<hi rend="italic">ʿOnithā</hi> Alessandro Mengozzi Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portal Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University The International Balzan Prize Foundation George A. Kiraz Sebastian P. Brock Aaron M. Butts Lucas Van Rompay Ute Possekel Daniel L. Schwartz David A. Michelson Data cleaning, editorial proofreading, and TEI editing by Ute S. Posssekel Data cleaning and initial valid TEI encoding by David Michelson XSLT transformations by Winona Salesky Data cleaning, editorial proofreading, TEI schema, and TEI encoding and editing by Daniel L. Schwartz Conversion to semantic XML by George A. Kiraz Electronic Edition Version 1.5 Published by Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA www.gorgiaspress.com for Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute Published with the collaboration of Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portal Published and hosted with the collaboration of the Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University

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2016-09-22-16:00
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition George A. Kiraz Sebastian P. Brock Aaron M. Butts Lucas Van Rompay Ute Possekel Daniel L. Schwartz David A. Michelson Data cleaning, editorial proofreading, and TEI editing by Ute S. Posssekel Data cleaning and initial valid TEI encoding by David Michelson XSLT transformations by Winona Salesky Data cleaning, editorial proofreading, TEI schema, and TEI encoding and editing by Daniel L. Schwartz Conversion to semantic XML by George A. Kiraz Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage Sebastian P. Brock Aaron M. Butts George A. Kiraz Lucas Van Rompay Piscataway, N.J. Gorgias Press for Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute 2011 Copyright ©2011 by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute ISBN: 978-1-59333-714-8
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ʿOnithā https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Onitha http://syriaca.org/bibl/418 409 subject Poetic genre which flourished in late E.-Syr. hymnography.

Poetic genre which flourished in late E.-Syr. hymnography. In earlier periods, the term ʿonithā (pl. ʿonyāthā) indicates the antiphonal response to psalms or the refrain of a madrāšā (see Poetry), ranging from one line to a full verse. The late ʿonyāthā are liturgical hymns characterized by a tripartite structure: prologues and epilogues contain lines of various length, whereas the main text is structured in verses of a fixed number of isosyllabic lines. Generally a verse consists of four rhymed seven-syllable lines. Verses and/or lines are often connected by alphabetic acrostics or other stylistic artifices.

Being used during the daily service or celebration of the Eucharist, ʿonyāthā deal with various subjects: penitence, feasts of the liturgical year, praise of saints and martyrs, commemoration or prayer occasioned by dramatic events (war, famine, pestilence).

Gewargis Warda and Khamis bar Qardaḥe are considered masters of the genre. Long ʿonyāthā of historical-celebrative content were composed by Gabriel Qamṣa (Metr. of Mosul , 2nd half of the 13th cent.) and Brikhishoʿ bar Eshkafe (abbot of Beth Qoqa, 14th cent.?). The ʿonitha ʿonithā had its natural continuation in the Sureth genre of the dorekthā .

Sources Baumstark, Literatur, 303, 323.
Alessandro Mengozzi