A wealthy man to whom the Virgin Mary appeared in the form of a bird to save the countryside from pestilence.
CONTENT INFORMATION
Story Type: Miracle of Mary
Story Theme(s): Wealth & Riches; Animals & the Natural World; Visions, Dreams, & Apparitions
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Earliest Attested Instance of the Story: 1400 - 1499
Earliest Manuscripts in which Story Appears: BOr (BL) 652; C-Leningrad (RAN) 1; EMML (HMML) 3872; R-Vatican (BAV) Raineri 55; BOr (BL) 636
Total Manuscripts in which Story Appears: 74
Total Incipits in the ITool: 30
Incipit(s): ወሀሎ፡ ፩ብእሲ፡ በአሐቲ፡ ሀገር፡ ወውእቱ፡ ብእሲ፡ ባዕል፡ ውእቱ፡ ፈድፋደ፡ እምኵሎሙ፡ ሰብአ፡ ይእቲ፡ ሀገር። ወቦቱ፡ ወርቀ፡ ወብሩረ፡ ወአልባሰ፡ ክቡረ፡ አግብርተ፡ ወአእማተ፡ አባዕረ፡ ወአልህምተ፡ ወአባግዐ፡ ወአጣሊ፡ ወአፍራስ፡ ወአብቅል፡ ወአእዱግ፡ ወአግማል፡ ወብዙኅ፡ ግበሪሁ፡ ጥቀ። ወእምዝ፡ መጽአ፡ ሞት፡ ዐቢይ፡ ወአጋታ፡ ለሀገሩ፡, from EMML (HMML) 3872, f. 107r
ID Numbers: PEMM Theme ID 157; PEMM ID 209; Macomber ID 209; Beta maṣāḥǝft ID LIT3661Miracle; Clavis ID CAe 3661
Translations & editions of this story
Amharic: Täsfa Gäbrä Śəllase. 1971. From TGS (EOTC) 1983-1990, p. 347-349.
Amharic: Täsfa Gäbrä Śəllase. 1996. From TGS (EOTC) 1988-1996, p. 347.
Amharic: Täsfa Gäbrä Śəllase. 2014. From TGS (EOTC) 2004-2011, p. 319-321.
English: Jeremy Brown & Mehari Worku & Dawit Muluneh with Wendy Laura Belcher. 2023. From EMML (HMML) 3872, ff. 107r–107v.
French: Gérard Colin. 2004. From TGS (EOTC) 1988-1996, p. 347.
Manuscripts in which story appears:
1400s: BOr (BL) 652, f. 189r; C-Leningrad (RAN) 1, f. 80r
1500s: EMML (HMML) 3872, f. 107r; R-Vatican (BAV) Raineri 55, f. 55v
1600s: BOr (BL) 637, f. 60v; EMML (HMML) 2060, f. 89v; EMML (HMML) 2282, f. 72r; BOr (BL) 636, f. 13r
1700s: BOr (BL) 642, f. 13v; EMDA (HMML) 237, s. 13a; EMML (HMML) 8935, f. 63r; UCLA-LA (EMIP) 2145, f. 55r...
1800s: EMDA (HMML) 319, s. 150b; EMML (HMML) 1978, f. 42v; EMDA (HMML) 10, s. 74a; EMDA (HMML) 134, s. 158b...
1900s: EMML (HMML) 9103, f. 119v; EMML (HMML) 1635, s. 83a; EMML (HMML) 213, f. 137r; EMML (HMML) 213, s. 9...
2000s: TGS (EOTC) 2004-2011, s. 163b
This story, with the short title "The Appeal of Mary as a Bird," is very old: the earliest PEMM manuscript* in which this story appears is from around 1450.
It appears in 74 out of 709 PEMM manuscripts (11%).
This story is not illustrated in PEMM manuscripts.
It is a post-life miracle: it does not take place during Our Lady Mary's lifetime, but after it.
This story was originally composed in Africa (probably).
It is available in the following languages: French, Amharic, Geʿez, English.
If you think any of the information on this page is incorrect (e.g., the date, manuscripts, translation), please use our PEMM Feedback Form to let us know. We depend on users like you to improve the site.
