Cataloging is complete for Bibliothèque des Manuscrits al-Wangari (ELIT WAN), the library of the Sidi Yahya Mosque, or Jāmiʻ Sīdī Yaḥyá, in Tombouctou, which dates back to the 15th century. The mosque is named for Sīdī Yaḥyá al-Wangarī, a noted scholar whose tomb is located inside.

As a mosque library, the collection is oriented towards Qur’an commentary, Qur’anic science, Islamic law, and related subjects. However, it also contains lesser-known works by al-Suyūṭī and other classical authors, as well as local figures such as al-Mukhtār ibn Yerkoy Talfī and the Jaljalī family from Say, present-day Niger Republic, which are not represented in other collections in the region. Likewise, it contains letters from the rulers of Ḥamdallāhi and the Kunta family previously unknown by scholars. The collection also includes numerous letters, documents and other notes, especially relating to Goundam, a town southwest of Timbuktu, as well as exercise books and other materials connected to the Timbuktu Madrasah, a French-Arabic school established by colonial authorities in the 1900s.

The completion of this collection also marks the completion of cataloging relating to the Endangered Libraries in Timbuktu (ELIT) project, numbering three libraries and some 7,276 items. These libraries, connected to Timbuktu’s three principal mosques, remained in the city while other libraries were evacuated to Bamako, and the manuscripts were digitized on-site in collaboration with the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme (EAP). View now

The entry of cataloging information into Reading Room is now complete for EMML volumes 1-8, which accounts for the first 3,500 of the more than 9,000 manuscripts microfilmed in Ethiopia by the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library project. The print volumes of the EMML project were prepared by Dr. William F. Macomber and Dr. Getatchew Haile. Information from the print catalogs has been expanded upon and entered into Reading Room by Ted Erho, Dr. Ralph Lee, and Dr. Jeremy R. Brown. The images and cataloging data for the first 3,500 manuscripts of the EMML project can be viewed in Reading Room.

In addition, HMML has finished scanning all EMML microfilms that it hosts on-site. These are all available online in Reading Room.

Since the previous update, volumes 5-8 have been fully entered into Reading Room with images. These 2,000 manuscripts, EMML 1501-3500, are largely from the Šawā and Wallo provinces of Ethiopia. Most of these manuscripts were copied for use in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and include psalters, hymn and chant books, rites and rituals, lives and miracles of the saints, and liturgical texts.

Of particular interest will be the manuscript collection from Ḥayq Esṭifānos Monastery. This religious center contains many old and rare works. These include EMML 1763, a 14th-century manuscript with a collection of 86 homilies, and EMML 1767, a 13th-century copy of the Lives of the Apostles (ገድለ፡ ሐዋርያት, Gadla ḥawāryāt).

Another manuscript collection of interest is Miṭāq Takla Hāymānot Church. This expansive collection includes several early manuscripts, such as EMML 2098, a 15th-century copy of the first eight books of the Bible.

Although illuminated manuscripts are not overly common in these volumes of EMML, several are truly spectacular. For example, EMML 2373 is a Homiliary for the archangel Michael (ድርሳነ፡ ሚካኤል, Dersāna Mikāʼēl) with 23 miniatures, including 17 miniatures of the miraculous deeds of the archangel Michael.

The EMML collection, now with increased access to the images and cataloging information, continues to offer up surprises and new insights, even more than 50 years after the photography project began. View now

Cataloging is complete for the 35 Ethiopic manuscripts at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. This collection of manuscripts was microfilmed by HMML in the 1960s and 1970s, and the images and cataloging information have now been added to Reading Room. The first 28 manuscripts in this collection (Codex Vindobonensis Palatinus. Aethiop. 1-28) were cataloged by Nikolaus Rhodokanakis in his 1906 catalog, Die äthiopischen Handschriften der k. k. Hofbibliothek zu Wien. The rest of the collection was largely undescribed until now.

The most commonly cited manuscript in this collection is Aethiop. 16 (HMML project number 24994). This manuscript is of particular importance to the study of the Ethiopic Bible with its unique forms of the books of Daniel and the Minor Prophets that are copied intermingled with commentary. One of the earliest illuminated manuscripts in this collection is the fifteenth-century Aethiop. 21 (HMML project number 24990). This manuscript features five full-page miniatures, interspersed to introduce each of the manuscript’s five texts. The ornate crosses and decorative designs called ḥarag (ሐረግ) in the fifteenth-century Aethiop 5 (HMML project number 24974) may also be of interest to art historians.

