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

British Library, "Orient" Collection, Manuscript No. 637

This Geʿez language manuscript was created between 1650 and 1699. This date is estimated, based on a print or electronic catalog entry about the manuscript.

This manuscript is held in the repository of British Library in their "Orient" Collection in London, UK. This manuscript's last known location in Ethiopia was South: taken from King Tewodros's royal library in Magdala.

To view the manuscript, go to the digital copy.

This manuscript has a high number of Marian miracle stories: 161.

This manuscript has no paintings of Marian miracle stories, but it does have 2 paintings of Mary and events in her life. To see the paintings in this manuscript, go to its PEMM Paintings by Manuscript page.

This manuscript has a total of 106 folios. It has 3 columns per page and approximately 29–31 lines per column.

The stories in this manuscript were cataloged by Jeremy R. Brown.

The PEMM abbreviation for this manuscript is BOr (BL) 637.

The Beta Maṣāḥǝft abbreviation for this manuscript is BLorient637. Other shelfmarks and/or abbreviations for this manuscript include British Library Orient 637; British Library Or 637.

Regarding this manuscript's repository:

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.

For more information about understanding this table, see Using This Site. If you think any of the information on this page is incorrect (e.g., the location, date, folios, story IDs), please use our PEMM Feedback Form to let us know. We depend on users like you to improve the site.

BOr (BL) 637

Order in MS
Story Title
Location in MS
Paintings
Story Recension
Incipit
Other Aspects
Story ID
139The thief whom the king's soldiers could not kill by hanging because he prayed to the Virgin Maryf. 9r-9r 0---136
140Sybil the prophetess saw a vision of the Virgin Mary holding her child within a circle around the sun and the Emperor of Rome erected an altar in his palacef. 9r-10r, col. 2, line 180---137
141A sinful deacon assassinated by his enemies receives a Christian burial and is found with a flower growing out of his mouthf. 10r-10v, col. 1, line 250---138
142The repentant knight who could only learn to pray the prayer of the Hail Maryf. 10v-11r, col. 1, line 190EMML (HMML) 3872--139
143The sinful deacon whom his enemies could not kill until he had confessed himself to a priest.f. 11r-11r, col. 1, line 80EMML (HMML) 3872--140
144Pilgrim to Santiago: Part 1: The bishop for whom the Virgin Mary tailored a new sackcloth sends a penitent pilgrim to Santiago (whole or opening)f. 11r-12r, col. 3, line 290EMML (HMML) 3872--141-A
145A deacon prayed the prayer that contained the word 'rejoice' five times for the five joys of the Virgin Maryf. 12r-12r, col. 1, line 110EMML (HMML) 3872--142
146Alexander, a nobleman from Jerusalem, was swallowed up by a dragon (crocodile) and delivered after three daysf. 12r-12v, col. 3, line 230---143
147The pilgrim [to Santiago] whom Satan persuaded to mutilate himself after falling into a sexual sinf. 12v-13v, col. 3, line 160EMML (HMML) 3872--144
148The priest who could only memorize one mass, the Anaphora of the Virgin Mary, and was prevented from performing mass by the bishopf. 13v-14r, col. 1, line 60---145
149The knight who plotted to seduce the shoemaker's daughter, who had pledged her virginity to the Virgin Maryf. 14r-15v, col. 1, line 280---146
150The Jewish boy who was thrown into the furnace by his father after he received Holy Communion with his Christian companionsf. 15v-16r, col. 2, line 100EMML (HMML) 3872--147
151The 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 cloakf. 16r-16v, col. 3, line 40EMML (HMML) 3872--148
152A man who drowned when a pilgrim ship sank and was delivered unharmed to their destinationf. 16v-17r, col. 3, line 110EMML (HMML) 3872--149
153A divorced wife who prayed for revenge against her husband's new wife but was refused because the new wife was devoted to the Virgin Maryf. 17r-18r, col. 3, line 210---150
154A woman from Rome whose daughter returns to life for a day on the anniversary of her deathf. 18r-18v, col. 2, line 300---151
155A widow who saved her only son from execution by hanging when she prayed to the Virgin Maryf. 18v-19v, col. 3, line 300EMML (HMML) 3872--152
156A young man who used to crown the icon of the Virgin Mary with rosesf. 19v-20v, col. 3, line 40EMML (HMML) 3872--153
157The two women who were attacked by robbers on their way to churchf. 20v-20v, col. 2, line 90EMML (HMML) 3872--154
158Emperor Constantine's sister, who prayed to know how the Virgin Mary bore the Word of God, but then failed to recognize her Son when he appeared to her in church.f. 21r-21v, col. 1, line 10EMML (HMML) 3872--155
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pricenton ethiopian eritrean & egyptian miracles of marry project

The Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary (PEMM) project is a comprehensive resource for the 1,000+ miracle stories written about and the 2,500+ images painted of the Virgin Mary in these African countries, and preserved in Geʿez between 1300 and the present.

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