Hymn to the Trinity

Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world and was the second to adopt Christianity and as such as a unique and fascinating tradition of religious art. The small yet richly illuminated manuscript at hand is a so-called sansül, an accordion book carried by members of the Ethiopian elite in the same manner that European nobles carried books of hours. It belongs to the Melke’ genre of the Ge’ez language, which praises the Holy Trinity, Virgin Mary, archangels, and the most venerated saints of Ethiopian Christianity.

Poems of Praise

Originating from the hand of a monk in the Gondar region, the text is written in black and red ink and appears to be a copy of a poem from the 11th century Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Arranged in stanzas of 4-6 verses, the poem equates every part of the body with passages from the Bible and graces attributed to the Trinity. Special attention in the manuscript is also paid to Saint Gabra Manfas Qeddus (also spelled Gebre Menfes Kidus), to whom the fifth day of every month in the Ethiopian calendar is dedicated. Written on both sides of the folded parchment, the text is written in 16-line columns – 51 on the recto side and 40 on the verso, which introduces the miniatures. The first depicts the Annunciation and shows the Virgin Mary sewing and reading a book when the Angel Gabriel appears above her in a ring of clouds as the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove flies toward her.

A Unique Artistic Tradition

Although many Ethiopian arts and crafts such as textiles and jewelry are fairly similar to those of their neighbors, the religious art of Christian Ethiopia is distinctive and unique among its Muslim neighbors. Nonetheless, there is some evidence of Byzantine influences in the work, such as the static, typified presentation of faces and with large eyes and expressive, exaggerated hand gestures. However, Ethiopian artists had their own innovative variations on typical devices in Christian art, such as the mandorla – an almond shaped framed in which Christ in Majesty is typically presented. This manuscript’s representation of the Holy Trinity uses a hexagonal mandorla inside of a square, creating spaces in the corners for the Four Evangelist symbols and they are in turn flanked in the margins by the Twenty-Four Elders from the Book of Revelation. Similar to a European book of hours, a richly dressed female figure appears in the margins between the scenes, most likely the patron of the work.

The Ancient Roots of Ethiopian Christianity

Around the year 316, a young Christian missionary named Frumentius and his brother Edesius were enslaved when their ship came into a port on the Red Sea and given to the king of the Ethiopians in Aksum. From their servitude they rose to positions of trust at the royal court, whose members they began to convert to Christianity. An Ethiopian coin dated 324 already shows indications that the conversion of the entire country was underway. The majority of the country was converted in the course of the 330’s and Christianity was declared the state religion ca. 340. Closely related to the Coptic Christianity of Egypt, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has been the predominant religion in Ethiopia for over 1,500 years.

Ethiopia and Europe

After its neighbors were converted to Islam in the course of the 7th century, Ethiopia became isolated from other Christian nations. During the course of the Middle Ages and especially after the beginning of the Crusades, Europeans made continuous attempts to make contact with Ethiopia as a Christian ally in the region and vice versa. Ethiopian monks also travelled to the West, participating in the 1441 Council of Florence, for example. Portugal became the first European country to establish continuous relations with Ethiopia, which began in 1508, but the country remained relatively isolated and fiercely independent. Ethiopia was one of only two African nations to avoid colonization in the 19th century and the Ethiopian identity continues to be defined by Christianity and a spirit of independence.