Sean M. Winslow
(Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, Ontario)

“The Gospels of Ǝnda Abba Gärima and the Contexts of Early Christian Manuscript Production in Ethiopia”

Abstract of Paper Presented at the 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, 2014)

Session on “Medieval Writing Materials:  Surfaces, Fixtures, and Enclosures”
Sponsored by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
Organized by Mildred Budny
2014 Congress Accomplished

[First published on our first website on 16 March 2014, with updates]

The earliest Christian manuscripts in Ethiopia are exclusively represented by one set of Gospels, with debated dating as early as the sixth century.  I will introduce the contexts for the introduction of Christian manuscript production in Ethiopia and compare it to the production of manuscripts from the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries, in order to place the Abba Gärima Gospels in context and explore how they may anchor our understanding of the evolution of the Ethiopian manuscript tradition from early Christian times to the present.

Photography by Mildred Budny