History, Memory, and Hagiography: The Case of the Ethiopian ʾEwostateans (Fourteenth–Mid-Fifteenth Centuries)

A 2023 book by Olivia Adankpo-Labadie—Moines, saints et hérétiques dans l’Éthiopie médiévale. Les disciples d’Ēwosṭātēwos et l’invention d’un mouvement monastique hétérodoxe (xive‐milieu du xve siècle)—recapitulates and further elaborates on the history and construction of the memory of the medieval heterodox monastic community of the ʾĒwosṭāteans (followers of ʾĒwosṭātēwos) in medieval Ethiopia fourteenthfifteenth centuries). Through a fine reading and re-interpretation of the hagiographic and documentary sources collected in the past (acquisition of new sources is extremely limited), the monograph analyses the rise and ideological roots of this essential monastic movement. Known for its defence of the two-Sabbath observance and its specific rules concerning the abbot, the movement experienced varying relationships with the monarchy and the metropolitan, ranging from initial persecution to eventual official recognition. This was also connected to the rise and fall of parallel heterodox monastic movements which did not enjoy similar favourable treatment, such as that of the ʾEsṭifānosites. Although the application of historiographical methodologies from the Western Middle Ages provides useful hermeneutical tools and re-examining the sources offers fresh perspectives, concerns arise regarding consistent philological and linguistic accuracy and understanding of the dynamics of canon law development.