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Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary (PEMM) project

Miracles of Mary Stories Most Illustrated with Paintings

By Wendy Laura Belcher

April 10, 2025

Thirty-four stories are illustrated more frequently in Täʾammərä Maryam manuscripts than other stories.

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). 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 hymn of that title praising thirty-four of Mary's miracles.

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

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

 

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