The images and catalog descriptions of these manuscripts and the rest of the collection can be found in Reading Room by searching "Codex Vindobonensis Palatinus. Aethiop." View now

Cataloging is complete for 785 mostly Arabic-script manuscripts from the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine, project code NUB). Much of the collection was destroyed when the library was shelled during the Siege of Sarajevo in 1992, but hundreds of manuscripts were saved through the heroic efforts of the librarians.

The languages best represented in the collection are Arabic and Ottoman Turkish, but there is a significant amount of Persian as well; other languages appear in Cyrillic, Roman, and Hebrew scripts. The collection also includes 37 manuscripts at least partially written in the Bosnian language, whether in Arabic, Cyrillic, or Roman script. This is a rich testimony to the development of vernacular literature in the Ottoman Balkans, and the collection as a whole witnesses to the early modern devotional, literary, and scholarly life of this region. The oldest dated manuscript in the collection was copied in Urūmīyah (Iran) in 1337 CE (NUB 00467), while the latest is a Bosnian poem copied in Sarajevo in 1950 CE (NUB 00650). Further cataloging of the remaining portions of the collection, generally in Cyrillic and Roman scripts, is ongoing. View now

In the 8th century, numerous missionaries came to the German-speaking areas of Europe from England—one of these missionaries was Saint Walburga (approximately 710-779 or 780), a Benedictine nun and abbess of the Monastery of Heidenheim near Eichstätt. About a century after she died, her remains were transferred to Eichstätt, where a house of canonesses took care of them. In the 11th century, Count Liutger of Lechsgmünd and Graisbach converted the house to a Benedictine monastery for women, Benediktinerinnenabtei St. Walburg. Despite the official secularization of the monastery in 1806, the sisters remained faithful to their vows and received permission to continue their communal life. Three decades later, the monastery was renovated and granted permission to accept novices again. In 1852, they even dispatched the first Benedictine sisters to North America, some of whom established a new foundation in Central Minnesota in 1857: Saint Benedict’s Monastery (Saint Joseph, Minnesota). Still active and present on the same Eichstätt site today, Benediktinerinnenabtei St. Walburg houses a collection of manuscripts, now cataloged in Reading Room.

These 28 manuscripts date from the 14th through the 17th century and offer a range of materials that would be useful for the devotional life in a community of religious women. Fr. Jonathan Fischer, OSB, led the effort to microfilm the manuscripts at St. Walburg and other repositories in Eichstätt in 1984. Among other topics, the texts include Psalms and prayers, texts designed to help with teaching nuns and novices, commentaries on the legend of Saint Walburga and the miracles of the Virgin, dialogues, hagiographies, prayer books, rules for religious life, and sermons, many focusing on what it meant to live as a woman dedicated to a religious life. About half of the manuscripts are prayer books for personal devotions. Most of the materials are written in German, with only four manuscripts in Latin. View now

Pantal Vaidikan Dāmodaran Nampūtiri, a private collection belonging to Mr. Damodaran from Pantal Mana in Rappal in Kerala, India, has been digitized and fully catalogued under the DiPiKA Project (Digital Preservation of Kerala Archives) and is now available in HMML Reading Room. The collection includes 45 palm-leaf manuscripts and 47 paper manuscripts, most featuring either Malayalam or Sanskrit written in the Malayalam script.

Mr. Pantal Damodaran belongs to the Vaidikan family of the Iriññālakkuṭa grāma, whose members are renowned experts in the procedure of Vedic rituals. Notably, there are only six families of Vaidikans in Kerala, making this lineage particularly significant. The collection is largely composed of texts on Vedic ritual practice, many of which – based on recent survey findings – are not known to exist in other archives. These manuscripts preserve a distinctive sacrificial tradition specific to this family line, offering valuable insight into a rare and localized Vedic heritage. The collection comprises, among other things, such unique works on the subject of Vedic ritualism as Yāgakriyā (DKA 003 00033), Agniṣṭomavidhi (DKA 003 00019), Yogiyāruṭe kārikā (DKA 003 00058), and Loṣṭacitiprakāra (DKA 003 00010).

The palm-leaf manuscripts in this collection are part of the ancestral holdings of the Pantal Mana. Some of the paper manuscripts contain notes written by the current owner's father, reflecting his scholarly engagement with Vedic tradition. The remaining paper manuscripts were acquired by him from various other families engaged in the practice of Vedic śrauta ritual. These include Taikkāṭṭŭ Mana, Kiṭaṅṅaśśēri Mana, Kapliṅṅāṭṭŭ Mana, Kōtamaṅgalam Mana, Kāpra Mana, and Tōṭṭam Mana.

