Manuscripts are among the cornerstones of cultural heritage, both as means of communication, containers of texts and art, and as objects of material history. The past years have seen a steady and growing interest in manuscript studies from a wide array of cultural areas. In Hamburg, this has culminated in the creation of the Cluster of Excellence 'Understanding Written Artefacts', currently hosting 56 research projects.

Many of the achievements in manuscript studies (Ethiopian/Eritrean, but also Greek, Latin, as well as from other cultural areas) from the last few years have been the result of work of scholars based in Hamburg, who are joining their efforts in this one-week intensive training.

Students will be able to profit from the unique expertise and also have the rare opportunity to get a hands-on experience in cataloguing, digitization, and using advanced digital humanities tools and approaches.

The school aims at training graduate students and junior scholars from Ethiopia in methods used in manuscript studies. Lectures and seminars in topics ranging from History to Philology to Codicology to Cataloguing to Digitization shall cover the most central aspects of research and help in developing skills necessary for theoretical and practical tasks in the study of manuscripts. 

Much space shall be offered for discussion as well as for group and individual excercises. Practical exercises will include manuscript digitization, codicological and philological description of manuscripts.

The school focuses on Christian Gəʿəz manuscript tradition.

The knowledge and skills taught in this Summer School are meant to benefit participants both in their own research and towards a further transfer of knowledge at their research institutions.

Monday, 20 November 2023

9:00-9:30 Opening

9:30-10:00 Summer school: background, main themes, outlook, wishes, concerns (Mersha Alehegne)

10:00-10:45 Ethiopian and Eritrean studies: basic historical facts (Shiferaw Bekele)

10:45-11:00 Break

11:00-11:45 Ethiopian manuscript studies: history of the discipline and main tools/bibliography (Denis Nosnitsin)

11:45-12:30 Ethiopian manuscript studies: main projects and best practice (Mersha Alehegne and Dorothea Reule)

12:30-14:00 Lunch

14:00-14:45 Gəʿəz manuscripts in Ethiopia: sites and preservation (Mersha Alehegne Mengistie) 

14:45-15:30 Gəʿəz manuscripts outside Ethiopia: an overview of archives and libraries (Giulia Casella)

15:30-15:45 Break

15:45-16:30 Traditional scholarship and Ethiopic manuscripts (Mersha Alehegne Mengistie)

16:30-17:15 Case studies 

Amanuel Abrha Gebreyesus: Current challenges facing to scribes of Ligat, Gulo-Mekeda district

Hayelom Tafere: The Management of Ethiopian Manuscripts and Libraries Agency

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Tuesday, 21 November 2023

9:15-10:00 Gəʿəz manuscripts: key aspects of codicology (Denis Nosnitsin)

10:00-10:30 Exercise in codicology

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-11:30 Palaeography: Typology and chronology of Gəʿəz scripts (Denis Nosnitsin)

11:30-12:00 Exercise in palaeography

12:00-14:00 Lunch

14:00-14:45 Gəʿəz manuscripts: contents (Genres, typology, periodization) (Nafisa Valieva)

14:45-15:30 Approaches to text studies (Dorothea Reule)

15:30-15:45 Break

15:45-16:30 Case studies 

Ayinekulu Mulugeta: Gadla ʾabuna Taṭamqa Madhǝn: the Text and its History

Lijalem Getaneh: Royal Chronicle of Emperor Iyo’as I (r.1755-1769): A Critical Edition with Annotated English Translation

Amanuel Abrha, Hailay Atsbha: Current conservation states of ancient manuscripts in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

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Wednesday, 22 November 2023

9:15-10:00 History of cataloguing (Denis Nosnitsin)

10:00-10:45 Cataloguing theory and stratigraphy (Dorothea Reule)

10:45-11:00 Q&A

11:00-11:15 Break

11:15-12:00 Beta masaheft research environment: introducing the project and the website (content, search) (Addisie Yalew, Dorothea Reule, Guesh Solomon)

12:00-12:15 Q&A

12:15-14:00 Lunch

14:00-14:30 Art history (Jacopo Gnisci, pre-recorded)

14:30-15:15 Manuscript illumination (Jacopo Gnisci, pre-recorded)

15:15-15:30 Break

Visit to Urban scriptorium center in Addis Ababa (Piazza) 

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Thursday, 23 November 2023

9:15-11:00 Cataloguing exercise (exercise led by Dorothea Reule, Denis Nosnitsin, Addisie Yalew, Mersha Alehegne, Guesh Solomon)

11:00-11:15 Break

11:15-12:15 Cataloguing exercise 2

12:15-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:00 Cataloguing exercise 3

15:00-15:15 Break

15:15-16:00 Cataloguing exercise 4

16:00-17:00 Case study: Scribal activity

Addisie Yalew: A Scribe and His Practice of Manuscript Production in 21st-century, Gondar area, Ethiopia

Amhaselassie Zamene: Illustrating Manuscript Scribal Activity 

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Friday, 24 November 2023

9:15-10:00 Digitization and field work (Addisie Yalew, Tsehay Ademe, Senkoris Ayalew)

10:00-11:00 Digitization exercise 1

11:00-11:15 Break

11:15-12:15 Digitization exercise 2

12:15-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:00 Digitization exercise 3

15:00-15:15 Break

15:15-16:00 Final discussion

The Summer School shall be conducted in English. Good command of the English language is expected from all participants.

Classes taught on site will take place Monday through Friday in Addis Ababa from 20 to 24 November 2023.

Active participation in - and some preparatory work towards - the classes is expected from all students.

Students will receive a certificate of participation.