London, British Library, BL Oriental 816
Solomon Gebreyes, Daria Elagina
This manuscript description is based on the catalogues listed in the Catalogue Bibliography
Collection: Oriental
Other identifiers: Wright cat. CCCXCVII, Wright 397
General description
Chronographic Work
Number of Text units: 27
Number of Codicological units: 1
For a table of all relations from and to this record, please go to the Relations view. In the Relations boxes on the right of this page, you can also find all available relations grouped by name.
Origin
1800-1868 (dating on palaeographic grounds)
Provenance
The manuscript had very probably belonged to a church in the Gondar↗ area, from where it was taken by Tewodros II and brought to Madḫāne ʿĀlam↗ . It was then looted by the British Napier expedition in 1868.
Summary
- ms_i1 (check the viewerFols 1r–5r ), Tables of lunar cycles
- ms_i2 (check the viewerFols 5v–7r ), Tables of the month
- ms_i3 (check the viewerFols 8r and following ), A short, chiefly astronomical, treatise
- ms_i4 (check the viewerFols 12r and following ), ሐሳበ፡ ከዋክብት፡
- ms_i5 (check the viewerFols 14r–15v ), Calendaric tables
- ms_i6
(check the viewerFols 16r–17r ),
Lunar tables
- ms_i6.1 (check the viewerFols 17v–19v ), A short explanatory treatise to the lunar tables
- ms_i7 (check the viewerFols 20r–26v ), Computus from the beginning till the end of the World
- ms_i8
(check the viewerFols 26v and following ),
List of the Kings of Israel
- ms_i8.1 (check the viewerFols 26v and following ), List of the king of Judah
- ms_i8.2 (check the viewerFols 27v–29r ), List of the kings of Israel
- ms_i8.3 (check the viewerFols 29r and following ), On the names of the nations in the book of Enoch
- ms_i8.4 (check the viewerFols 29r and following ), On the idols of different nations
- ms_i9 (check the viewerFols 30r and following ), Tables for determining Easter
- ms_i10 (check the viewerFols 37v and following ), Calendaric tables
- ms_i11
(check the viewerFols 38v and following ),
ዓውደ፡ ዕለት፡
- ms_i11.1 (check the viewerFol. 38v ), ዘአሐዱ፡ ዓመት፡
- ms_i11.2 (check the viewerFol. 38v ), ዘአሠርቱ፡ ዓመት፡
- ms_i11.3 (check the viewerFol. 38v ), ዘ፸፻፡ ዓመት፡
- ms_i12 (check the viewerFols 39v–40r ), Tables for Roman (Greek) and Armenian calendars,
- ms_i13
(check the viewerFol. 41r ),
The Hebrew or Syriac alphabet
- ms_i13.1 (check the viewerFols 41r and following ), A short tract on the various significations of the 22 letters of the alphabet
- ms_i14