While working on the collection, the team made a surprising discovery noting that two of the palm-leaf manuscripts had attached to them Dutch East India Company coins dated to the year 1751 (DKA 003 00022) and 1790 (DKA 003 00005). The coins have a hole in the middle and are affixed at the end of the string that serves to bind the bundles. View now

The Naṭuvil Maṭham Svāmiyār Collection, comprising 11 manuscripts written on palm leaves, has been digitized and fully cataloged under the DiPiKA Project (Digital Preservation of Kerala Archives) and is now accessible through HMML Reading Room.

Naṭuvil Maṭham is one of four Hindu monasteries (or maṭhas) originally located in the city of Thrissur, Kerala (India), where it is believed they were established by the renowned Indian philosopher Śaṅkara, proponent of the non-dualistic doctrine of Advaita Vedānta and allegedly founder of the pan-Indian monastic order of the Daśanāmī-Saṃnyāsins. These four maṭhas (Vaṭakke Maṭham, Naṭuvil Maṭham, Iṭayil Maṭham, and Tekkē Maṭham) were built adjacent to one another, forming a unique monastic complex associated with a vernacular monastic tradition that dates back to approximately the 12th century, according to inscriptional evidence.

Today, three of the maṭhas remain in Thrissur: Naṭuvil Maṭham and Tekkē Maṭham, which continue as active Advaita Vedānta monastic institutions; and Vaṭakke Maṭham, which has functioned as a traditional Vedic school (vedapāṭhaśālā) for at least two centuries, run by members of the Nampūtiri community–Kerala brahmins, who in the past formed the highest stratum of Kerala society. In this capacity, it is known as Vaṭakke Maṭham Brahmasvam.

The Naṭuvil Maṭham Svāmiyār Collection was donated to Vaṭakke Maṭham Brahmasvam in 2019 by the head of the monastery, Maṟavañcēri Tekkēṭattŭ Nīlakaṇṭhan Bhāratīkaḷ. The manuscript collection includes, among other things, important texts of the monastic order such as Saṃnyāsakalpavyākhyā (DKA 001 00001), Yatyācārasaṃgraha (DKA 001 00006), and Samādhividhivyākhyā (DKA 001 00005), which outline prescriptions and regulations governing daily conduct, ritual practice, and doctrinal foundations for ascetics of this monastic tradition. These and other works offer a rich entry point into this Hindu tradition and the community that followed it. View now

Cataloging is complete for 102 manuscripts from the private collection of ʻImād Ḥikmat Kūrkīs in Baghdad (PLB IHG). Kūrkīs, who died in 2023, was the owner of Babylon Bookshop on al-Mutanabbi Street, historic center of bookselling in Baghdad. He also amassed a wide-ranging collection of manuscripts, from contemporary school notebooks to dozens of medieval and early modern Islamic manuscript fragments.

The notebooks display an interest in such topics as military geography (PLB IHG 00015), the Turkish-speaking minority in Iraq (PLB IHG 00014), and the modern history of Palestine (PLB IHG 00008, PLB IHG 00024), among others. Some of the fragments are likely quite old, such as an otherwise unknown text on the names of God attributed to an Ibn Ḥabīb (PLB IHG 00040). The oldest dated item is a fragment of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī's commentary on the Qurʼan from 1345 CE (PLB IHG 00098), while the newest is a collection of Neo-Aramaic prayers and hymns from 1998 (PLB IHG 00100). Languages in the collection include Arabic, Syriac (and Neo-Aramaic), and Turkish, with small amounts of French and Persian. View now

The main collection from the Convent of Our Lady of Bzummār in Lebanon (BzBz) comprises 422 manuscripts, 396 of which have been digitized and fully cataloged; they are now accessible through HMML’s Reading Room. In the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide, some of the Armenian artifacts from Constantinople were relocated and added to the Bzummār collection after the year 1924, including the Armenian Antonine manuscripts—cataloged and announced earlier. This most recently cataloged collection includes the manuscripts held at Bzummār prior to the 1924 additions to the collection.

The Bzummār repository includes an exceptionally rich collection of illuminated and illustrated manuscripts, with works dating as far back as the early 12th century. Among the earliest is a 12th-century copy of Mosēs Khorenatsʻi’s Ashkharhatsʻoytsʻ, or Geography (BzBz 00204); a 13th-century copy of Mkhitʻar Gōsh’s Datastanagirkʻ Hayotsʻ, or Armenian Code of Laws (BzBz 00180); and a 1289 copy of the important Commentary on the Psalms by Daniel of Ṣalaḥ, translated by Grigor Vkayasēr (BzBz 00120).

