Ethiopic Literature

ETHIOPIC LITERATURE. The employment of the Geez or Ethiopic language for literary purposes appears to have begun no long time before the introduction of Christianity into Abys sinia, and its pagan period is represented by two Axumite inscrip tions (published by D. H. Muller in J. T. Bent's Sacred City of the Ethiopians, 1893), and an inscription at Matara (published by C. C. Rossini, Rendiconti Accad. Lincei, 1896) . As a literary lan guage it survived its use as a vernacular, but it is unknown at what time it ceased to be the latter. In Sir W. Cornwallis Harris's High lands of Aethiopia (1844) there is a list of rather more than I o0 works extant in Ethiopic ; subsequent research has chiefly brought to light fresh copies of the same works, but it has contributed some fresh titles. A conspectus of all the mss. known to exist in Europe (over 1,200 in number) was published by C. C. Rossini in 1899 (Rendiconti Accad. Lincei, ser. v. vol. viii.) ; of these the largest collection is that in the British Museum, but others of various sizes are to be found in the chief libraries of Europe. R. E. Litt mann (in the Zeitschrif t f iir Assyriologie, xv. and xvi.) describes two collections at Jerusalem, one of which contains 283 mss. ; and Rossini (Rendiconti, 1904) a collection of 35 mss. belonging to the Catholic mission at Cheren. Other collections exist in Abyssinia, and many mss. are in private hands. In 1893 besides portions of the Bible some 4o Ethiopic books had been printed in Europe (enumerated in L. Goldschmidt's Bibliotheca Aethiopica), but many more have since been published.

Influence of the Bible.

Geez literature is ordinarily divided into two periods, of which the first dates from the establishment of Christianity in the 5th century, and ends somewhere in the 7th; the second from the re-establishment of the Salomonic dynasty in 1268, continuing to the present time. It consists chiefly of translations, made in the first period from Greek, in the second from Arabic. It has no authors of the first or even of the second rank. Its character as a sacred and literary language is due to its translation of the Bible, which is made to contain 81 books, 46 of the Old Testament, and 35 of the New.

The mss. of the Biblical books vary very much, and none of them can claim any great antiquity; the oldest ms. in the lan guage is said to be one of the Octateuch (Paris Y), which claims to have been written in the time of Yekuno Amlak; but its editor, J. Oscar Boyd, Princeton, 1909--1911, seems to throw doubt on this date. The oldest extant ms. of the four Books of Kings ap pears to be one in the Museo Borgiano, presented by King Amda Sion (1314) to the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem (described by N. Roupp, Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie, vol. xvi. 296-342). An ex amination of ten chapters of St. Matthew by L. Hackspill (ibid. vol. xi.) led to the result that the Ethiopic version of the Gospels was made about A.D. 500, from a Syro-occidental text, and that this original translation is represented by Cod. Paris. Aeth. 3 2 ; whereas most mss. and all printed editions contain a text influ enced by the Alexandrian Vulgate, and show traces of Arabic. Rossini (ibid. x. 232) has made it probable that the Abba Salama, whom the native tradition identifies with Frumentius, evangelist of Abyssinia, to whom the translation of the Bible was ascribed, was in reality a Metropolitan of the early 14th century, who re vised the corrupt text then current. Of the ancient translation the latest book is said to be Ecclesiasticus, translated in the year 678. The New Testament has been published repeatedly (first in Rome, ; some letters about its publication were edited by I. Guidi in the Archivio della Soc. Rom. di Storia Patria, 1886), and C. F. A. Dillmann edited a critical text of most of the Old Testament and Apocrypha, but did not live to complete it.

Other translations thought to belong to the first period are the Sherata Makhbar, ascribed to S. Pachomius; the Kerilos, a col lection of homilies and tracts, beginning with Cyril of Alexan dria De recta fide; and the Physiologus, a fanciful work on Nat ural History (edited by F. Hommel, Leipzig, 1877).

Abyssinian History.

