Miracles of Mary Stories Most Illustrated with Paintings

These stories are named below, starting from the first most commonly illustrated (with 94 illustrations of the story in 46 manuscripts in the PEMM database) down to the thirty-second most commonly illustrated (with 29 illustrations of the story in 10 manuscripts in the PEMM database) (also, see the chart). Note that four other stories have a significant number of paintings in the PEMM database (between five and eleven paintings in between three and nine manuscripts). A total of 86 Miracle of Mary stories are illustrated in PEMM Täʾammərä Maryam manuscripts.

Thirty-two of the illustrated stories are sometimes called Akkonu Bəˀəsi (meaning "was he not a man?" in Ge'ez), after the hymns praising Mary's miracles. However, thirty-four stories are among the most illustrated.

Kidane, Habtemichael. 2003. "Akkonu bəˀəsi." In Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C: Vol. 1, edited by Siegbert Uhlig. 169-170. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

Grohmann, Adolf. 1919. Aethiopische Marienhymnen. In Abhandlungen der sachsichen Akademie der Wissenchaften 68 Abhandlungen der philogisch-historischen Klasse der Akademie der sachsichen Akademie der Wissenchaften 33, 4. Leipzig

Most Commonly Illustrated

1. The noble man from Qemer who was a cannibal and ate 78 people, gave a drop of water to a beggar, and went to heaven
2. Bishop Hildephonsus of Toledo who collected stories and compiled them into the Book of the Miracles of the Virgin Mary
3. A pregnant abbess is secretly delivered of her son by the Virgin Mary and he grows up to become a bishop
4. Two brothers were dyers from Dalga, Egypt, and one was tricked in a religious debate and imprisoned
5. A young man who used to crown the icon of the Virgin Mary with roses
6. The church of the Virgin Mary that moved by itself to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea
7. Dabra Qalemon's gifts from two Arabs who, journeying on the Nile in Egypt, fall into the water due to a storm and are saved from crocodiles
8. A European man, lame due to a stone foot, is healed by praying in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary
9. Dabra Nagadeyan's dying monk prays in front of her icon to go to Jerusalem and the Virgin Mary takes him from Lower Egypt to all around the holy land
10. The sinful deacon whom his enemies could not kill until he had confessed himself to a priest
11. The former pagan, the Bishop of Rome, who cut off his hand because of a lustful thought and the Virgin Mary healed him
12. The rich man from Colossae who was shot in the eye with an arrow while fighting the Qwez
13. Bishop Mercurius contracted leprosy and the patriarch banned him from serving communion due to his ailment
14. Dabra Qalemon's monk who humbly pretends not to fast and is saved from his brothers by the Virgin Mary
15. A widow who could not find husbands for her three daughters
16. Elizabeth, the blind Egyptian girl from Badraman, whose eyes the Virgin Mary healed with her breast milk
17. A widow who saved her only son from execution by hanging when she prayed to the Virgin Mary
18. The two brothers who were scribes and while copying the Miracles of the Virgin Mary fell into sin
19. Katir, the old priest from Al-Kasus, who was mistreated by a church custodian, is restored to strength by the Virgin Mary
20. The two women who were attacked by robbers on their way to church
21. The monastic scribe who used to write the Virgin Mary's name in golden ink
22. A poor woman with a broken leg is healed by the icon of the Virgin Mary in the church of Harat ar-Rum in Cairo
23. Maryam, an Egyptian child from Defra, who wanted to receive Communion but whose family locked her in the house when they went to church
24. The pregnant woman who was caught by a wave while going to the church of Saint Michael (Mont Saint Michel) and gives birth underwater protected by the Virgin Mary's cloak
25. The French artist knocked off his scaffolding by Satan (who was angry because of how he was being painted) is caught by the Virgin Mary
26. An old monk from Egypt whom the Virgin Mary made young again
27. The Egyptian monk Issac who prayed every night for seven years that the Virgin Mary would appear to him
28. John Bakansi, the blind Egyptian monk, whose eyes the Virgin Mary healed with her breast milk George the Younger, the martyr, was visited in prison by the Virgin Mary
29. A deacon prayed the prayer that contained the word 'rejoice' five times for the five joys of the Virgin Mary
30. The laborer who complained to the Virgin Mary because she did not reply to his Hail Mary
31. As a girl, the Virgin Mary gave water in her shoe to a thirsty dog
32. Ephrem the Syrian Potter who composed the praise hymn called Weddase Maryam over seven days

Commonly Illustrated but not part of the Top 32

The next four stories are illustrated in three to nine manuscripts. 

