Assessing Textual Variants in the Ethiopic Vita of Saint Mark the Evangelist

Abstract

The Vita of Saint Mark the Evangelist, transmitted through an Ethiopic translation, represents a vital link between the Alexandrian hagiographical tradition and the literary heritage of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥǝdo Church. Although the text has long been used in ecclesiastical contexts, its complex manuscript tradition and internal textual variations have not been examined in depth. This study offers a critical investigation of the principal Ethiopic witnesses of the Vita, with special attention to the Medium Recension. This version occupies an intermediary position between the shorter and longer textual forms known from extant Mss. The article identifies and classifies significant textual variants in wording, syntax, and structure. These variants reveal not only the linguistic evolution of the Vita within the Gǝʿǝz literary milieu but also the theological and interpretive choices made by successive copyists. The Medium Recension emerges as a pivotal textual stage, preserving archaisms and unique readings that illuminate the transition from the early Ethiopic translation to later expanded forms. At the same time, evidence of editorial harmonization suggests that scribes sought to adapt the narrative to contemporary doctrinal and liturgical expectations. By situating the Ethiopic Vita of Saint Mark the Evangelist within a wider context of the Ethiopic tradition, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how hagiographical texts were transmitted, localized, and reinterpreted across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Finally, the analysis underscores the need for a comprehensive critical edition of the Vita, one that accounts for dynamic interplay between textual translation and scribal intervention within the Ethiopic manuscript tradition.