Hagiography as Source: Gender and Conversion Narratives in <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i>
Drawing on the work of Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent, this essay proposes utilizing hagiographies from the <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i>, a fifteenth-century Ethiopian collection of saints’ lives, to explore various aspects of conversion. Other scholars emplo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/6/307 |
| _version_ | 1797564447177310208 |
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| author | Anna Redhair Wells |
| author_facet | Anna Redhair Wells |
| author_sort | Anna Redhair Wells |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Drawing on the work of Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent, this essay proposes utilizing hagiographies from the <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i>, a fifteenth-century Ethiopian collection of saints’ lives, to explore various aspects of conversion. Other scholars employ a similar approach when analyzing hagiographical literature found in medieval Europe. While acknowledging that these texts do not provide details about the historical experience of conversion, they can assist scholars in understanding the conception of conversion in the imagination of the culture that created them. This essay specifically focuses on the role of women in conversion throughout the text and argues that, although men and women were almost equally represented as agents of conversion, a closer examination reveals that their participation remained gendered. Women more frequently converted someone with whom they had a prior relationship, especially a member of their familial network. Significantly, these observations mirror the patterns uncovered by contemporary scholars such as Dana Robert, who notes how women contributed to the spread of Christianity primarily through human relationships. By integrating these representations of conversion from late medieval Ethiopia, scholarship will gain a more robust picture of conversion in Africa more broadly and widen its understanding of world Christianity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:57:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9de9e59f0dba4d19ae1d082b1b740b0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:57:28Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-9de9e59f0dba4d19ae1d082b1b740b0a2023-11-20T04:39:41ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442020-06-0111630710.3390/rel11060307Hagiography as Source: Gender and Conversion Narratives in <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i>Anna Redhair Wells0Department of Religion, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76706, USADrawing on the work of Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent, this essay proposes utilizing hagiographies from the <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i>, a fifteenth-century Ethiopian collection of saints’ lives, to explore various aspects of conversion. Other scholars employ a similar approach when analyzing hagiographical literature found in medieval Europe. While acknowledging that these texts do not provide details about the historical experience of conversion, they can assist scholars in understanding the conception of conversion in the imagination of the culture that created them. This essay specifically focuses on the role of women in conversion throughout the text and argues that, although men and women were almost equally represented as agents of conversion, a closer examination reveals that their participation remained gendered. Women more frequently converted someone with whom they had a prior relationship, especially a member of their familial network. Significantly, these observations mirror the patterns uncovered by contemporary scholars such as Dana Robert, who notes how women contributed to the spread of Christianity primarily through human relationships. By integrating these representations of conversion from late medieval Ethiopia, scholarship will gain a more robust picture of conversion in Africa more broadly and widen its understanding of world Christianity.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/6/307Ethiopian Orthodox Churchreligious conversionwomenrepresentationmedieval Christianityhagiography |
| spellingShingle | Anna Redhair Wells Hagiography as Source: Gender and Conversion Narratives in <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i> Religions Ethiopian Orthodox Church religious conversion women representation medieval Christianity hagiography |
| title | Hagiography as Source: Gender and Conversion Narratives in <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i> |
| title_full | Hagiography as Source: Gender and Conversion Narratives in <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i> |
| title_fullStr | Hagiography as Source: Gender and Conversion Narratives in <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hagiography as Source: Gender and Conversion Narratives in <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i> |
| title_short | Hagiography as Source: Gender and Conversion Narratives in <i>The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church</i> |
| title_sort | hagiography as source gender and conversion narratives in i the book of the saints of the ethiopian church i |
| topic | Ethiopian Orthodox Church religious conversion women representation medieval Christianity hagiography |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/6/307 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annaredhairwells hagiographyassourcegenderandconversionnarrativesinithebookofthesaintsoftheethiopianchurchi |