian Oriental Research (ICOR) at Catholic University of America (CUA) has a significant collection of Ethiopian manuscript, including over 250 Christian codices, ranging from the 1500s into the 1900s, and nearly 400 prayer scrolls. 

The Ethiopian Manuscript Imaging Project is a digitization project directed by Steve Delamarter in Portland, Oregon, USA. The project has digitized over 3,700 codices and 1,200 scrolls. The collection has over sixty Täˀammərä Maryam manuscripts. Several catalogs have been published in the Ethiopic Manuscripts, Texts, and Studies Series from Pickwick Publications and additional metadata is available here.

The Andre Tweed Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts at Howard University School of Divinity is one of the five largest collections in North America: 151 codices and 83 scrolls of spiritual healing. Its oldest manuscripts are an Acts of Paul and a psalter including illuminations of the Madonna and child. It also holds a life of St. Cyrus with 53 illuminated portraits, a Book of the Miracles of Mary including several illuminations, an Ecumenical book of Mary with two portraits, and several Miracles of Mary texts. The Howard alumnus and collector, Tweed, was the first African American board-certified psychiatrist in California.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has an Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscript collection of 54 codices and ten scrolls. Kesis Melaku Terefe cataloged this collection in 2008. For more information about the collection, go here.

The Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library (EMML) was a microfilming project carried out in Ethiopia in the 1970s-1990s. The project photographed 9,238 manuscripts prior to its conclusion in 1994. The collection has over five hundred Täˀammərä Maryam manuscripts. This project revolutionized Ethiopian Studies through the thousands of manuscripts made available for research and the ten volumes of catalogs prepared by William F. Macomber and Getatchew Haile. There is no institution that holds a complete set of the EMML microfilms, although the majority of the microfilms are available at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. There is an ongoing digitization effort at HMML to make the entirety of the EMML collection available online in their Reading Room. View more information about collections at HMML, including EMML.

The Ethio-SPaRe project was a digitization and cataloging project directed by Denis Nosnitsin of the Hiob Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian Studies of Hamburg University in Hamburg, Germany. The project digitized approximately 2,000 manuscripts and surveyed over one hundred collections between 2009 and 2015. The collection has over eighty Täˀammərä Maryam manuscripts. Over a thousand of these manuscripts have been cataloged by the team led by Denis Nosnitsin. View more information about the project. 

The manuscript collection at monastery at Gunda Gunde in Tigray province of Ethiopia was undertaken by Michael Gervers, Ewa Balicka-Witakowska, Jan Retsö, Denis Nosnitsin, and Gordon Belray through the sponsorship of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. For more information about the collection and to see the images, go here.

The images are also hosted at the University of Toronto Scarborough.This digitization project photographed and cataloged 219 codices at the monastery in 2006. For more information about the collection and to see the images, go here. 

This print volume, with Ge`ez miracle of Mary stories and Amharic translations side by side, was first produced in 1931 by Täsfa Giyorgis. It contains the standard collection of 111 stories read aloud in church.

Täsfa Giyorgis, ed. 1968. Täˀammərä Maryam bä-Gəˁəz ənna bä-Amarəñña [The Miracles of Mary in Ethiopic and Amharic: 111 Miracles]. 2nd ed. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Endangered Archives Programme grant EAP286 was a digitization project directed by Demeke Berhane Teffera and Steve Delamarter, with Jeremy R. Brown as the director of manuscript digitization. The project digitized 5,749 items, of which are 1,800 Ge’ez manuscripts at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Cataloging for the project has been carried out by Demeke Berhane Teffera, Kesis Melaku Terefe, Steve Delamarter, and Jeremy R. Brown. For more information about the project, go here.

The Institut Vostočnyh Rukopisej Rossijskoj Akademii Nauk (Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences) in Saint Petersburg, Russia has over two hundred Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the collection. The collection has been cataloged by Boris Turaev (1906) and Viatcheslav M. Platonov (1996).

The Institut Vostočnyh Rukopisej Rossijskoj Akademii Nauk (Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences) in Saint Petersburg, Russia has over two hundred Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the collection. The collection has been cataloged by Boris Turaev (1906) and Viatcheslav M. Platonov (1996).