Of the works belonging to the second period much the most important are those which deal with Abys sinian history. The earliest part of the Axum chronicle preserved is that recording the wars of Amda Sion 0314-44) against the Muslims; it is doubtful, however, whether even this exists in its original form, as some scholars think; according to its editor (J. Perruchon in the bourn. Asiat. for 1889) it is preserved in a recension of the time of King Zara Ya`kub. Under King Lebna Dengel (1508-40) the annals of his four predecessors, Zara Ya`kub, Baeda Maryam, Eskender and Na`od (1434-1508) were drawn up; those of the first two were published by J. Perruchon (Paris, 1893) ; in the Journ. Asiat. for 1894 the same scholar pub lished a further fragment of the history of Baeda Maryam, writ ten by the tutor to the king's children, and the history of Eskender, Amda Sion II. and Na`od as compiled in Lebna Dengel's time. The history of Lebna Dengel was published by the same scholar (Journ. Semit. i. 274) and Rossini (Rendiconti, 1894, v. P. 617) ; that of his successor Claudius (1540-59) by Conzelmann (Paris, 1895) ; that of his successor Minas (1559-63) by F. M. E. Pereira Lisbon, 1888) ; those of the three following kings, Sharsa Dengel, Za Dengel, and Ya`kub, by Rossini (Rendiconti, 1893). The history of the next king Sysenius (1606-32) by Abba Meherka Dengel and Tekla Shelase was edited by Pereira (Lisbon, 1892) ; the chronicles of Joannes I., Iyasu I. and Bakaffa (1682-1730) by I. Guidi, with a French translation (Paris, 1903-05) ; all are contemporary, and the names of the chroniclers of the last two kings are recorded. Besides these we have the partly fabulous chronicle of Lalibela (of uncertain date, but before the Salomonian dynasty was restored) , edited by Perruchon (Paris, 189 2) ; and a brief chronicle of Abyssinia, drawn up in the reign of Iyasu II. , embodying materials abridged, but often unaltered, was published by R. Basset, in the Journ. Asiat. for 1882, and has since formed the basis for Abyssinian history.

The Ethiopic Renaissance.

The remaining literature of the second period is thought to begin somewhat earlier than these chronicles. To the time of King Yekuno Amlak (1268-83) the historical romance called Kebra Nagaset (Glory of Kings) is as signed by its editor, C. Bezold (Bavarian Academy, 1904) ; other scholars gave it a somewhat later date. To the time of Yagbea Sion (ob. 1294) belongs the Vision of the Prophet Habakkuk in Kartasa, as also the works of Abba Salama, regarded as the founder of the Ethiopic renaissance, one of whose sermons is pre served in a Cheren ms. With his name are connected the Acts of the Passion, the Service for the Dead and the translation of Philexius, i.e., Philoxenus. King Zara Ya`kub composed or had composed for him as many as seven books ; the most important of these is the Book of Light (Mashafa Berhan), paraphrased as Kirchenordnung, by Dillmann, who gave an analysis of its contents (Uber die Regierung des Konigs Zara Ya`kob, Berl. Acad., 1884). He also organized the compilation of the Miracles of the Virgin Mary, one of the most popular of Ethiopic books; a magnificent edition was printed by E. W. Budge in the Meux collection (Lon don, 190o) . In the same reign the Arabic chronicle of al-Makin was translated into Geez. Under Lebna Dengel (ob. 1540), be sides the above-mentioned collection of chronicles, we hear of the translation from the Arabic of the history and martyrdom of St. George, the Commentary of J. Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the ascetic works of J. Saba called Aragawi man fasdwi. Under Claudius (1540-59) Maba Sion is said to have translated from the Arabic The Faith of the Fathers, a vast com pilation, including the Didascalia Apostolorum (edited by Platt, London, 1834), and the Creed of Jacob Baradaeus (published by Cornill, ZDMG. xxx. 417-466), and to the same reign belong the Book of Extreme Unction (Mashafa Kandil), and the religious romance Barlaam et Joasaph also paraphrased from the Arabic (partly edited by A. Zotenberg in Notices et Extraits, vol. xxviii.).

