Skip to main content
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. 652

This Geʿez language manuscript was created between 1400 and 1499. 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: 162. Of these stories, 2 are unique, marked with a ☆ in the table below, under Other Aspects.

This manuscript has no paintings of Marian miracle stories, but it does have 1 painting 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 198 folios. It has 2 columns per page and approximately 20–21 lines per column.

The stories in this manuscript were cataloged by Dorothea Reule.

The PEMM abbreviation for this manuscript is BOr (BL) 652.

The Beta Maṣāḥǝft abbreviation for this manuscript is BLorient652. Other shelfmarks and/or abbreviations for this manuscript include British Library Orient 652; British Library Or 652.

It is quite rare for an early manuscript to have stories that never appear in any other manuscript. This manuscript has two such stories, IDs 1003 and 1004.

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) 652

Order in MS
Story Title
Location in MS
Paintings
Story Recension
Incipit
Other Aspects
Story ID
1Bishop Hildephonsus of Toledo who collected stories and compiled them into the Book of the Miracles of the Virgin Maryf. 2v-4v, col. 1 0---13
2The rich man who angrily threw a loaf of dry bread at a beggar, cutting him, but was saved from hell by the Virgin Maryf. 4v-5v, col. 1 0---106
3A young man who used to crown the icon of the Virgin Mary with rosesf. 5v-6v, col. 2 0---153
4The sinful deacon whom his enemies could not kill until he had confessed himself to a priest.f. 6v-7r, col. 2 0---140
5The pilgrim [to Santiago] whom Satan persuaded to mutilate himself after falling into a sexual sinf. 7r-9r, col. 2 0---144
6The priest who could only memorize one mass, the Anaphora of the Virgin Mary, and was prevented from performing mass by the bishopf. 9r-10r, col. 1 0---145
7A widow who saved her only son from execution by hanging when she prayed to the Virgin Maryf. 10r-11r, col. 2 0---152
8An official who kidnapped a girl who had made a vow of virginity is visited by the Virgin Maryf. 11r-11v, col. 1 0---309
9The noble man from Qemer who was a cannibal and ate 78 people, gave a drop of water to a beggar, and went to heavenf. 11v-13v, col. 2 0---125
10The rich woman who went with the monks to the [the Church of] Manbalis [in the town of Alwa, Nubia] for prayer and there saw a vision of the Virgin Maryf. 14r-15r, col. 1 0---185
11The pious official who was accused of embezzlement and of having an affair with the wife of his lordf. 15r-16r, col. 2 0---157
12The priest who could only memorize one mass, the Anaphora of the Virgin Mary, and was prevented from performing mass by the bishopf. 16v-17v, col. 1 0---145
13The hypocritical superior of a monastery who pretended to be religious and is rescued from hell by the Virgin Maryf. 17v-18v, col. 2 0---196
14A pregnant abbess is secretly delivered of her son by the Virgin Mary and he grows up to become a bishopf. 18v-20v, col. 1 0---158
15A nun eloped with a priest and they were married for four years but then they repentedf. 20v-22r, col. 1 0---159
16A bee keeper who consulted a sorceress to have his bees produce more honey and waxf. 22r-23r, col. 2 0---160
17An old monk from Egypt whom the Virgin Mary made young againf. 23r-23v, col. 1 0---161
18The monastic scribe who used to write the Virgin Mary's name in golden inkf. 24r-24v, col. 1 0---162
19The former pagan, the Bishop of Rome, who cut off his hand because of a lustful thought and the Virgin Mary healed himf. 24v-25v, col. 2 0---163
20A nun in prison for her faith prays for two young virgin women who come to visit herf. 25v-26r, col. 1 0---164
of 9
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.

Princeton Department of Comparative Literature 133 East Pyne, Princeton, NJ 08540

Princeton Department of African American Studies Morrison Hall, Princeton, NJ 08540

Explore

Research Tools

About

pemm@princeton.edu

© 2025 The Trustees of Princeton University