The collection features a wealth of texts from the 14th and 15th centuries, including several copies of the Աստուածաշունչ (Astuatsashunch, or God-Breathed Scriptures), Bibles, illuminated Gospels, Psalters, Lectionaries, Mashtotsʻ, Zhamagirkʻ, Sharaknotsʻ, Gandzaran, Tonatsʻuytsʻ, Kʻanonagirkʻ, etc. It also contains medical treatises and dozens of translations from Latin, Italian, and French into Armenian.

A significant portion of the collection is dedicated to theological works, including rare volumes of homilies and biblical commentaries by renowned Armenian vardapets: Nersēs Shnorhali, Sargis Shnorhali, Nersēs Lambronats‘i, Grigor Tatewats‘i, Grigor Xlatʻecʻi, Mattʻēos Jughayetsʻi, and more.

Selecting a single highlight from this rich collection, overflowing with the treasures of Armenian Christianity and the layered histories they embody, is nearly impossible. What follows is just a glimpse into the more than 400 remarkable manuscripts preserved here:

• BzBz 00068 is a richly decorated Sharaknotsʻ, featuring illuminations depicting the life of Christ, the lives of the martyrs, and the founders of the Armenian Church, most notably the sufferings of Grigor, the Illuminator.
• BzBz 00105, dating to the 15th century, is a Mashtotsʻ, one of dozens found in the collection, offering insight into how liturgical services were conducted in medieval Armenia.
• BzBz 00250 is a 1330 copy of the medical treatises of Mkhitʻar Heratsʻi.

The 1964 printed catalog by Mesrop Kʻēshishean—made possible through the visionary support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation—remains an indispensable resource. Without the Gulbenkian’s unwavering commitment, Armenian treasures would have remained inaccessible in scholarship. Each digital catalog entry at HMML is linked directly to this foundational volume, allowing scholars to deepen their research into the treasures of the Bzummār collection now fully viewable at the HMML reading room. The Gulbenkian Foundation’s enduring faith in Armenian heritage and its steadfast support for critical scholarly projects have been instrumental in ensuring that Armenian studies not only survive but continue to flourish. View now

Cataloging is complete for three Syriac liturgical manuscripts from the Diocese of Adiabene of the Ancient Church of the East (DAACE), located in Erbil, Iraq. The manuscripts were copied in northern Iraq between 1710 CE (DAACE 00002) and 1921 CE (DAACE 00001). The colophon of the latter manuscript testifies to the scribe's recent escape from the Sayfo genocide during World War I and his status as a refugee in the ʻAqrah area. This is the first collection belonging to the Ancient Church of the East to be made available in HMML's Reading Room. View now

243 records for manuscripts microfilmed at the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Bremen are now available in Reading Room. This library has roots going back to the 17th century. HMML has microfilms of manuscripts from this collection dating from the 10th to the 17th century. These include theological and legal texts, as well as literary and historical works. Most manuscripts come from libraries in and around Bremen, including two larger collections: manuscripts belonging to the Swiss polymath Melchior Goldast von Haiminsfeld (1578-1635), and the collection from the cathedral of Bremen. Among these manuscripts are texts in Latin, German, Greek, Low German, Dutch, Czech, and French. The HMML records include links to new digital copies created recently by the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Bremen.

Highlights include: an illuminated 13th-century manuscript with glosses on Roman law and feudal law (HMML 45848, msa 0148); three heavily decorated Books of Hours (HMML 45948, msc 0013; HMML 45889, msb 0022; and HMML 45936, msb 0146); and an illuminated Saxon world chronicle from the 13th century (HMML 45809, msa 0033). View now

Cataloging is complete for the collection of Nordrhein-Westfälisches Staatsarchiv Münster, a state archive in northwestern Germany, where HMML photographed 482 manuscripts and folders of documents onto 426 microfilm reels in 1985.

Münster was originally founded by a missionary assigned by Charlemagne in 793, and this early relationship between imperial and religious authority continued to shape the city and its diocese over the next thousand years. The archival collection bears witness to this history. From cartularies of monasteries and collegiate churches representing more than 15 different religious orders in the region, to a plethora of chronicles centered on Münster’s bishops, to the extensive documentation of the Anabaptist takeover of the city in 1534-1535—the collection represents the shifts in power that rocked the region and that sent religious communities and cities scrambling to document their legal standings.