The Confession of Faith of King Claudius has been repeatedly printed. The reign of Sharsa Dengel (ob. 1595) was marked by many literary monuments, such as the religious and controversial compilation called Mazmura Chrestos, and the translation, by a certain Salik, of the religious encyclopaedia (Mashafa Hasid) of the monk Nikon; an Arab merchant from Yemen, who took on conversion the name Anbakom (Habakkuk), translated a number of books from the Arabic. Under Ya`kub (ob. 1605) the valuable chronicle of John of Nikiou was translated from Arabic (edited by A. Zotenberg with French translation in Notices et extraits, vol. xxiv.). Under John, about 1687, the Spiritual Medicine of Michael, bishop of Adtrib and Malig, was translated. The litera ture that is not accurately dated consists largely of liturgies, prayers and hymns; Ethiopic poetry is chiefly, if not entirely, represented by the last of these, the most popular work of the kind being an ode in praise of the Virgin, called Weddase Maryam (edited by K. Fries, Leipzig, 1892). Various hymn-books bear the names Degua, Zemmare and Mawas`et (Antiphones) ; there is also a biblical history in verse called Mashafa Madbal or Mestira Zaman. Homilies also exist in large numbers, both original and translated, sometimes after the Arabic fashion in rhymed prose. Hagiology is naturally an important department in Ethiopic liter ature. Many texts containing lives of individual saints have been issued. Such are those of Maba Sion and Gabra Chrestos, edited by Budge in the Meux collection (London, 1899) ; the Acts of S. Mercurius, of which a fragment was edited by Rossini (Rome, 1904) ; the unique ms. of the original, one of the most extensive works in the Geez language, was burned by thieves who set fire to the editor's house. The same scholar began a series of Vitae Sanctorum antiquiorum, while Monumenta Aethiopiae hagiolog ica and Vitae Sanctorum indigenarum have been edited by B. Turaiev (Leipzig and St. Petersburg, 1902, and Rome, 1905) . Other lives have been edited by Pereira, Guidi, etc. Similar in historical value to these works is the History of the Exploits of Alexander, of which various recensions have been edited by Budge (London, 1895) . See further ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

Law and Philosophy.

Of Law the outstanding monument is the Fat/ia Nagaset (Judgment of Kings), of which an official edi tion was issued by I. Guidi (Rome, 2899), with an Italian trans lation; it is a version probably made in the early 16th century of the Arabic code of Ibn `Assal, of the 12th century, whose work, being meant for Christians living under Muslim rule, was not altogether suitable for an independent Christian kingdom; yet the need for such a code made it popular and authoritative in Abyssinia. The translator was not quite equal to his task, and the Brit. Mus. ms. Boo exhibits an attempt to correct it.

Science can scarcely be said to exist in Geez literature, unless a medical treatise, of which the British Museum possesses a copy, comes under this head. Philosophy is mainly represented by mys tical commentaries on Scripture, such as the Book of the Mystery of Heaven and Earth, by Ba-Hailu Michael, probably of the 15th century, edited by Perruchon and Guidi (Paris, 1903) . There is, however, a translation of the Book of the Wise Philosophers, made by Michael, son of Abba Michael, consisting of various aphorisms; specimens have been edited by Dillmann in his Chrestomathy, and J. Cornill (Leipzig, 1876). There is also a translation of Secundus the Silent, edited by Bachmann (Berlin, 1888). Far more interesting than these is the treatise of Zara Ya`kub of Axum, composed in the year 166o (edited by Littmann, 1904), which contains an effort to evolve rules of life according to nature. Epistolography is represented by the diplomatic cor respondence of some of the kings with the Portuguese and Span ish courts; some documents of this sort have been edited by C. Beccari, Documenti inediti per la storia d' Etiopia (19o3) ; lexicog raphy, by the vocabulary called The first Ethiopic book printed was the Psalter (Rome, 1513), by John Potken of Co logne, the first European who studied the language.

See Basset, Etudes sur l'histoire de l'Ethiopie (1882) ; C. C. Rossini, "Note per la storia letteraria Abissina," in Rendiconti della R. Accad. dei Lincei (1899) ; Fumagalli, Bibliografia Etiopica (1893) ; Eno Littmann, Geschichte der dthiopischen Litteratur (Leipzig, 1907) ; catalogues of various libraries, especially British Museum (Wright), Paris (Zotenberg), Oxford and Berlin (Dillmann), Frankfurt (Gold schmidt). Plates illustrating Ethiopic palaeography are to be found m Wright's catalogue; an account of the illustrations in Ethiopic mss. is given by Budge in his Life of Maba Sion; and a collection of inscriptions in the church of St. Stefano dei Mori, in Rome, by Gallina in the Archivio delta Soc. Rom. di Stories Patria (i888).

(D. S. MA. ; X.)