Brigham Young University microfilmed 107 Ge’ez and Amharic manuscripts at an Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, Israel in 1990. William F. Macomber cataloged this manuscript collection in 1995.

The John Rylands Research Institute and Library promotes research using the special collections of the University of Manchester Library. It contains 45 Ge'ez manuscripts on parchment and paper, of which ten codices can be dated precisely (1590-1742). Ethiopian MSS 1-31 were purchased in 1901 with the Crawford collection, the remainder being acquired subsequently from Moses Gaster and other sources.

Leiden University in the Netherlands has a collection of approximately 220 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. The first Ethiopian manuscript in this collection was donated in 1609. Rachel Struyk cataloged this collection in 1995.

The African and Middle Eastern Reading Room of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., USA has a collection of at least eight Ethiopian/Eritrean codices and scrolls. The collection has not been cataloged.

The Thomas Leiper Kane Collection was acquired by the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., USA in 2001. Thomas Leiper Kane collected over one hundred manuscripts in Ge’ez, many of which are very unique. The exact number of manuscripts in this collection is not publicly known. Fenta Tiruneh prepared a helpful handlist when the Library of Congress acquired the collection, but the handlist is incomplete.

The Seabury-Western Theological Seminary of Evanston, Illinois, USA had a collection of 22 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. Then, in 1981, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary bought Seabury-Western's collections and formed the Styberg Library from the merged collections. Then, in 2017, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, both located in Evanston, IL, merged and became Bexley-Seabury. The microfilms are preserved at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. William F. Macomber cataloged this collection in 1979.

Endangered Archives Programme grant EAP704 was a digitization project directed by Michael Gervers of the University of Toronto at Scarborough. The project digitized 106 manuscripts at the monasteries of Marawe Krestos and Däbrä Abbay in the Tigray province of Ethiopia. Cataloging for the project has been carried out by Michael Gervers. For more information about the project, go here.

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) digitized 535 Arabic, Syriac, and Garshuni manuscripts at Mar Behnam (Martyrs Mar Behnam and Marth Sarah) Monastery in Mosul, Iraq. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed manuscripts in the world. Sony cataloged this collection in 2005. Additional metadata and cataloging information is available in the Reading Room of HMML.

Endangered Archives Programme grant EAP526 was a digitization project directed by Michael Gervers of the University of Toronto at Scarborough. The project digitized 91 manuscripts at the monastery of May Wäyni in the Tigray province of Ethiopia. Cataloging for the project has been carried out by Michael Gervers. For more information about the project, go here.

Digitzed in Mekelle at Mahdärä Sǝbḥat Qǝddǝstä Qǝddusan Maryam.

The Museum Fünf Kontinente (Museum Five Continents or Five Continents Museum) is a museum for non-European artworks and objects of cultural value. 

The Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C., USA has a collection of Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. It is not publicly known how many manuscripts are contained in the collection and they have yet to be cataloged. The Ethiopic Miracles of Mary manuscripts are all digitized and now online.

The National Library of Israel in Jerusalem has a collection of at least 27 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. At this time, there is no published catalog for this collection.

The Grey Collection in the National Library of South Africa in Cape Town contains 132 manuscripts, six of which are in Ge’ez. The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) microfilmed this collection in 1990. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. Carol Steyn cataloged this collection in 2002. For more information about the collection, go here.

Pontificia Università Gregoriana Biblioteca has yet to digitize its manuscripts as of September 2022.

