Female monastic movements in Medieval Ethiopia: History and Hagiography

16 January 2026

Female monastic movements in Medieval Ethiopia: History and Hagiography

Speaker:
Dr. Martina Ambu

Date/Time:
Friday, January 16th, 2026, at 12–14 h (CET/MEZ).

Place:

   University of Hamburg
   Asia-Africa-Institute (AAI)
   Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Ostflügel ("East Wing"), room 221
   20146 Hamburg

About this lecture:

This talk will focus on recent research concerning female monasticism in 14th–16th-century Ethiopia, particularly within the Ewostatean and Stephanite monastic movements. Hagiographic and normative texts show that Ewostateans maintained “double monasteries”, where abbesses held significant authority, and nuns followed rules modeled on Egyptian traditions but locally composed. A rich corpus of hagiographic texts describes Stephanite nuns, highlighting their communal discipline, aid to fellow believers during persecution, and rigorous asceticism as paths to salvation. Recently, increasing attention to female sainthood in Ethiopia has been raised by the Lives of Zena Maryam and Krestos Samra, as well as the Life of the Holy Women from Tigray, emphasizing Lake Tana as an important site for female monasticism and asceticism.