G\u0259\u02bf\u0259z was widely spoken in the Kingdom of Aksum. Until the 19th century, it served as the primary literary language of the Ethiopian Empire. Although it is now extinct as a spoken language, texts written in G\u0259\u02bf\u0259z are considered among the greatest works of literature in the Christian East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDespite this, G\u0259\u02bf\u0259z has not attracted as much attention as its related languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic, so relatively few tools have been developed for translation work. In practice, all researchers working on G\u0259\u02bf\u0259z texts rely on a single dictionary, published in 1865 \u2013 a G\u0259\u02bf\u0259z\u2013Latin dictionary,\u201d says Dr. Marcin Krawczuk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Warsaw-based researcher belongs to a small circle of scholars fluent in the dead language of medieval Ethiopia. Drawing on the limited body of work by both past and present scholars, he is making G\u0259\u02bf\u0259z literature accessible to a wider audience \u2013 first by deciphering manuscript content and then translating it into modern languages: English and Polish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethiopian homilies resemble European ones from the same period in many respects. What sets them apart, however, is the anonymity of their authors. One example is the homily \u201cOn fasting,\u201d published and translated from the manuscript for the first time by Dr. Krawczuk. Its Ethiopian author is known only as R\u01ddtu\u02bfa Haymanot. The problem is that this is a pseudonym used by at least several anonymous Ethiopian authors from the first half of the 14th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cR\u01ddtu\u02bfa Haymanot is a literal translation of the Greek word orthodoxos<\/em> \u2013 meaning \u2018orthodox\u2019 \u2013 which many Ethiopian authors who chose to remain anonymous used as a pseudonym. All that is really known about the author of the homily \u201cOn fasting\u201d is that he was an important figure in the Ethiopian Church of the time and that the work is an original composition written in G\u0259\u02bf\u0259z, not a translation. As for why he chose to remain anonymous, we can only speculate,\u201d explains Dr. Krawczuk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors\u2019 need to conceal their identities can be interpreted as an expression of the virtue of modesty. In one homily, we read that its author \u201cdid not reveal his name due to the imperfection of his knowledge.\u201d It is equally possible, however, that Ethiopian authors preferred to remain anonymous to avoid persecution by both spiritual and secular authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is also linked to another phenomenon: Ethiopian homilies very rarely refer directly to specific historical realities from the time of their composition. Instead, they allude to them or omit them altogether. Deciphering such allusions is no easy task; it requires an understanding of the specific context and environment in which the homilies were composed,\u201d says the researcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These and many other complexities ultimately shape what emerges from Ethiopian homilies: how Christians perceived Islam in medieval Africa. In another homily \u2013 \u201cOn the Baptism of Christ\u201d \u2013 the anonymous author, while portraying Muslims negatively in the exaggerated style typical of homily rhetoric, also reveals knowledge of certain aspects of their religion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor after Leo, the prophet of the Muslims was born, and after them and through them, wickedness spread; he says that after the resurrection of the dead, every man will marry ten thousand women, and other countless abominations, just as his father, the accursed devil, put into his mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Marcin Krawczuk has translated the entire collection of homilies by R\u01ddtu\u02bfa Haymanot into English based on manuscript sources. However, this type of research represents only a fraction of the vast international effort undertaken by scholars of Ethiopian tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The University of Warsaw researcher is also participating in the expansion of the Beta Ma\u1e63\u0101\u1e25\u01ddft project. This international initiative, running from 2016 to 2040 and based at the University of Hamburg, aims to create a comprehensive database of literature written in the G\u0259\u02bf\u0259z language within the Orthodox Christian communities of Ethiopia and Eritrea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not just an ordinary database \u2013 it is also a research platform designed as a digital environment where scholars can create critical editions of Ethiopian texts. Beta Ma\u1e63\u0101\u1e25\u01ddft also provides access to manuscripts online, allowing anyone to explore content that has survived for centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\u201cThis](\"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Berber-Maryam086-1024x768-1.webp\")
Tracing history through allusions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Beta Ma\u1e63\u0101\u1e25\u01ddft: The writings of Ethiopia and Eritrea<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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