Secular Themes in Ethiopian Ecclesiastical Manuscripts. II

Ethiopian manuscripts, though primarily ecclesiastical, contain numerous illustrations of historical, ethnographic and cultural interest. This was particularly the case with works of the Gondarine period, i.e. the 17th and 18th centuries. The present article examines the pictures on secular and historical themes to be found in a dozen public collections of Ethiopian manuscripts in British and Irish libraries, namely those of the Bodleian Library, Oxford; Cambridge University Library; the Royal Library at Windsor Castle; the John Rylands Library of Manchester University; the British and Foreign Bible Society Library; the Victoria and Albert Museum Library; the Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine; the National Library of Scotland; Edinburgh University Library, including that of New College; the Chester Beatty Library; Trinity College Library, Dublin; and Stonyhurst College Library. It complements an earlier article on the Gondarine manuscripts housed in the British Museum. Illustrations are catalogued by subject and are arranged under the following headings: Ethiopian historical figures; the household; agriculture and livestock; forestry, fishing and transportation; natural history; clothing, hair styles and jewellery; warfare, weapons and tools; the arts; Church and State; social and cultural life; diseases and disability; palace and church buildings, and their construction. Ref.