The Prince and the Plunder

A book on how Britain took one boy and piles of treasures from Ethiopia

Category: Manuscripts

An 18th century manuscript including prescriptions and a formula for changing into a lion (OR 11390)

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: An Ethiopian manuscript dated 1750 including prayers, prescriptions and the Mäṣhafä Mädḥanit directory of medicinal plants, with more than 200 illustrations of “magical pictures, squares and lines of magical and talismans”. A small vellum leaf is bound in ff.6-7 containing a magical formula for changing into a lion or another beast

Where: The British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB

Ref: OR 11390
Digital version – http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Or_11390

Provenance:
A note on f. 3r reads “belonging to the Church of the Saviour of the World’ at Magdala”
A note on the first page reads: “Bought of Mr De Vere Crossley, 28 Aug. 1933”

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A 17th century manuscript including the Fetha Nagast (MS 595)

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: An Ethiopian manuscript, dated 1696, of the Fetha Nagast legal code and part of the Christian treatise Didascalia Apostolorum. Described as having “beautiful and even script” throughout

Where: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 8, Potsdamer Straße 33, Westhafenstraße 1, Berlin

One of two manuscripts that Graf von Seckendorf bought after the Battle of Magdala and presented to King Wilhelm, according to A. Dimmmann’s 1878 book Verzeichnis der abessinischen Handschriften, Berlin, Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften – G. Vogt (Die Handschriften-Verzeichnisse der königlichen Bibliothek zu Berlin, Band 3).

“… und sodann im Jahr 1869 die Prachthandschrift 19 und die werthvolle Nr. 42 von Sr. Majestät dem König Wilhelm, an welchen sie Graf von Seckendorf, Lieutenant im ersten Garderesiment zu Fufs, verehrt hatte: der letztere hatte sie in Abessinien nach dem Sturm auf Magdala angekauft”

As it says the purchase happened after the storming of Maqdala, it is likely referring to the auction of plunder that took place after the battle.

Details:

Listed as No. 42 in von Seckendorf’s catalogue. The entry in the catalogue describes the manuscript as Ms. or. fol. 595

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A ‘magnificent’ 17th century manuscript of the Psalms and the Song of Songs with illustrations (MS 596)

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A “magnificent” 17th century Ethiopian manuscript of David with seven paintings, including the Psalms, 15 songs of the prophets and the Song of Songs

Where: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 8, Potsdamer Straße 33, Westhafenstraße 1, Berlin

Digital version – http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001C5A000000000

One of two manuscripts that Graf von Seckendorf bought after the Battle of Magdala and presented to King Wilhelm, according to A. Dimmmann’s 1878 book Verzeichnis der abessinischen Handschriften, Berlin, Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften – G. Vogt (Die Handschriften-Verzeichnisse der königlichen Bibliothek zu Berlin, Band 3).

“… und sodann im Jahr 1869 die Prachthandschrift 19 und die werthvolle Nr. 42 von Sr. Majestät dem König Wilhelm, an welchen sie Graf von Seckendorf, Lieutenant im ersten Garderesiment zu Fufs, verehrt hatte: der letztere hatte sie in Abessinien nach dem Sturm auf Magdala angekauft”

As it says the purchase happened after the storming of Maqdala, it is likely referring to the auction of plunder that took place after the battle.

Details:

Listed as No. 19 in von Seckendorf’s catalogue. The entry in the catalogue describes the manuscript as Ms. or. fol. 596

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An illustrated 15th century manuscript of the Four Gospels given to Austria by Napier (Ath. 25)

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A 15th century manuscript of the Four Gospels, with tables

Where: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Josefsplatz 1, 1010 Wien, Austria

Presented to the Imperial Palace Library in Vienna by General Napier, the commander of Britain’s Abyssinian Expedition, in 1868, according to Rita Pankhurst’s  The Library of Emperor Tewodros II at Maqdala (Magdala). Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 36(1), 15-42.

Identified as Ath. 25 and linked to Napier in:

Rhodokanakis, N. (1906). Die äthiopischen Handschriften der k. k. Hofbibliothek zu Wien. Wien: In Kommission bei A. Hölder.

and

K.K. Hofbibliothek. (1902). Katalog der Miniaturen Ausstellung. Wien: Selbstverlag der Bibliothek.

It is now listed in the online database of the Austrian National Library – http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AC14411522

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The Cameronians’ prayer book *

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A prayer book ‘obtained from an Abyssinian chief’

Where: The Cameronians Regimental Museum (Scottish Rifles), Mote Hill, off Muir Street, Hamilton, Lanarkshire, ML3 6BY, UK

The museum entry, which has several pictures, describes: a “17th Century Abyssinian prayer book, known as the ‘Weddase Maryam’ a collection of prayers in honour of the Virgin Mary. It is written in Ethiopian on vellum.
The book contains seven prayers, one for each day of the week. The book was obtained from an Abyssinian Chief by Lieutenant Turner of the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment in 1868″.

Accession No:
CAM.E548

The 26th Foot (The Cameronians) were a Scottish regiment which arrived too late to take part in either of the main battles in the Abyssinian Campaign.

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An 18th century book of Psalms

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: An 18th century Ethiopian book of Pslams

Where: The Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa

Dr Richard Pankhurst with book

This hand-written copy of the Psalms of David was put up for sale in Maggs bookdealers, Mayfair, London by a private collector.

Members of AROMET UK spotted it, raised £750 to buy it, and sent it back to Addis Ababa in the safe hands of Dr Richard Pankhurst in September 2003.

The Maggs catalogue entry for the book reads:

“[Psalms of David] C18th MS, rubricated, in Ghez on ?goat-skin vellum. Primitively bound in thirteen gatherings of between 8 and 10pp, the whole sewn and bound together with braided animal sinew. Browned and stained in places, some of the cords at the spine worn and separated. Housed in a modern full dark tan morocco drop-back box. 206 pp. Ethiopian, [c 1780]”

A worn label tied to the binding reads:

“Psalms & Canticles ln Ethiopian From near Magdala 1868”

A typed card inside reads:

Psalms of David, 18th c. Manuscript. Taken at Magdala in 1868 in the battle by Sir Robt. Napier. 195pp.

“Done for liturgical use in Ethiopia. In archaic Coptic (Gwez, or Ghez). Probably one of the few surviving manuscripts, that is not in the British Museum, from the enormous looting which took place after the assault on the fortress of Magdala…The Ms itself is written in red and black on goat skin. There are 13 sections bound together with braided animal sinew.
T1284 mss”

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