Garima Gospels
Encyclopedia
The Garima Gospels are believed to be "the world’s earliest illustrated Christian manuscript" and the oldest surviving Ethiopian manuscript of any kind.
The Gospels are housed in Ethiopia
's Abba Garima Monastery
. They have never left the monastery. Although the Gospels were in the catalog of an American museum exhibition that toured from 1993–96, African Zion: the Sacred Art of Ethiopia, they were never lent to the exhibition. Long thought to date from c. 1100, 2010 radiocarbon dating
conducted at Oxford University under the auspices of the Ethiopian Heritage Fund suggests they actually date from the period between 330 and 650.
Monastic tradition ascribes the gospels to Saint Abba Garima, said to have arrived in Ethiopia in 494. Abba Garima is one of the Nine Saints
instrumental in evangelizing the ancient Ethiopian kingdom of Axum
and the monks regard the Gospels less as significant antiquities than as sacred relics of Abba Garima. According to tradition, Abba Garima wrote and illustrated the complete Gospels in a single day; God stopped the sun from setting until the Saint completed his work. New radiocarbon testing supports this traditional dating.
Garima I has 348 pages, opening with eleven illuminated ones, including canon tables in arcades, followed by the Gospel texts in Ge'ez. Garima II, also in Ge'ez, is a 322-page folio written by a different scribe. It has seventeen illuminated pages, including four "fine" Evangelist portrait
s. It also has a depiction of the Temple of Solomon with a staircase of unusual form unique in Christian iconography
.
The miniatures are in Byzantine
style. While the text was written in Ethiopia, some scholars believe that the illuminated pages may have been created in ancient Syria or Egypt
. The arcaded canon table settings include pictures of twenty birds; identification of the species
of which may eventually settle the question of where the illustrations were made. Some of the illustrations can be seen at http://ethiopianheritagefund.org/completed.html and http://www.hewit.com/skin_deep/?volume=26&article=1#article.
The two front covers are also very old; that of Garima I possibly contemporary with the manuscript, which would probably make it the oldest book cover still attached to its book in the world (the 7th century Stonyhurst Gospel
is the oldest European one). It is in gilt-copper with a wooden backing boards and its decoration centres on a large cross. Holes that may have been settings for gems are now empty. The cover for Garima II is silver and from the 10th to 12th centuries.
A 19th-century church for female pilgrim
s at the edge of the monastery is being renovated to house the precious manuscripts. It has small windows, which will help prevent fading. Steel bars are being inserted and the building will be protected by armed guards.
examined the manuscripts and determined that they dated from c. 1100. Until recently, few other outside scholars had seen the manuscripts.
Jacques Mercier
a French
expert in Ethiopian art, has examined the manuscripts five times. Because the manuscripts were deteriorating to the point where they crumbled every time they were examined, he was permitted to take two small fragments of parchment
to the Oxford University Research Laboratory for Archaeology. The parchment is probably goatskin
. One sample was dated to 430–650 and the other, from a different manuscript, to 330–540. According to The Art Newspaper
, the Garima figures are subject to a 96% probability. Based on stylistic aspects of the work, Mercier now estimates that the gospels date from c. 600, the age of the Syriac Rabbula Gospels now in the collection of the Laurentian Library
in Florence, Italy. American scholar Marilyn Heldman also estimates a date of c. 600 based on style.
The Gospels are housed in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
's Abba Garima Monastery
Abba Garima Monastery
Abba Garima Monastery is an Ethiopian Orthodox monastery, located some 5 kilometres east of Adwa, in the Mehakelegnaw Zone of the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia...
. They have never left the monastery. Although the Gospels were in the catalog of an American museum exhibition that toured from 1993–96, African Zion: the Sacred Art of Ethiopia, they were never lent to the exhibition. Long thought to date from c. 1100, 2010 radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
conducted at Oxford University under the auspices of the Ethiopian Heritage Fund suggests they actually date from the period between 330 and 650.
Tradition
Nine Saints
The Nine Saints were a group of missionaries who were important in the initial growth of Christianity in what is now Ethiopia during the late 5th century. Their names were Abba Aftse, Abba Alef, Abba Aragawi, Abba Garima , Abba Guba, Abba Liqanos, Abba Pantelewon, Abba Sehma, and Abba Yem’ata...
instrumental in evangelizing the ancient Ethiopian kingdom of Axum
Axum
Axum or Aksum is a city in northern Ethiopia which was the original capital of the eponymous kingdom of Axum. Population 56,500 . Axum was a naval and trading power that ruled the region from ca. 400 BC into the 10th century...
and the monks regard the Gospels less as significant antiquities than as sacred relics of Abba Garima. According to tradition, Abba Garima wrote and illustrated the complete Gospels in a single day; God stopped the sun from setting until the Saint completed his work. New radiocarbon testing supports this traditional dating.