The collection includes notable objects tied to monastic presence in the region, including the illuminated Liber aureus, a gospel lectionary for Kloster Freckenhorst (HMML 41187, Msc. VII Nr. 1315), and the decorated register of goods and income for Kloster Sankt Mauritz und Simeon in Minden (HMML 41115, Msc. VII Nr. 2714). View now

In partnership with Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland), HMML has added 67 volumes of archival material from the papal chancery and archives of the Roman Inquisition to Reading Room. These manuscripts escaped the loss or destruction that befell many volumes of the Lateran registers during and after the transfer of the papal archives by Napoleon Bonaparte to Paris in 1810. The volumes were bought in 1841 by George Montagu, viscount Mandeville (Duke of Manchester after 1843). Richard Gibbings, graduate of Trinity College Dublin and rector of Killyleagh, purchased them from Mandeville. Gibbings sold the manuscripts to Charles W. Wall, vice-provost of Trinity College Dublin, who presented them to the library in 1854.

The Trinity College collection of papal records is divided into three parts. The first part includes 13 volumes of registers of papal correspondence dated from 1389 to 1787. The second part contains sentences and abjurations from the Roman Inquisition with records dated between 1564 and 1660. The third part includes denunciations and examinations from the Roman Inquisition with records dated between 1565 and 1800. The inquisitorial materials largely describe cases in Italy, but there are important cases from Malta and France in the collection.

All images and metadata provided courtesy of Trinity College. Metadata entered and augmented by HMML. View now

Along with thousands of other manuscripts in a wide range of languages, the HMML team filmed 186 manuscripts in Cyrillic and Glagolitic at the Austrian National Library. Some of these have been at the Austrian National Library for over two centuries, although many were purchased in the 19th century.

The collection includes all manner of texts, but the most common are liturgical works, such as copies of the Menaion, the Euchologion, Octoechos, Psalters, and Gospel books. Distinctive hagiographical works includes the lives of Serbian saints Sava (1169-1237) and Simeon (or Stefan Nemanja, 1114-1200). There are also numerous volumes of church law or the Nomocanon. The works written in Cyrillic date from the 13th to the 19th centuries, while the Glagolitic books tend to be older, dating from the 10th to the 16th centuries. View now

Metadata for 503 manuscripts from Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Jena, Germany, has been added to HMML Reading Room. The manuscript collection includes a wealth of material from the medieval and early modern period. The library is rich in its late fifteenth-century illuminated French translations of medieval and classical works prepared for the Court of Burgundy. Several illuminated choir books by Petrus Alamire from the sixteenth century also stand out. Central to the library's collection are the early works of Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers prepared by Georg Rörer to support the early publication of Luther's works in Germany. View now

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) is delighted to announce completion of processing for records from the Series nova (new series) of manuscripts at the Austrian National Library. HMML filmed approximately 966 manuscripts in this collection, including fragments, later acquisitions (after 1870) of the National Library, and collections of historical documents and manuscripts that are important to the study of Austrian history.

Highlights include a 16th-century collection of watercolor depictions of animals that are much more accurate that most found in medieval sources (CVP S.n. 2647; HMML 20882) and a significant treatise on surgery by Zahrāwī, Abū al-Qāsim Khalaf ibn ʻAbbās (CVP S.n. 2641; HMML 20883), along with numerous illuminated books of hours and prayer books. Historical collections include several 17th-century volumes collected by Franz Christoph Khevenhüller and dedicated to the life of Emperor Ferdinand II (Annales Ferdinandei; e.g., HMML 20639), as well as notes, essays, and related materials on European history collected by Joseph von Sartori in the early 19th century (e.g., HMML 25516). The collection also includes several catalogs, concordances, and other early descriptions of materials in the manuscript collections at the Austrian National Library.

Throughout this collection, HMML has added links to catalog records at the Austrian National Library, as well as any links to digital copies available online.

Cataloging is complete for 225 Hebrew-script manuscripts from the collection of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library). These manuscripts were microfilmed by HMML decades ago and have now been added to Reading Room as updated catalog records.

