Research & Lessons
The African Library of Stories about the Virgin Mary
October 6, 2023
by Wendy Laura Belcher, Jeremy R. Brown, Mehari Worku, Dawit Muluneh, and Evgeniia Lambrinaki
What is the Täʾammərä Maryam (Miracles of Mary) that serves as the base of the PEMM project?
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Paintings about Halos
June 3, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Paintings of Mary and other saints depict them with a halo. But these haloes range in size, shape, and color over time and place and painter.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Stories about Paintings, Icons, and Other Arts
October 6, 2023
by Wendy Laura Belcher
The Ethiopian Miracles of Mary is one of the most beautifully illustrated manuscripts in the Ethiopian canon, or indeed anywhere. About 10 percent of all Marian stories are illustrated in the Ethiopian tradition.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Stories about Gender & Power
January 31, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Many miracles of Mary stories are about the issues that women face in societies where they do not hold much power. The focus is often on their role as family members (especially as mothers) but some stories feature women leaders or rebels.
Read MoreEthiopian Orthodox Church Educational System
February 16, 2024
by Mehari Worku with Wendy Laura Belcher
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has an ancient system of education, with many schools for learning the church's literature, practices, rhetoric, and interpretation.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Most Common Stories
October 6, 2023
by PEMM Team
What are the most common stories in the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary manuscripts?
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Story Dating
by PEMM Staff
PEMM was launched to collect information about the dating of the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories. When is the earliest attestation of each tale (in which century does each first appear)?
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Story Provenance
by PEMM Staff
PEMM was launched to collect information about the provenance of the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories. It is often wrongly said that they were all from Europe. In fact, over 90 percent are from Africa.
Read MoreFocus on a Miracle of Mary Story: Part 2: Au sujet de l'anthropophage
January 1, 2004
by Gérard Colin
A French translation of the Cannibal of Qemer story, based on the new version in TGS, which gives the cannibal a backstory, repentance, and a name.
Read MoreAlternate Translation of "An aged monk from Egypt whom the Virgin Mary made young again"
December 4, 2023
by Jeremy Brown & Dawit Muluneh with Wendy Laura Belcher from EMML (HMML) 9002, ff. 179r-180r
Read MoreThe African Library of Paintings of the Virgin Mary
October 6, 2023
by Wendy Laura Belcher, Jeremy R. Brown, Mehari Worku, Dawit Muluneh, and Evgeniia Lambrinaki
What is the history of the paintings that appear with Miracles of Mary stories?
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Stories about Ethiopian Kings
March 25, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Quite a few of the Marian miracle stories are about miracles that the Virgin Mary performed for the kings of Ethiopia. This alternate history gives insight into how Ethiopians conceived of particular Ethiopian kings.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Stories about Animals, Plants, and Nature
January 31, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Many stories about Mary are about animals and nature, sometimes in surprising ways. Studying these stories brings much to light about how human beings have viewed the environment over time and space.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Stories on Wealth & Privilege
January 31, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Many stories about Mary address wealth and the unfair advantages of privilege, sometimes in problematic ways, sometimes in revolutionary ways. Studying these stories brings much to light about how human beings have viewed disparity over time and space.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Story Characters
September 1, 2023
by PEMM Staff
PEMM was launched to collect information about the characters in the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories. Are men or women protagonists more common? Young or old? Which character professions are most common (e.g., monks or farmers)?
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Story Themes
by PEMM Staff
PEMM was launched to collect information about the themes of the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Story Recensions
by PEMM Staff
PEMM was launched to collect information about the recensions of the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories. How did individual Ethiopian Marian miracle stories change over time and region? Did they get longer or shorter?
Read MoreFocus on a Miracle of Mary Story: Part 1: The Cannibal of Qemer
January 1, 2020
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Perhaps the most famous Miracle of Mary story in Ethiopia is the story of the Cannibal of Qemer, a man who eats seventy-eight people, including his own wife and children. The story is analyzed and translated here.
Read MoreFocus on a Miracle of Mary Story: Part 3: “El Caníbal de Qəmər” de la Täˀammərä Maryam (Los Milagros de Santa María)
February 6, 2021
by Carlina Green
Carlina Green became fascinated with the story of the Cannibal of Qemər from the Täˀammərä Maryam. She wanted to share the story with a friend in Mexico and so decided to translate it using the English translation Wendy Laura Belcher and Michael Kleiner had made accessible on their website. She kindly provided the translation to PEMM to make the story accessible to other Spanish-speakers.
Read MoreAlternate Translations of "The monastic scribe who used to write the Virgin Mary's name in golden ink"
February 1, 2024
by Jeremy Brown & Dawit Muluneh, with Wendy Laura Belcher
Many of the Marian miracle stories have different versions. This story is an example of one with two slightly different versions. One appears on the PEMM story page and one appears here.
Read MoreUnderstanding Miracles of Mary Paintings
October 6, 2023
by Wendy Laura Belcher, Jeremy R. Brown, Mehari Worku, Dawit Muluneh, and Evgeniia Lambrinaki
How should you read a Miracles of Mary painting?
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Stories about Disability & Healing
January 30, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Many stories about Mary address disability and healing, sometimes in problematic ways, sometimes in revolutionary ways. Studying these stories brings much to light about how human beings have viewed disability over time and space.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Stories about Marriage
April 11, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Some Marian miracle stories are about marriage. Some long to get married, some long to say single. Many of the stories are about those are wicked to their spouses.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Stories and Humor
January 31, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Some Miracle of Mary stories are intentionally funny, as is typical of any folklore tradition.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Number of Stories in Manuscripts
October 6, 2023
by PEMM Team
How many stories do Miracles of Mary manuscripts have?
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Story Origins
by PEMM Staff
PEMM was launched to collect information about the origin of the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories.
Read MoreMiracles of Mary Story Order of Stories in Manuscripts
October 6, 2023
by PEMM Staff
PEMM was launched to collect information about the order in which Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories appear in manuscripts. Is the order of Miracles of Mary stories within manuscripts random?
Read MoreFocus on a Miracle of Mary Story: The Pregnant Abbess
April 11, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
The Pregnant Abbess may be the most famous European Marian miracle story every written.
Read MoreAlternate Translations of "The Self-Harming Bishop of Rome"
February 20, 2024
by Jeremy R. Brown, Dawit Muluneh, and Wendy Laura Belcher
The story of the man who cut off his hand due to a lustful thought has a long history all over the world. Three different versions (recensions) entered Ethiopia, two of which we document here.
Read MoreOther Research Websites about the Miracles of Mary
June 3, 2024
by Wendy Laura Belcher
Several other websites have information about the African Miracles of Mary stories, manuscripts, and paintings.
Read More