The earlier Ethiopic textual heritage

It is commonly agreed that the earliest Ethiopic texts known so far are translations from Greek, while later works are much indebted to the Christian Arabic literary tradition, particularly to the Copto-Arabic one. There is evidence for the emergence of a rich local written production only later in the course of time. One would expect that the complexity of this literary history is fully reflected in the changes in grammar, lexicon and stylistic means of the Ethiopic language, even though in-depth analyses have been attempted only rarely and no systematic correlation has been established between lexical, morphological, and stylistic features. On the one hand, the first step in approaching this delicate question is a systematic mapping of texts and works attributed on some grounds to a precise period. Particularly crucial in this regard is listing all texts that can be attributed to the earlier period of the Ethiopic literary production. On the other hand, a more pronounced awareness of the role played by the material text carriers in the transmission of knowledge has introduced new factors, that also can and must be taken into account.