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

Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, HMML Project ID EMML, Manuscript No. 9002

This Geʿez language manuscript was created between 1400 and 1400. This date is precise, based on the scribe noting the date in the manuscript. The royal ruler's name mentioned in the manuscript is Dawit II.

This manuscript's last known location (i.e., where it was microfilmed or digitized at some point in the past forty years) is the repository of Gishen Maryam in Ambāssal, Wallo Province, Ethiopia.

To view the manuscript, go to the digital copy.

This manuscript has a typical number of Marian miracle stories: 75.

This manuscript has no paintings of Marian miracle stories, but it does have 12 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 285 folios and 306 scans. It has 2 columns per page and approximately 23 lines per column.

The stories in this manuscript were cataloged by Vitagrazia Pisani.

The PEMM abbreviation for this manuscript is EMML (HMML) 9002.

The Beta Maṣāḥǝft abbreviation for this manuscript is EMML9002. Other shelfmarks and/or abbreviations for this manuscript include EMML 9002.

This famous manuscript, also called the Codex Aureus or Golden Codex, was commissioned by King Dawit (r. 1379/80 - 1413) and was started on August 29 and completed on December 8, 1400. It is the first known Miracles of Mary manuscript in Ge'ez with dozens of stories, many of which were copied and circulated for centuries. The manuscript has a lengthy and informative colophon, stating in part that the 75 miracles "had not been revealed before in the land of Ethiopia. When many previous kings and metropolitans sought and desired to see and hear [it], and they did not find [it]. ... But now it pleased the Lord God, for the strength of the king’s faith and the abundance of his love [for Mary] ... to have it revealed to King Dāwit. They brought to him this book from the land of Egypt at the behest of her beloved son our Lord Jesus Christ, while it was written in Arabic; and he had it translated from Arabic into Gǝʿǝz, in the peace of the Lord, amen" (Alessandro Bausi, Ethiopic Colophons: An Update). EMML 9002 is not the first documented instance of Miracles of Mary stories in Ge'ez, but it is the first dedicated to the stories. One earlier manuscript has eight stories from a little earlier in Dawit's reign, but they are in a larger manuscript with other Marian materials. Mehari Worku believes that the translator for this manuscript was the famous author Giyorgis of Sagla (1363-1425), who was working at the court then as a author, translator, and preacher. One piece of evidence for this theory is that the manuscript's story PEMM ID 122 documents a miracle that happened during the composition of the manuscript, which story also appears in Giyorgis of Sagla's biography.

Regarding this manuscript's repository:

The Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library (EMML) was a microfilming project carried out in Ethiopia in the 1970s-1990s. The project photographed 9,238 manuscripts prior to its conclusion in 1994. The collection has over five hundred Täˀammərä Maryam manuscripts. This project revolutionized Ethiopian Studies through the thousands of manuscripts made available for research and the ten volumes of catalogs prepared by William F. Macomber and Getatchew Haile. There is no institution that holds a complete set of the EMML microfilms, although the majority of the microfilms are available at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). HMML has the largest collection of electronic and microfilmed Ethiopian/Eritrean manuscripts in the world. There is an ongoing digitization effort at HMML to make the entirety of the EMML collection available online in their Reading Room. View more information about collections at HMML, including EMML.

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.

