ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the "date of composition" approach to hagiographic texts. It attempts to redress the imbalance by considering other factors which influence the historical authenticity of a gadl, including the nature of the genre, the manner of composition and transmission of texts, and the aims of hagiographers and scribes. The chapter examines a "non-historical" hagiographic text in order to demonstrate how materials can prove to be a rich source of information on the ideas and tensions of Christian Ethiopian society. It also examines a number of problems connected with the use of Ethiopian hagiographies as historical sources. The hagiographic literature of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church may be divided into two major categories: the translated lives of the saints and martyrs of the early Christian church and the lives of local saints. The chapter describes the king-monk relationship in greater detail.