Over the past century, the Princeton University Library (PUL) has become the leading repository for Ethiopic manuscripts in North America, with over 165 codices and over 600 textual amulets. Among the codices are the inspiration for the PEMM project: eleven Miracles of Mary manuscripts, putting it among the top collections for such outside of Ethiopia. The manuscripts are arranged in five collections. The codices are found in two of them. First, the Robert Garrett Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts (C0744.03), with 113 manuscripts dating from the 1600s into the 1900s, which PEMM abbreviates as GEM.  Of these, 101 codices were purchased by Enno Littmann (1875-1958) in Ethiopia, when he lead a Princeton expedition to Tigray, Ethiopia, in the autumn of 1905 (with Garrett’s financial backing) and a German expedition to Aksum (Deutsche Aksum-Expedition) in the first few months of 1906. Second, the Princeton Ethiopic Manuscripts (C0776), with manuscripts dating from the late 1600s well into the 1900s, which PEMM abbreviates as PEM. Its 64 codices were donated to or purchased by PUL. Bruce Willsie, Princeton class of 1986, is the most frequent donor. A detailed finding aid for the collection was prepared by Kesis Melaku Terefe with Wendy Laura Belcher in 2008. For more information about the collection, see Treasures of the Manuscript Division  and Firestone Library's Rare Books and Special Collections Ethiopic manuscripts.

Over the past century, the Princeton University Library (PUL) has become the leading repository for Ethiopic manuscripts in North America, with over 165 codices and over 600 textual amulets. Among the codices are the inspiration for the PEMM project: eleven Miracles of Mary manuscripts, putting it among the top collections for such outside of Ethiopia. The manuscripts are arranged in five collections. The codices are found in two of them. First, the Robert Garrett Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts (C0744.03), with manuscripts dating from the 1600s into the 1900s, which PEMM abbreviates as GEM.  Its 101 codices were purchased by Enno Littmann (1875-1958) in Ethiopia, when he lead a Princeton expedition to Tigray, Ethiopia, in the autumn of 1905 (with Garrett’s financial backing) and a German expedition to Aksum (Deutsche Aksum-Expedition) in the first few months of 1906. Second, the Princeton Ethiopic Manuscripts (C0776), with manuscripts dating from the late 1600s well into the 1900s, which PEMM abbreviates as PEM. Its 64 codices were donated to or purchased by PUL. Bruce Willsie, Princeton class of 1986, is the most frequent donor. A detailed finding aid for the collection was prepared by Kesis Melaku Terefe with Wendy Laura Belcher in 2008. For more information about the collection, see Treasures of the Manuscript Division  and Firestone Library's Rare Books and Special Collections Ethiopic manuscripts.

Bob McCarthy has acquired a private collection of Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. It is not publicly known how many manuscripts are contained in the collection and it has yet to be cataloged.

Endangered Archives Programme grant EAP254 was a digitization project directed by Denis Nosnitisin of Hamburg University, Germany. The project digitized 89 manuscripts from the Romanat Qeddus Mika’el church library in the Tigray province of Ethiopia. Cataloging for the project has been carried out by Denis Nosnitisin. For more information about the project, go here.

The Rossijskaja Nacionalnaja Biblioteka in St. Petersburg, Russia has a collection of 61 Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. Multiple catalogs of this collection have been prepared, by B. Dorn (1852), Boris Turaiev (1906), and Viatcheslav M. Platonov (1994 and 1996).

The Royal Library at Windsor Castle has a collection of six Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. All of the manuscripts in this collection were looted by British forces from the Ethiopian stronghold at Magdala in 1868. Edward Ullendorff cataloged this collection in 1954.

Sam Fogg is a leading art dealer in London, United Kingdom. They have featured many Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in various publications over the past few decades, but the exact number of Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts it has currently, or has sold in the past, is not publicly known.

The Schøyen Collection in Oslo and London is one of the largest private manuscript collections in the world. It has at least one Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscript, but how many others it has currently, or in the past, is unknown. If there is a catalog or handlist, it is not publicly available.

The Ella Strong Denison Library at Scripps College in Claremont, California, USA has a single Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscript. The collection has not yet been cataloged.

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) digitized 261 Arabic, Coptic, French, Garshuni, Greek, Latin, Persian, and Turkish manuscripts at the Séminaire Sainte-Anne de Jérusalem in Israel. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed manuscripts in the world. William F. Macomber cataloged this manuscript collection in 1990. For more information about the collection, go here.