They feature a variety of religious, philosophical, and scientific works produced by Jewish authors and translators across Western Europe and beyond. Many of the works testify to the fruitful medieval scholarly networks connecting Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all building on the ancient Greek philosophical heritage and producing a large corpus of Hebrew translations from Greek, Arabic, and Latin sources. Other manuscripts bear witness to the persecution of Jewish communities in Europe, as in Cod. Hebr. 16 (microfilm 22034), which was copied in 1299 CE and mentions a pogrom in its colophon. Many of the manuscripts are richly decorated. Most of the texts are in Hebrew, with a significant portion of Aramaic in religious and legal texts, but there are also examples of other languages including Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), Judeo-Arabic, and even one text including Ottoman Turkish in Hebrew script (Cod. Hebr. 212, microfilm 22130). Medieval manuscripts are found alongside modern ones, many of which were gifts to the Austrian emperors from their Jewish subjects in the 18th and 19th centuries. This is the first large corpus of Jewish manuscripts in HMML's Reading Room. View now

When Father Oliver Kapsner, OSB, and his team came to Melk Abbey in late 1965, it was only the fifth library for HMML’s microfilming project, but it was the largest collection they had filmed thus far. In fact, the Melk collection doubled the size of HMML’s holdings at that time.

The Benedictine abbey, founded in 976, possesses a large manuscript collection which has fortunately survived three fires (1297, 1682, 1738). Its collection offers a broad and diverse range of materials, with manuscripts relating to all areas of research. While a few manuscripts date from the 9th to 11th centuries, the bulk of the microfilmed collection dates from the 12th to 16th centuries, including materials associated with the monastic school that flourished at Melk. Many of the later manuscripts reflect the relationship between the Abbey and faculty from the University of Vienna (founded in 1365). View now

With the addition of records for 1,105 manuscripts from Melk Abbey, HMML has reached an important milestone in the improvement of metadata for manuscripts from Austrian libraries. As of January 2025, HMML’s microfilm holdings from all Austrian libraries—except the Austrian National Library (cataloging is underway) and the Mechitarist Library in Vienna—have been added to Reading Room and are available for public use. This includes more than 22,000 manuscripts from 41 Austrian locations, housed in 72 repositories. Metadata for these microfilmed collections is available online in HMML Reading Room.

Cataloging is complete for the 28 microfilm reels of the Donald Davies Microfilm Collection. In 1968, Donald Davies traveled around Ethiopia and Eritrea, microfilming manuscripts with the permission of Abuna Theophilus, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawāḥedo Church. Davies visited 23 churches and monasteries and microfilmed 38 manuscripts. He deposited copies of these photographs on 28 reels of microfilms at HMML, where they have been available for research ever since. In 1979, William F. Macomber cataloged many of these manuscripts in an unpublished handlist: Catalogue of Ethiopian manuscripts from Abbā Garimā, As̆atan (Church of St. Mary), Axum (Church of Zion), Dabra Bizan, Dabra Dāmo, Dabra Libanos, Gunda Gundē, Kebrān, Lālibalā (Church of the Savior of the World, Emmanuel Church), Maqalē, Ura, Kidāna Meḥrat, Monastery of Dabra Dāgā (Church of St. Stephen), Monastery of Lake Zewāy, Dabra Māryām, National Library and Haiq from microfilms in the collection of Dr. Donald Davies, De Land, Florida and Godfrey, Ontario, and of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota. Additional cataloging work on these manuscripts and others has been done by Dr. Jeremy R. Brown, HMML cataloger of Ethiopic manuscripts. The Davies family generously has given permission for this microfilm collection to be made freely available online in Reading Room.

Donald Davies’ goal for his microfilming project was to create a photographic record of the oldest Biblical manuscripts in Ethiopia as witnesses to the early text of the Bible. Because of this goal, his microfilm collection is a treasure trove of some of the earliest witnesses to the Bible in Ge'ez. This includes the famed Gospel manuscripts from Endā Abbā Garimā Monastery (SEP DAVIES 00001) and (SEP DAVIES 00002), a 12th-century Gospel manuscript from Madḫānē Ālam Church in Lālibalā (SEP DAVIES 00023), and a Gospel manuscript from Dabra Māryām dating to the 13th or 14th century (SEP DAVIES 00012). Davies also microfilmed three manuscripts in the famed monastery of Dabra Bizan in Eritrea, providing important witnesses to the manuscript traditions of Eritrea (SEP DAVIES 00006) and (SEP DAVIES 00007). In addition to Biblical manuscripts, he also microfilmed several manuscripts of the Miracles of Mary, including a manuscript with 61 full-page paintings from Dabra Warq (SEP DAVIES 00013).

This collection has already had significant influence on critical editions of the Ge'ez Bible since it was microfilmed, particularly for the study of the Gospels, and we are grateful to the Davies family for helping make this important collection available to an even wider audience. View now