EMML (HMML) 9002

Order in MS	Story Title	Location in MS	Story Recension	Incipit	Other Aspects	Story ID
1	Bishop Ildefonsus (Daqseyos) of Toledo who collected stories and compiled them into the Book of the Miracles of the Virgin Mary	f. 134r-135v, col. 2, line 1	-	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ በውስተ፡ ቤተ፡ ክርስቲያን፡ ዘሀገረ፡ ጦለ...	-	13
2	The sinful deacon who was healed from his illness by a drop of the Virgin Mary's breast milk	f. 136r-137r, col. 1, line 2	EMML (HMML) 2059	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ አሐዱ፡ ዲያቆን፡ ውስተ፡ አሐቲ፡ ሀገር፡...	-	135
3	The thief whom the king's soldiers could not kill by hanging because he prayed to the Virgin Mary	f. 137r-138r, col. 1, line 12	EMML (HMML) 3872	ወሀሎ፡ አሐዱ፡ ብእሲ፡ ፈያታዊ፡ ውስተ፡ ፍኖት፡ ቀታሌ፡ ነፍሰ፡...	-	136
4	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	f. 138r-139v, col. 2, line 16	EMML (HMML) 1573	ተብህለ፡ በእንተ፡ አሐዱ፡ እምነገሥት፡ እስመ፡ ውእቱ፡ ኮነ፡ ዓ...	-	137
5	A sinful deacon assassinated by his enemies receives a Christian burial and is found with a flower growing out of his mouth	f. 139v-141r, col. 2, line 2	-	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ ብእሲ፡ ዲያቆን፡ ውስተ፡ ሀገር፡ እንተ፡ ...	-	138
6	The repentant knight who could only learn to pray the prayer of the Hail Mary	f. 141r-142r, col. 1, line 14	-	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ አሐዱ፡ ብእሲ፡ አምሰብአ፡ አፍራስ፡ ከመ፡...	-	139
7	The sinful deacon whom his enemies could not kill until he had confessed himself to a priest.	f. 142r-143r, col. 2, line 13	-	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ አሐዱ፡ ብእሲ፡ እኩይ፡ ውሑደ፡ ሠናያት፡ ...	-	140
8	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)	f. 143r-144v, col. 2, line 2	-	ተብህለ፡ በእንተ፡ አሐዱ፡ ኤጲስ፡ ቆጶስ፡ ከመ፡ ውእቱ፡ ኮነ፡ ...	-	141-A
9	A deacon prayed the prayer that contained the word 'rejoice' five times for the five joys of the Virgin Mary	f. 144v-145v, col. 2, line 2	EMML (HMML) 4618	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ አሐዱ፡ ዲያቆን፡ ውስተ፡ አሐቲ፡ መካን፡ ...	-	142
10	The pilgrim [to Santiago] whom Satan persuaded to mutilate himself after falling into a sexual sin	f. 145v-147r, col. 2, line 8	-	ተብህለ፡ በእንተ፡ አሐዱ፡ ብእሲ፡ ዘስሙ፡ ሕርንዳይ፡ ሶበ፡ ሀሎ...	-	144
11	The priest who could only memorize one mass, the Anaphora of the Virgin Mary, and was prevented from performing mass by the bishop	f. 147r-148r, col. 2, line 2	-	ተብህለ፡ በእንተ፡ አሐዱ፡ ቀሲስ፡ ከመ፡ ውእቱ፡ ሀሎ፡ ውስተ፡ ...	-	145
12	The knight who plotted to seduce the shoemaker's daughter, who had pledged her virginity to the Virgin Mary	f. 148v-151v, col. 1, line 2	-	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ አሐዱ፡ ብእሲ፡ ሰፋየ፡ አሣእን፡ ወቦቱ፡ ...	-	146
13	The Jewish boy who was thrown into the furnace by his father after he received Holy Communion with his Christian companions	f. 151v-153r, col. 1, line 9	EMML (HMML) 1573	ይቤ፡ አሐዱ፡ መነኮስ፡ ፈራሄ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ ውስተ...	-	147
14	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	f. 154r-155v, col. 1, line 1	EMML (HMML) 1573	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀለወት፡ አሐቲ፡ ባሕር፡ ዘተአውድ፡ ኵሎ፡ ዓለመ...	-	148
15	A man who drowned when a pilgrim ship sank and was delivered unharmed to their destination	f. 155v-157r, col. 1, line 8	EMML (HMML) 2275	ተብህለ፡ በእንተ፡ አሐቲ፡ ሐመር፡ ዐባይ፡ እንተ፡ ምልእት፡ ኵሎ...	-	149
16	A divorced wife who prayed for revenge against her husband's new wife but was refused because the new wife was devoted to the Virgin Mary	f. 157r-159r, col. 1, line 17	-	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ አሐዱ፡ ብእሲ፡ ዘኀደጋ፡ ለብእሲቱ፡ ወአው...	-	150
17	A woman from Rome whose daughter returns to life for a day on the anniversary of her death	f. 159r-160v, col. 1, line 13	-	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ በሀገረ፡ ሮሜ፡ ብዙኃን፡ አብያተ፡ ክርስቲ...	-	151
18	A widow who saved her only son from execution by hanging when she prayed to the Virgin Mary	f. 160v-162v, col. 2, line 18	EMML (HMML) 1573	ወሀለወት፡ አሐቲ፡ ብእሲት፡ ነዳይት፡ እቤር፡ ወባቲ፡ አሐደ፡ ወ...	-	152
19	A young man who used to crown the icon of the Virgin Mary with roses	f. 162v-164v, col. 1, line 6	-	ነገሩነ፡ ሰብእ፡ ምእመናን፡ ዘእሙን፡ ነገሮሙ፡ ከመ፡ ሀሎ፡ በው...	-	153
20	The two women who were attacked by robbers on their way to church	f. 164v-165r, col. 2, line 6	EMML (HMML) 5105	ተብህለ፡ ከመ፡ ሀለዋ፡ ክልኤ፡ አንስት፡ እንዘ፡ የሐውራ፡ በዕለ...	-	154

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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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