St. Catherine’s Monastery of the Sinai in Egypt has a collection of 4,559 manuscripts in 13 languages. This includes 1,172 codices in Arabic and Syriac. The Sinai Library Digitization Project is in the process of digitizing the manuscript collection and already most of the Arabic and Syriac manuscripts are available. Murād Kāmil catalogued this manuscript collection in 1970. For more information about the project and to view the manuscripts, go here.

Donald Davies microfilmed 35 manuscripts in 23 monasteries during his travels in Ethiopia and Eritrea in the 1960s and 1970s, including the renowned Abba Garima Gospels. The Ethiopian Manuscript Imaging Project (EMIP) digitized the microfilm. A copy of these microfilms is kept at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. Many of the manuscripts in this microfilm collection have been cataloged by William F. Macomber in 1979.

Brigham Young University microfilmed the vast collection of Arabic, Latin, Italian, Hebrew, Spanish, Ethiopic, Syriac, Armenian, German, French, and Greek manuscripts at St. Saviour’s Monastery in Jerusalem, Israel in 1990. William F. Macomber cataloged the collection in 1995.

SOAA-Ar (HMML)

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) digitized 473 Arabic, Syriac, and Garshuni manuscripts at the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo in Syria. HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed manuscripts in the world. Metadata and cataloging information is available in the Reading Room of HMML.

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) digitized 428 Arabic, Syriac, and Garshuni manuscripts at the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of Mosul in Iraq . HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed manuscripts in the world. Metadata and cataloging information is available in the Reading Room of HMML.

PEMM did not have access to this manuscript directly, which is at Ṭana Qirqos monastery in Ethiopia, but documented it by proxy from:

Amsalu Tefera. 2015. The Ethiopian homily on the Ark of the Covenant : critical edition and annotated translation of Dersanä Ṣeyon. Texts and studies in Eastern Christianity, volume 5. Boston : Brill.. Publisher: Ṭana Qirqos Communal Monastery. 

The Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library at the University of Toronto has some Ethiopian texts, including prayer books, a Psalter, a hagiography of Abuna Gabra Manfas Qeddus, a life of Jesus Christ, and a variety of Marian texts, including one Täˀammərä Maryam manuscript from the 1800s, with paintings. View more information about this collection.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) mobile microfilm unit microfilmed approximately 370 manuscripts in Ethiopia during 1969-1970. An unreliable handlist was produced by the Ministry of Education and Fine Arts, Department of Fine Arts and Culture in 1970. These microfilms were digitized by the Ethiopian Manuscript Imaging Project (EMIP), directed by Steve Delamarter. Copies of these image sets have been deposited at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world.

The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, New York, USA has a collection of five Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts. The microfilms are preserved at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. William F. Macomber cataloged this collection in 1977.

The Universitätsbibliothek Graz has a small collection of Ethiopic manuscripts. The collection was cataloged in 1965 by Hans Zotter and Walter Slaje. The manuscripts were microfilmed many years ago by HMML, but have not yet been digitized. 

The Universitätsbibliothek Uppsala in Uppsala, Sweden has a collection of 99 Ethiopian/Eritrean codices and scrolls. The foundation for the collection was acquired in the 1700s. Oscar Löfgren cataloged the collection in 1974.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has an Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscript collection of 54 codices and ten scrolls. Kesis Melaku Terefe cataloged this collection in 2008. For more information about the collection, go here.

The Ransom Center is a humanities research center at The University of Texas at Austin. It has at least one Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscript in its Eastern Manuscripts Collection, but how many others it has is unknown. 

Ernst Hammerschmidt microfilmed 182 manuscripts in the Lake Tana area of Ethiopia in the early 1970s. The collection was cataloged by Ernst Hammerschmidt (1973 and 1977) and by Veronika Six (1999). These microfilms were digitized by the Ethiopian Manuscript Imaging Project (EMIP), directed by Steve Delamarter. Copies of these image set have been deposited at the University of Hamburg for use in Beta maṣāḥəft.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA is home to at least 35 Ethiopian/Eritrean codices and scrolls. A catalog of the collection has been prepared by Steve Delamarter and Ewosteos Gebrekrestos in the 2020s. View highlights of the collection.