Composite and Multiple Text Manuscripts: The Ethiopian Evidence

From the few examples here dealt with, the phenomenon, not only of the MTM, but also of the composite manuscript, emerges as a non-exceptional one, yet on the contrary, a relative physiological aspect of the Ethiopian manuscript culture. This practice appears on the one hand to correspond to some extent to far premises of social and economical character that were common in the late antique and medieval context of the Mediterranean (Byzantine) civilization of the Christian Orient, of which Ethiopia was a component for centuries; on the other hand—as appears throughout the rich medieval and premodern manuscript evidence that has survived—it betrays the specific attitude of Ethiopian Christian culture towards absorption, expansion, and recreation of a given matter. With respect to this, the multi-layered facet of the codex has been interpreted—not only of course, but also, in Ethiopia—as an appropriate and comfortable repository to documentary texts, while its modular facet has often served as a formidable booster for the development of textual and art-historical production.