(check the viewerFols 43r and following ),
ስፍረ፡ ሰዓታት፡
- ms_i14.1 (check the viewerFols 43v and following ), Explanatory tract
- ms_i15 (check the viewerFol. 45r ), On the twelve hours of the night and the twelve hours of the day
- ms_i16 (check the viewerFols 45v and following ), Geographical notices
- ms_i17 (check the viewerFols 48r and following ), Tract on the text of Ps. 90.4
Contents
check the viewerFols 8r and following A short, chiefly astronomical, treatise (CAe 6459)
Language of text:
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): እምጥንተ፡ ዓለም፡ እሑድ። ምድር፡ መሠረታ፡ ለዓለም፡ ይከውን፡ ኑኃ፡ ፸፻ወ፫፻ መርኅብ። ወኁላቈ፡ መርኅብኒ፡ በመስፈርተ፡ ምዕራፍ፡ አው፡ በፈረሰኽ፡ አልቦ፡ ዘነአምር፡ ወባሕቱ፡ ይትአመር፡ ስመ፡ መርኅብ፡ ስፉሕ፡ ሜዳ፡ ውእቱ፡ ምስለ፡ ክበቡ፤ ወግዝፉሂ፡ ፳፻ወ፱ መርኅብ።
check the viewerFols 12r and following ሐሳበ፡ ከዋክብት፡ (CAe 5048 Stars)
Language of text:
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): ወከመዝ፡ ከመ፡ ታእምር፡ ሐሳበ፡ ከዋክብት፡ እስመ፡ ሥርጋዌሁ፡ ለሰማይ፡ ክብሮሙ፡ ለከዋክብት፡ ወመንክር፡ ሥራቱ፡ ለትዕይንተ፡ ሰማይ፡ በቃለ፡ ቅዱሳቲሁ፡ የሐውሩ፡ ወዛቲ፡ ሥርዓቶሙ፡ ለእሉ፡ በበመካናቲሆሙ፡ የአርቡ።
check the viewerFols 16r–17r Lunar tables
Language of text:
check the viewerFols 17v–19v A short explanatory treatise to the lunar tables
Language of text:
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): ከመዝ። ሥርዓቱ፡ ለኬክሮስ፡ በ፩ ሥርዓቱ፡ ፭ ኬክሮስ፡ በ፩ ዕለት፡ በ፩ ሰዓት፡ በ፱ ኬክሮስ፡ ትትወለድ፡ ወርኅ፡ በ፪ ዕለት፡ በ፪ ሰዓት፡ በ፫ ኬክሮስ፡ ወኮነ፡ ኬክሮስ፡ ፳።
check the viewerFols 20r–26v Computus from the beginning till the end of the World (CAe 6043)
Language of text:
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ):ምሥጢረ፡ አቅማራት፡ ወግብረ፡ ዓመታት፡ ወክፍለ፡ ሰንበታት፡ ወሱባኤያቲሆሙ፡ ወተባርዮ፡ ዕለታቲሆሙ፡ ዘ፩ ቀመር።
check the viewerFols 26v and following List of the Kings of Israel (CAe 5798)
Language of text:
check the viewerFols 27v–29r List of the kings of Israel
Language of text:
(Starting with Nǝḇūḵaḏneṣṣar , and ending with Heraclius , after whom is mentioned ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ in Egypt.)check the viewerFols 29r and following On the names of the nations in the book of Enoch
Language of text:
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): ዝንቱ፡ ውእቱ፡ አስማቲሆሙ፡ ለአሕዛብ፡ ዘሰመዮሙ፡ ሄኖክ። ለአማሌቅ፡ ሰመዮሙ፡ አንስርት። ወለግብጽ፡ አዘዕብት።
check the viewerFols 29r and following On the idols of different nations
Language of text:
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): ወዝውእቱ፡ አምልኮቶሙ፡ ለአሕዛብ፤ አማልክተ፡ ብና፡ ያመልኩ፡ ዘይሰመይ፡ ቀብው፤ ለውልንድዩኒ፡ ያመልኩ፡ አንበሳ፡ አብጺርያ፡ ያመ፡ ላህም፡ ዘብርት። ንጥሩኒስ፡ ወአትሪብ፡ ያመ፡ ላህመ፡ ዘዕብን። ሰኂን፡ ያመ፡ ሰግላ፡ አልፍብና፡ ያመ፡ ጣዖተ፡ ዘዕብን። ኑቂዩስ፡ ያመ፡ ጣዖተ፡ ብእሲ፡ ዘዕብን። ወጣዕዋ፡ ያመ፡ ሐራውያ፡ ዘዕብን፡