* A "PEMM manuscript" is defined as any Geʿez Marian manuscript or book that PEMM has catalogued. For more information, see Using the Site.
Summary
There was a rich man who possessed a great deal of gold, along with numerous servants and many different types of livestock. It came to pass that a deadly plague arrived and killed many in this man’s household. He prayed to Mary to save him and his people. One day, while he slept, the man dreamt of a grand church with an east-facing window. A fire burned outside the window. A small bird whose color resembled the heavens flew out of the window and, batting its wings, extinguished the fire. When it reentered the church the fire broke out again, so the bird flew out of the window and extinguished the fire once more. The bird then descended to the ground, turning white in the process. And as the rich man approached to see the bird up close, it disappeared. The man realized that Mary had taken the form of the bird, and that the act of extinguishing the fire represented the quelling of the plague. He gave thanks to Christ and the Holy Virgin for delivering him and his people.
Translation
Translated by Jeremy Brown & Mehari Worku & Dawit Muluneh with Wendy Laura Belcher from EMML (HMML) 3872, ff. 107r–107v, in 2023.
A miracle [performed] by Our Lady Mary, the Holy Twofold Virgin. May her prayers be with her servant Simon forever and ever, amen.
In a certain city lived a man who was richer than all the other inhabitants. He had gold and silver, fine clothes, male and female servants, oxen and cattle, sheep and goats, horses and mules, donkeys and camels, and abundant crops.
A deadly plague came and besieged the rich man’s city. Many of his male and female servants died, and that rich man was sad. He began to beseech Our Lady Mary, the Twofold Virgin, to rescue him and his people from suffering. Our Lady Mary, who never overlooks the petition of those who ask her [for help], quickly responded to him and did not overlook him.
One night, when he was sleeping, he saw a large and lofty church. On the right side, near the corner pointing east, was a window. A fire appeared outside of the church building, under the roof right in front of the window.
Then Our Lady Mary, the Twofold Virgin, burst out of that window in the likeness of a bird smaller than a dove, and its color was like the color of the sky. She clapped her wings together and extinguished that fire. Then she returned into [the church through] the window.
Again, the fire appeared where it had been before. A second time, Mary appeared, bursting out of that window, and as a bird she extinguished the fire with her beating wings, just as she had before. [Now when] that bird flew down to the ground, she was white from her head to her belly.
That rich man was standing with some of his loved ones, and then went toward that bird he had been watching. As soon as he approached her, however, she disappeared.
That rich man immediately understood that this was Our Lady Mary, the Twofold Virgin, in the likeness of a bird. He also understood that her extinguishing of that fire with her beating wings was her extinguishing the plague. From that point on, the rich man and his people were saved from the plague.
Praise be to the Son of God, who gave her to be a refuge for people from a bitter death and a savior from all evil deeds.
May her intercession be with her servant Simon forever and ever, amen.
TO CITE THIS TRANSLATION
Jeremy Brown & Mehari Worku & Dawit Muluneh with Wendy Laura Belcher, trans. "ID 209: A wealthy man to whom the Virgin Mary appeared in the form of a bird to save the countryside from pestilence.." From EMML (HMML) 3872, ff. 107r–107v. Täˀammərä Maryam (Miracle of Mary) Stories, edited by Wendy Laura Belcher, Jeremy Brown, Mehari Worku, and Dawit Muluneh. Princeton: Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary project. https://pemm.princeton.edu/stories/209.
This story, with the short title "The Appeal of Mary as a Bird," is very old: the earliest PEMM manuscript* in which this story appears is from around 1450.
It appears in 74 out of 709 PEMM manuscripts (11%).
This story is not illustrated in PEMM manuscripts.
It is a post-life miracle: it does not take place during Our Lady Mary's lifetime, but after it.
This story was originally composed in Africa (probably).
It is available in the following languages: French, Amharic, Geʿez, English.
If you think any of the information on this page is incorrect (e.g., the date, manuscripts, translation), please use our PEMM Feedback Form to let us know. We depend on users like you to improve the site.
* A "PEMM manuscript" is defined as any Geʿez Marian manuscript or book that PEMM has catalogued. For more information, see Using the Site.