Ge’ez
Ge‘ez, is a South Semitic language that survived as a spoken language in what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea until sometime between 900 and 1200 and remains in use as a liturgical language to this day. In its earliest form, the Ge’ez script was an abjad, or writing system consisting only of consonants; by the 4th century the script had developed into an abugida, or alphasyllabary, a writing system in which each symbol represents a consonant-vowel combination. Ge‘ez literature is dominated by religious texts, and this is reflected in the collection of manuscripts at the Fisher, which includes prayer books, a Psalter, a hagiography of Abuna Gabra Manfas Qeddus, and a life of Jesus Christ.