check the viewerFol. 41r The Hebrew or Syriac alphabet
Language of text:
(The names of the letters are አሌፍ፡ ቤት፡ ጋሜል፡ ዳሌጥ፡ ሄ፡ ዋው፡ ዛይ፡ ሔት፡ ጤት፡ ዮድ፡ ካፍ፡ ላሜድ፡ ሜም፡ ኖን፡ ሳምኬት፡ ዔ፡ ፌ፡ ጻዴ፡ ቆፍ፡ ሬስ፡ ሳን፡ ታው።)check the viewerFols 41r and following A short tract on the various significations of the 22 letters of the alphabet (CAe 6460)
Language of text:
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): ትርጓሜ፡ በእንተ፡ ፳ወ፪ ፊደላት፡ እሙንቱ፡ ይሰካተዩ፡ ፳ወ፪ ፍጥረታት፡ ዘፈጠሮሙ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ውስተ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ዓለም። ቅድመ፡ ፈጠራ፡ ለሰማይ፡ ቀዳሚት። ካዕበ፡ ፈጠራ፡ ለምድር፡ ዘታሕተ፡ ዕመቅ፡ (…)ommission by ወካዕበ፡ ፳ወ፪ ምግባራት፡ ዘገብሮሙ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ውስተ፡ ገዳም፡ ቅድመ። ወቀፀበ፡ ለነ፡ በዝኩ፡ ምስጢር፡ ምግባራት፡ ዘኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ መድኅን፡
check the viewerFols 43r and following ስፍረ፡ ሰዓታት፡
Language of text:
check the viewerFols 43v and following Explanatory tract
Language of text:
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): ወይእዜኒ፡ ንግባዕ፡ ወንንግር፡ በእንተ፡ ሐሳበ፡ ሰዓታት፡ ዘከመ፡ የዓውድ፡ ለለወርኁ፡ ቀቂመከ፡ ርቱዓ፡ ትኔጽር፡ ጽላሎተ፡ ርእስከ፡ ወትትኤመር፡ ኀበ፡ በጽሐ፡ ወትሄልቍ፡ ለአእምሮ፡ ሰዓታት፡ እምቀዳሚ፡ ሰዓተ፡ መዓልት፡ እስከ፡ ሠርክ፡ ፲ወ፪ ሰዓት፡
check the viewerFol. 45r On the twelve hours of the night and the twelve hours of the day (CAe 4052)
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): በቀዳሚ፡ ሰዓተ፡ መዓልት፡ ያዖርጉ፡ (!) ጸሎተ፡ ቅዱሳን።
check the viewerFols 45v and following Geographical notices (CAe 6461)
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ):ኅልቊ፡ አህጉራት፡ ወኊልቍ፡ ፍኖት፡ ዘዉስቴቶን፡
check the viewerFols 48r and following Tract on the text of Ps. 90.4 (CAe 6462)
Incipit (Gǝʿǝz ): በስመ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ግሩም፡ ርእሰ፡ ጥበብ፡ ወአእምሮ፡ (…)ommission by ነጽር፡ ኦላባዊ፡ ዘተኃሥሥ፡ ጥበበ፡ ወአእምሮ፡ በአዕይንተ፡ ልቡና፡ ወሐሳበ፡ በጥይቅና፡ ወኀሥሥ፡ በአስተጋብኦ፡ ሕሊና፡ ዘጸሐፍኩ፡ ለከ፡ ሐሳበ፡ ሰዓት፡ እላንቱ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በዘዚአሁ፡ ሥልጣን፡ ወምልክና። ፲ወ፪ ሰዓታት፡ ዘ፲፻፡ ዓመታት፡ በከመ፡ ይቤ፡ ዳዊት፡ ነቢይ፡ እስመ፡ ፲፻ ዓመት፡ በቅድሜየ፡ (!) ከመ፡ ዕለት፡ እንተ፡ ትማልም፡ ሐለፈት፡ እማንቱ።
Additions In this unit there are in total 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 .
-
check the viewerFol. 10v (Type: GuestText)
Dates of the Prophets and Priests of the Old Testament
Text in Gǝʿǝz ታሪክ፡ ዘነቢያት፡ እለ፡ ኮኑ፡
-
check the viewerFol. 15v (Type: Comment)
A short note on epacts added after Content Item 5 Calendaric tables
Text in Amharic
-
check the viewerFol. 19v (Type: Unclear)
The last section of Content Item 6.1 , item 6 A short explanatory treatise to the lunar tables added in a later hand.
