Book of Mihel
From Almeopedia
The Book of Mihel (so ivro Mihelei [so ˈi vro mi ɛ ˈlɛ i]) is the third of the holy books of Eleďát. It is chiefly an account of the arrival of the Elenicoi in Avéla and their early deeds there. It was written in the late 2800s in contemporary Avélan Verdurian; it is now published in standard Mažtane orthography, with glosses for archaic words and hellenisms.
Contents |
Component books
| Verdurian | English | Contents |
| soî mevî Mihelei | The acts of Mihel | The journey of the Elenicoi; their initial experiences in Avéla; the first conversions; encounters with the Arašei and the iliu Beldobre; the boďpila match; early church organization; covers events from 2780 to 2800. |
| so Otalmizo Mihelei | The martyrdom (or witness) of Mihel | A detailed account of the last days of Mihel in 2820, culminating in his execution by the Kebreni, and the succession of Ezecio. |
| so Aďeton Aďei | The church of God | A brief history of the church of Avéla from 2780 to 2900, evidently compiled from official records, and thus heavy on names, genealogy, appointemnts, and procedure, though it tells some stores in brief form. |
| soî Loži nëronië | The words of the saints | A miscellaneous collection of speeches, parables, letters, and sayings of the Elenicoi. |
| soî pisi Sosténei | The letters of Sostén | The third patriarch, Sostén, wrote many letters to churches throughout Érenat, and these were compiled as guide to church practice. |
| so ivro Eglérei | The book of Praise | Apparently the hymnal of the Avélan church; some manuscripts even retain musical annotations. Many of the songs are attributed to particular individuals; the most popular name is that of Sumeo, who had a reputation for particular holiness. |
The short forms of these names consist of the capitalized words, except for Otalmizo. In Verdurian style the first book would normally be called Mevî, but this refers to the book of Acts in the Book of Iesu (to which of course the name 'Acts of Mihel' is an allusion).
Like the Book of Iesu, the books are divided into named dunî (sections). (In the case of the last two books, each letter and song makes up a duna.)
History
Writing
Most of the Elenicoi never left Avéla, and concerned themselves largely with running the church and the dissidence against Kebri; their only scholarly project was the translation of the Book of Iesu, which of course could be done only by native speakers of Greek. The second generation, their converts and adopted children, were not much less busy, though Sostén’s son Apleno compiled his letters.
It was the third generation that realized that direct knowledge of the Elenicoi was disappearing, and hastened to record it. The chief names are Tito, grandson of Ezecio (who is said to have compiled the first book); Evnica, granddaughter of Ihano, who wrote the second; and the patriarch Emanél, grandson of Ihano, who directed anonymous overseers to compile the fourth book. The third and sixth books were compiled in the time of the patriarch Kano (which is why the church history ends in his day). Thus, manuscripts of all six books existed by 2900.
This was by no means the only early Eleďe literature produced; of particular interest is the Mudraë Timoďei, the wisdom of Timoďeo, the only terrestrial human born on Almea, son of two Elenicoi, Luca and Cläďo.
Much as our New Testament (the Book of Iesu) refers frequently to the Old, the Book of Mihel is filled with allusions to the Book of Iesu. Some of the language is even strongly hellenized— the letters of Sostén most so, of course, but the other books contain many direct quotations from people whose minds worked in Greek. There are even references to early terrestrial church history (e.g. a list of persecuting Roman emperors).
Canon
The Council of Avéla in 2987 considered which books should make up the scripture of Eleďát. There were some who argued that only the Book of Iesu should be scriptural. But the Council followed the general feeling of the Érenati church, that Book of Mihel should be included, but that it should only comprise the six books directly related to the first generation of Elenicoi.
There is little manuscript variation, but the Council declared that the standard versions were those used by the church in Avéla.
Printing and translations
The early books were translated into Kebreni almost as soon as they were compiled; a Sarroc version was complete by 3000, and one in Barakhinei by 3100 (earlier, in fact, than the Book of Iesu).
There is an edition of the Aďeton Aďei in Flaidish (Adeton kaimys, 3212); the flaids had little interest in Eleďe doctrine but some curiosity about where the Elenicoi came from and how they created a new religion.
The very first printed book, set in type by Adriano Boďmorey, was the Letters of Sostén. Boďmorey went on to produce a Book of Eleď in 3188 and the entire Book of Mihel in 3190. The first book printed in Verduria, by Ikobo Mirtíy, was likewise an edition of the scriptures (3242).
