መዝሙረ ዳዊት (Mazmura Dawit, Psalms of David)

ca. 19th century CE, Ethiopian Empire (present-day Ethiopia)

Ink and pigment on parchment, bound in leather-covered wooden boards, with leather satchel

SCRC 701

Written in Ge’ez, the liturgical language of Ethiopia, this book contains the Psalms. Ethiopian Psalters of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church normally contain the Psalms of David, Canticles (or songs), the Song of Songs, and liturgical texts devoted to the Virgin Mary. The extensive sketches and notes in pencil throughout the volume suggests personal use and study by a later owner. 

The book’s parchment folios are bound between two wooden boards and covered with leather. Remarkably, this Psalter still has its accompanying mahdar (leather satchel), which allowed the manuscript to be both transported and preserved. Books in Ethiopia were stored in satchels like these by being hung on pegs from the wall. Typically, mahdars are two parts—the first book slips into an inner pouch, and then a second leather cover slides over the first, which is missing in Temple’s copy.

Joseph R. Kopta