The Prince and the Plunder

A book on how Britain took one boy and piles of treasures from Ethiopia

Category: Manuscripts

A prayer scroll with five miniatures (OR 12025) *

Published April 20, 2023 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A 19th century Ethiopian prayer scroll with five miniatures, in three strips, with the 1868 campaign mentioned in a note on the back

Where: The British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB

Description

A note on the back of the scroll reads: “Thomas William Oliver, Royal Navy, from Colonel John Watts of Gunville, Dorset, and Bombay. -Abyssinia- War 1868. Supposed to a Psalm”

Digital version – http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Or_12025

Sources

Listed as OR 12025 in the British Library catalogue

Catalogue of Ethiopian manuscripts in the British Library acquired since the year 1877 / compiled by S. Strelcyn

Posted In Manuscripts | Scrolls | Suspected Magdala plunder | The Plunder
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A 17th century Psalter with two notes linking it to Maqdala (OR 12467)

Published March 09, 2023 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: An Ethiopian Psalter, finished on 6 November 1660, including a prayer for the dying, a fragment of the Miracles of the Virgin Mary containing five miracles, the Psalms and the Canticles of the Prophets of the Old and New Testaments. Two notes, one written the other inserted, link it to Maqdala.

Where: The British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB

Ref: OR 12467
Digital version – http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Or_12467

Provenance:
f. 100v. In the left margin a note: “ This book was brought from Abyssinia by Mr. W. Edwards, Captain, Highland Transport Train. June 1868. A piece of paper (126 x 200 mm) has been stuck on to the inside of the back cover, containing on the recto and verso a description of the provenace of the manuscript “taken at Magdala by Captain William W. Edwards of Madras Cavalry, who held an appointment under Lord Napier”.

Posted In Acts & miracles of the saints | Biblical books | Manuscripts | Prayers, psalms, hymns, services | The Plunder
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The prayer against colic scroll (MS 14)

Published March 08, 2023 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A healing scroll that was very likely taken from Maqdala. Part of a wider collection.

Where: The Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Rd, London NW1 2BE

The online catalogue calls it MS Ethiopian 14 and says it was taken at Maqdala.

The 1972 print Catalogue of Ethiopian manuscripts of the Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine in London says:

“As far as one can tell from the notes preserved in the registers of the Library, the provenance of these scrolls is heterogeneous. As one might expect, some of them certainly come from Magdala, brought back by members of Lord Napier’s expedition in 1867-8 (Nos. I, VII, VIII, XII, XIV). This is probably also true for No. XIII and perhaps for a few others as well. All these MSS were acquired by the Library between 1913 and 1930.”

Catalogue entry:
XIV
Vellum. Scroll. 575 mm. X 65 mm. Poor handwriting.
Black and red ink. No. 14622.

  1. Prayer against barya and legewon.
  2. Prayer against colic.

Two coloured magical pictures.
The owner’s name is Yomam.
Taken at Magdala in 1868. Bought in 1913.

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The prayer against malicious demons scroll (MS 13)

Published March 08, 2023 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A healing scroll that was very likely taken from Maqdala. Part of a wider collection.

Where: The Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Rd, London NW1 2BE

Ethiopian MS 13
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) terms and conditions https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Credit: 19th century Ethiopian manuscript. ink on Vellum. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

The online catalogue calls it MS Ethiopian 13 and says it was taken at Maqdala.

The 1972 print Catalogue of Ethiopian manuscripts of the Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine in London is more cautious. It says:

“As far as one can tell from the notes preserved in the registers of the Library, the provenance of these scrolls is heterogeneous. As one might expect, some of them certainly come from Magdala, brought back by members of Lord Napier’s expedition in 1867-8 (Nos. I, VII, VIII, XII, XIV). This is probably also true for No. XIII and perhaps for a few others as well. All these MSS were acquired by the Library between 1913 and 1930.”

Catalogue entry:
XIII
Nineteenth century. Vellum. 600 mm. X 117 mm. Last strip of a longer scroll. Large, mediocre handwriting. Black and red ink. Preserved in a
cylindrical case of leather. No. 36970.

  1. End of a prayer against chest pain
  2. Prayer against colic.
  3. Prayer against malicious demons, and against the evil eye of men and women, of Christians, Muslims, and Jews, of white and black people, of Satan, devils, buda, dgd sdbd\ blacksmiths, dobbi and dobbit, dini and danit (?), qdmdnna and mwartdnna.

One magical picture at the end.
The consecutive owners mentioned are : Sabana Giyorgis, Makera Sallase, and Walatta Heywat.
Possibly originally belonging to the same scroll as No. XII. Bought in 1915.

Posted In Scrolls | Suspected Magdala plunder
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A late 16th century manuscript including the lives of Abba Zamika’el and Gabra Krestos

Published March 08, 2023 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A late 16th century manuscript including The Lives of Abba Zamikā’el and Gabra Krestos, The Vision of Mary, The Bandlet of Righteousness and The Miracle of St. Michael. It has a note mentioning Maqdala.

Where: University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections, Los Angeles, California 90095-1575

The manuscript, listed as Ms. 170/337, has been scanned and can be seen here – https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz0028vz5q

Provenance: A note on f1v. reads: “Taken from King Theodore’s arsenal at Magdala after the fall of the place 14th April 1868”. One note of caution – some manuscripts were described as “from Magdala” to raise their value, particularly for sale to the U.S. market. The university, however, seems to be confident in its provenance and describes its origin as Maqdala in its paper A collection of Ethiopic manuscripts, various dates.

One of a collection of 64 Ethiopic manuscripts at the UCLA including 54 bound volumes and 10 scrolls. Some of the others may also be from Magdala.

On f.54 has a miniature of Gabera Keresetos surrounded by dogs and with white leprosy spots, which is described in the paper as a “very important early representation of leprosy”.

Posted In Acts & miracles of the saints | Manuscripts
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A manuscript of the ‘Faith of the fathers’ (No. 112) *

Published February 28, 2023 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A manuscript dated 1694 of Haymanota abaw ‘Faith of the fathers’

Where: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

This is one of two manuscripts donated to the Bibliothèque nationale de France in 1868 by Major Gally-Passebosc, an officer from the French Navy who followed the expedition.

It is listed as No. 112 in the Catalogue des manuscrits éthiopiens (gheez et amharique) de la Bibliothèque nationale by H. Zotenberg.

Digital version in the library’s database – https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b525068816

Another manuscript from Gally-Passebosc – a 17th century discourse on the festivals of the angels Michael and Raphael – ended up in the collection of U.S. bibliographer, bibliophile and librarian Wilberforce Eames. There was a note in that manuscript that said the French officer had seized it after the defeat of Emperor Theodore.

Posted In Ecclesiastical & theological | Manuscripts
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