Text in Amharic
-
check the viewerFols 50r–50v (Type: Genealogy)
Genealogies of the kings of Ethiopia
Text in Gǝʿǝz
Catalogue Bibliography
-
Wright, W. 1877. Catalogue of the Ethiopic Manuscripts in the British Museum Acquired since the Year 1847 (London: Gilbert and Rivington, 1877). page 321a-322b
This manuscript has modern restorations.
Physical Description
Form of support
Parchment Codex
Extent
Outer dimensions | |
Height | 7.75in |
Width | 6.875in |
Foliation
Foliation in the upper right corner by the library.
Quire Structure Collation
Position | Number | Leaves | Quires | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 6 | No image availableFols 1r–6v | 4, stub after 1 6, stub before 1 |
2 | 2 | 5 | No image availableFols 7r–11v | 2, stub after 4 |
3 | 3 | 8 | No image availableFols 12r–19v | |
4 | 4 | 10 | No image availableFols 20r–29v | |
5 | 5 | 7 | No image availableFols 30r–36v | 1, stub after 7 |
6 | 6 | 6 | No image availableFols 37r–42v | 1, stub after 6 6, stub after 1 |
7 | 7 | 8 | No image availableFols 43r–50v | 3, stub after 5 8, stub before 1 |
Collation diagrams
4, stub after 1 6, stub before 1
Quire ID:q1, number:1
2, stub after 4
Quire ID:q2, number:2
Quire ID:q3, number:3
Quire ID:q4, number:4
1, stub after 7
Quire ID:q5, number:5
1, stub after 6 6, stub after 1
Quire ID:q6, number:6
3, stub after 5 8, stub before 1
Quire ID:q7, number:7
Ethio-SPaRe formula : I(4+2/s.l. 4, stub after 1; s.l. 6, stub before 1/No image availableFols 1r–6v) – II(4+1/s.l. 2, stub after 4/No image availableFols 7r–11v) – III(8/No image availableFols 12r–19v) – IV(10/No image availableFols 20r–29v) – V(6+1/s.l. 1, stub after 7/No image availableFols 30r–36v) – VI(4+2/s.l. 1, stub after 6; s.l. 6, stub after 1/No image availableFols 37r–42v) – VII(6+2/s.l. 3, stub after 5; s.l. 8, stub before 1/No image availableFols 43r–50v) –
Formula: No image availableFols 1r–6v 4, stub after 1 6, stub before 1 ; No image availableFols 7r–11v 2, stub after 4 ; No image availableFols 12r–19v ; No image availableFols 20r–29v ; No image availableFols 30r–36v 1, stub after 7 ; No image availableFols 37r–42v 1, stub after 6 6, stub after 1 ; No image availableFols 43r–50v 3, stub after 5 8, stub before 1 ;
Formula 1: 1 (6), 2 (5), 3 (8), 4 (10), 5 (), 6 (), 7 (8),
Formula 2: 1 (6), 2 (5), 3 (8), 4 (10), 5 (), 6 (), 7 (8),
State of preservation
good
Condition
Binding
Two wooden boards. Both inner boards are darkened around the edges, possibly showing traces of a former cover.
Blind-tooled leather quarter cover (with the gilded title and shelfmark on the spine).Sewing Stations
4Sewing Stations
Sewing stations are used in an irregular way.Binding material
wood
leather
Original binding
No
Layout
Layout note 1(check the viewerFols 8ra–13vb, check the viewer17vb–29rb, check the viewer42ra–45vb )
Number of columns: 2
Number of lines: 23-26
Ruling
- (Subtype: pattern)1A-1A-1A1A/0-0/0-0/C
- The upper line is written above the ruling, the lower line is written above the ruling.
Pricking
- Pricking and ruling are visible.
- Primary pricks are visible, horizontal pricks are visible.
Palaeography
Hand 1
Script: Ethiopic
Date: 1800-1868 according to William Wright
The manuscript is neatly written, of the 19th century. 1800-1868 according to William WrightSelect one of the keywords listed from the record to see related data
Use the tag BetMas:BLorient816 in your public hypothes.is annotations which refer to this entity.