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

British Library, "Orient" Collection, Manuscript No. 650

This Geʿez language manuscript was created between 1434 and 1468. This date is estimated, based on the reigning Ethiopian royal ruler's name appearing in the manuscript. The royal ruler's name mentioned in the manuscript is Zara Yaeqob.

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 typical number of Marian miracle stories: 55.

This manuscript has no paintings of Marian miracle stories.

This manuscript has a total of 148 folios. It has 2 columns per page and approximately 19–23 lines per column.

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

The PEMM abbreviation for this manuscript is BOr (BL) 650.

The Beta Maṣāḥǝft abbreviation for this manuscript is BLorient650. Other shelfmarks and/or abbreviations for this manuscript include British Library Orient 650; British Library Or 650.

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 30 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. Unfortunately, due to a ransomware attack in October 2023, almost none of these manuscripts are still online.

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) 650

Order in MS	Story Title	Location in MS	Story Recension	Incipit	Other Aspects	Story ID
1	The nominal Christian from Sidon who encountered a serpent/dragon/snake in the desert of Scete (same as 1231?)	18r	-	-	-	134
2	Bishop Hildephonsus of Toledo who collected stories and compiled them into the Book of the Miracles of the Virgin Mary	19v	-	-	-	13
3	The sinful deacon who was healed from his illness by a drop of the Virgin Mary's breast milk	21v	EMML (HMML) 3872	-	-	135
4	Deacon Michael, who was a grocer, and his stolen ring that the Virgin Mary helped to retrieve from a fish	23r	-	-	-	4
5	The innocent Frenchman who was framed for theft by a spurned innkeeper’s daughter and was hanged but did not die	28r	-	-	-	5
6	The Arabs who tried to plunder an Egyptian monastery during a famine in the time of the Patriarch Matthew and kidnap a monk when thwarted	35v	-	-	-	6
7	The thief whom the king's soldiers could not kill by hanging because he prayed to the Virgin Mary	39r	EMML (HMML) 3872	-	-	136
8	Sybil 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 palace	40v	EMML (HMML) 3872	-	-	137
9	A sinful deacon assassinated by his enemies receives a Christian burial and is found with a flower growing out of his mouth	43r	-	-	-	138
10	Dabra Qalemon's monk who humbly pretends not to fast and is saved from his brothers by the Virgin Mary.	44r	EMML (HMML) 6938	-	-	7
11	Dabra Qalemon's monks who are robbed by Berbers and aided by Arabs	48v	-	-	-	8
12	Dabra Qalemon's tailor, Jacob the Short, has his scissors stolen and the thief falls ill until he returns them	51v	-	-	-	9
13	A deacon prayed the prayer that contained the word 'rejoice' five times for the five joys of the Virgin Mary	52v	EMML (HMML) 4618	-	-	142
14	The repentant knight who could only learn to pray the prayer of the Hail Mary	55r	EMML (HMML) 3872	-	-	139
15	The sinful deacon whom his enemies could not kill until he had confessed himself to a priest.	56r	EMML (HMML) 3872	-	-	140
16	Pilgrim to Santiago: Part 1: The bishop for whom the Virgin Mary tailored a new sackcloth sends a penitent pilgrim to Santiago (whole or opening)	57v	EMML (HMML) 3872	-	-	141-A
17	Dabra ʾƎntsǝnā's Abbot Raphael who refused to hear the sacrament of confession during the time of Patriarch Abba Matthew of Alexandria	59r	-	-	-	10
18	Dabra Qalemon's icon of the Virgin Mary and the Arab who has contempt for it and is punished during the time of Patriarch Gabriel IV of Alexandria (1370-1378)	61v	-	-	-	11
19	Patriarch Gabriel Ibn Tarik of Alexandria who composed the Masehafa Hawi (The Book of the Collector), a collection of Christian doctrine and theology	63r	-	-	-	12
20	A deacon prayed the prayer that contained the word 'rejoice' five times for the five joys of the Virgin Mary	66r	EMML (HMML) 3872	-	-	142

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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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