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