The manuscripts
There are two manuscripts, Garima I and Garima II.Garima I has 348 pages, opening with eleven illuminated ones, including canon tables in arcades, followed by the Gospel texts in Ge'ez. Garima II, also in Ge'ez, is a 322-page folio written by a different scribe. It has seventeen illuminated pages, including four "fine" Evangelist portrait
Evangelist portrait
Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediæval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, may be prefaced by a portrait of...
s. It also has a depiction of the Temple of Solomon with a staircase of unusual form unique in Christian iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
.
The miniatures are in Byzantine
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
style. While the text was written in Ethiopia, some scholars believe that the illuminated pages may have been created in ancient Syria or Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. The arcaded canon table settings include pictures of twenty birds; identification of the species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of which may eventually settle the question of where the illustrations were made. Some of the illustrations can be seen at http://ethiopianheritagefund.org/completed.html and http://www.hewit.com/skin_deep/?volume=26&article=1#article.
The two front covers are also very old; that of Garima I possibly contemporary with the manuscript, which would probably make it the oldest book cover still attached to its book in the world (the 7th century Stonyhurst Gospel
Stonyhurst Gospel
The Stonyhurst Gospel, also known as the St Cuthbert Gospel or the St Cuthbert Gospel of St John, is a small 7th-century pocket gospel book, written in Latin, which was probably placed in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, a few years after he died in 687...
is the oldest European one). It is in gilt-copper with a wooden backing boards and its decoration centres on a large cross. Holes that may have been settings for gems are now empty. The cover for Garima II is silver and from the 10th to 12th centuries.
A 19th-century church for female pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s at the edge of the monastery is being renovated to house the precious manuscripts. It has small windows, which will help prevent fading. Steel bars are being inserted and the building will be protected by armed guards.
Expert opinion
The Garima Gospels first became known outside Ethiopia in 1950, when Beatrice Playne, a British art historian visited the monastery. Since women are not allowed inside the monastery, the monks courteously carried several manuscripts outside for her to view. She wrote that, "there were several illuminated manuscripts whose ornamental headings struck me as Syrian in style." In the 1960s Frenchman Jules LeroyJules Leroy
Jules Leroy , French priest and researcher in the domains of Syriac, Coptic and Ethiopian manuscripts, art and architecture.As a novice he joined the French Benedictine congregation of Solesmes in their exile at Isle of Wight...
examined the manuscripts and determined that they dated from c. 1100. Until recently, few other outside scholars had seen the manuscripts.
Jacques Mercier
Jacques Mercier
Jacques Mercier is a Belgian writer and television and radio presenter.The third eldest son of René and Denise Mercier, Jacques Mercier was educated at St. Joseph's College. Mercier joined RTBF in September 1963 and started hosting radio shows such as Sunday music and music for breakfast...
a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
expert in Ethiopian art, has examined the manuscripts five times. Because the manuscripts were deteriorating to the point where they crumbled every time they were examined, he was permitted to take two small fragments of parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
to the Oxford University Research Laboratory for Archaeology. The parchment is probably goatskin
Goatskin (material)
Goatskin is the skin of a goat.Non tanned goatskin is used for parchment or for drumheads or sounding boards of some musical instruments, e.g., mišnice in medieval Europe, bodhrán in Ireland, esraj in India and for instrumental drum skin named bedug in Indonesia.Tanned leather from goatskin is...
. One sample was dated to 430–650 and the other, from a different manuscript, to 330–540. According to The Art Newspaper
The Art Newspaper
The Art Newspaper is a monthly newspaper about the visual arts based in London.It is published in a newspaper, rather than a magazine, format...
, the Garima figures are subject to a 96% probability. Based on stylistic aspects of the work, Mercier now estimates that the gospels date from c. 600, the age of the Syriac Rabbula Gospels now in the collection of the Laurentian Library
Laurentian Library
The Laurentian Library is a historical library in Florence, Italy, containing a repository of more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books...
in Florence, Italy. American scholar Marilyn Heldman also estimates a date of c. 600 based on style.