Field and river

20th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES20)
Mekelle University, Ethiopia

"Regional and Global Ethiopia - Interconnections and Identities"
1-5 October, 2018

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A FRESH LOOK AT THE KƏBRÄ NÄGÄŚT COLOPHON [Abstract ID: 0808-03]

Michael KLEINER, Göttingen University, Germany

The Kəbrä nägäśt (KN) likely is the most famous work of Gəˁəz literature. Despite its renown though, many aspects of its genesis remain unclear and debated. In its search for clues, scholarship has, next internal evidence, regularly also turned to the KN's colophon. Yet this short text is itself philologically intricate and thus has given rise to diverse and conflicting interpretations. Against this backdrop, my paper will take a fresh look at the KN's colophon, in the process suggesting some new understandings of its text and discussing their implications for our view of the KN's genesis as well as arrival in Ethiopia.