The Garima Gospels

Judith McKenzie was Professor of the Archaeology of Late Antique Egypt and the Holy Land at the University of Oxford. Her monographs include The Architecture of Petra (1990), The Art and Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt (2007), and Life in a Cave in Petra with the Bdoul (published posthumously in 2022). In 2012, she founded the Manar al-Athar Digital Archive (https://www.manar-al-athar.ox.ac.uk), based at the University of Oxford, where her photographs of Petra may be viewed and studied. Francis Watson holds a Research Chair in Biblical Interpretation in the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University. His research interests are canonical and non-canonical gospels and their early reception; recent books include Gospel Writing: A Canonical Perspective (2014) and The Fourfold Gospel (2016). He is editor of the journal New Testament Studies, and Principal Investigator on the ‘Fourfold Gospel and its Rivals’ project (2012–17). Michael Gervers is professor of medieval history at the University of Toronto. He teaches a course on the history of Ethiopia and has recently introduced the study of Old Ethiopic (Ge‘ez) language to the curriculum. His maintains an extensive photographic repertory of Ethiopian art and culture http://ethiopia.deeds.utoronto.ca.

Preface by Michael Gervers


Acknowledgements by Judith McKenzie


Abbreviations


Maps


GENERAL INTRODUCTION by Judith McKenzie


Translation of Biblical Texts


Illustrated Biblical Manuscripts

The Four Gospel Collection and the Eusebian Canon Tables

The Present Study Summary



PART I THE GARIMA GOSPEL BOOKS



1. THE WORLD OF THE GARIMA GOSPELS by Judith McKenzie and Miranda Williams

Ethiopian Trade and Technological Developments

Arrival of Christianity in Ethiopia

Construction of Churches

The Aksumite Kingdom as a Regional Power

Ethiopians in Jerusalem and Palestine

Alexandria and Late Antique Egyptian Art

Conclusion



2. THE DISCOVERY AND STUDY OF THE GARIMA GOSPELS by Judith McKenzie

The Garima Gospel Codices

The Discovery and Publication of the Illuminated Pages

Documentation and Analysis of the Texts of the Garima Gospels

A Re-evaluation of the Chronology and the Carbon-14 Dates



3. THE MANUSCRIPTS by Judith McKenzie

Bindings

Covers

Determining Which Illuminated Pages Belong to Which Manuscript

Abba Garima I Illuminated Pages

Abba Garima III Position and Order of the Decorated Pages

Distribution of the Canon Tables

Production of the Illuminated Pages and Texts

Place of Production



PART II IMAGES, ORIGINS, AND MEANINGS by Judith McKenzie



4. THE PORTRAITS OF THE EVANGELISTS



Mark

Standing Evangelists (Matthew, Luke, and John) and a Saint (?Eusebius)

Conclusion



5. ILLUMINATED FRAMES



Origins of Canon Table Frames

Abba Garima III Frames

Abba Garima I Frames

Birds, Plants, and Fruit Bowls

Abba Garima I and III: Two Schools of Painting

Abba Garima II: A Third School of Painting

Relationship of the Abba Garima I and III Frames to Other Frames

Later Ethiopian Frames and the Legacy of the Schools of Abba Garima I and III

Conclusions

Additional Note: The Garima Birds by Linda Macaulay



6. BUILDINGS: ORIGINS AND MEANINGS



The Jerusalem Temple Image in Abba Garima III

Circular Pavilion (Tholos) in Abba Garima I

Tholoi in Carolingian, Greek, Armenian, and Georgian Gospel Books

Tholoi in Later Ethiopian Manuscripts and Their Meaning

Meaning of the Decoration on the Frames

Conclusion

Plates



PART III TEXT AND IMAGE by Francis Watson



7. EUSEBIUS TRANSFORMED



The Eusebian Canons

The Eusebius Portrait

The Preface On the Agreement of the Four Gospels

The Letter to Carpianus: Abba Garima I

The Letter to Carpianus: Abba Garima II and III



8. THE CANON TABLE SEQUENCE

Pages One and Two: Canons III

Page Three: Canons IIIIV

Pages Four and Five: Canons VVII

Pages Six to Eight: Canons VIIX

The Four Pillared Structure (Tholos)

The Renewed Temple

The Ring



9. THE FOUR EVANGELISTS: TEXTS AND PORTRAITS

The Enumerated Text

Chapters and Titles

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John



10. TEXT, TRANSLATION, AND DATE

The Textual History of the Geez Gospels

On Text-forms and Time-frames

The Textual Milieu

Parallel Translations



Appendix I. The Foliation and Content of the Garima Gospels by Matthew Crawford

Appendix II. John Chrysostom and the Preface of Ps-Ammonius, translations by Francis Watson

Appendix III. Eusebius Letter to Carpianus: Greek and Geez, translations by Francis Watson



Glossary

Bibliography

Illustration Credits

Index