1. Atrib's Virgin Mary Church and the monk who saved it with his prayers when its destruction had been ordered by the Caliph.  (3 manuscripts have paintings of this story, from the 1600s through the 1800s)
2. The nominal Christian from Sidon who encountered a serpent/dragon/snake in the desert of Scete (same as 1231?)   (3 manuscripts have paintings of this story, from the late 1600s through the 1800s)
3. The sinful deacon who was healed from his illness by a drop of the Virgin Mary's breast milk (3 manuscripts have paintings of this story, from the late 1600s through the 1800s)
4. A monk without food or clothes received a garment from the Virgin Mary (9 manuscripts have paintings of this story, from the late 1600s through the 1800s)

 

Here is the same information presented a little differently.

Akkonu Bəˀəsi Painting Cycle Paintings

PEMM Story id	Title	Total paintings in PEMM of the story
125	The noble man from Qemer who was a cannibal and ate 78 people, gave a drop of water to a beggar, and went to heaven	94
13	Bishop Ildefonsus (Daqseyos) of Toledo who collected stories and compiled them into the Book of the Miracles of the Virgin Mary	93
158	A pregnant abbess is secretly delivered of her son by the Virgin Mary and he grows up to become a bishop	76
83	Two brothers were dyers from Dalga, Egypt, and one was tricked in a religious debate and imprisoned	71
153	A young man who used to crown the icon of the Virgin Mary with roses	67
46	The church of the Virgin Mary that moved by itself to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.	66
16	Dabra Qalemon's gifts from two Arabs who, journeying on the Nile in Egypt, fall into the water due to a storm and are saved from crocodiles	59
99	A European man, lame due to a stone foot, is healed by praying in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary	58
54	Dabra Nagadeyan's dying monk prays in front of her icon to go to Jerusalem and the Virgin Mary takes him from Lower Egypt to all around the holy land	56
48	The rich man from Colossae who was shot in the eye with an arrow while fighting the Qwez	54
140	The sinful deacon whom his enemies could not kill until he had confessed himself to a priest.	54
163	The former pagan, the Bishop of Rome, who cut off his hand because of a lustful thought and the Virgin Mary healed him	54
103	Bishop Mercurius contracted leprosy and the patriarch banned him from serving communion due to his ailment	53
7	Dabra Qalemon's monk who humbly pretends not to fast and is saved from his brothers by the Virgin Mary.	52
57	A widow who could not find husbands for her three daughters	51
59	Elizabeth, the blind Egyptian girl from Badraman, whose eyes the Virgin Mary healed with her breast milk	51
152	A widow who saved her only son from execution by hanging when she prayed to the Virgin Mary	50
61	The two brothers who were scribes and while copying the Miracles of the Virgin Mary fell into sin	49
82	Katir, the old priest from Al-Kasus, who was mistreated by a church custodian, is restored to strength by the Virgin Mary	49
154	The two women who were attacked by robbers on their way to church	48
162	The monastic scribe who used to write the Virgin Mary's name in golden ink	47
27	Maryam, an Egyptian child from Defra, who wanted to receive Communion but whose family locked her in the house when they went to church	46
112	A poor woman with a broken leg is healed by the icon of the Virgin Mary in the church of Harat ar-Rum in Cairo	46
33	The French artist knocked off his scaffolding by Satan (who was angry because of how he was being painted) is caught by the Virgin Mary	45
148	The pregnant woman who was caught by a wave while going to the church of Saint Michael (Mont Saint Michel) and gives birth underwater protected by the Virgin Mary's cloak	45
161	An old monk from Egypt whom the Virgin Mary made young again	44
19	The Egyptian monk Issac who prayed every night for seven years that the Virgin Mary would appear to him	43
43	John Bakansi, the blind Egyptian monk, whose eyes the Virgin Mary healed with her breast milk	43
68	George the Younger, the martyr, was visited in prison by the Virgin Mary	43
142	A deacon prayed the prayer that contained the word 'rejoice' five times for the five joys of the Virgin Mary	41
187	The laborer who complained to the Virgin Mary because she did not reply to his Hail Mary	38
236	The Virgin Mary, as a young girl, gives water in her shoe to a thirsty dog	36

Finally, the following TM manuscripts have all 32 stories illustrated. The first three illustrate only those stories, the rest include Life of Mary stories (such as the Annunciation, Madonna and Child, etc.)

Akkonu Bəˀəsi Painting Cycle Manuscripts

BOr (BL) 653

EMML (HMML) 5652

EMML (HMML) 7366

B-Oslo (SCOL) 248

BOr (BL) 520

BOr (BL) 635

BOr (BL) 639

BOr (BL) 641

BOr (BL) 645

BOr (BL) 646

BOr (BL) 647

Davies-DW (EMIP) 1

EMDA (HMML) 162

EMML (HMML) 4878

EMML (HMML) 5781

EMML (HMML) 8864

Gunda Gunde (Toronto) 43

Gunda Gunde (Toronto) 44

HK-Chicago (AIC) 2002.4

MoB-Wash DC (MoB) 277

MoB-Wash DC (MoB) 333

PEM (Princeton) 57

PEM (Princeton) 65

d'Abbadie (BNF) 114