New Medieval Books: Bastions of the Cross
Bastions of the Cross: Medieval Rock-Cut Cruciform Churches of Tigray, Ethiopia
By Mikael Muehlbauer
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
ISBN: 978-0-88402-497-2
This book sheds light on several lesser-known medieval churches in northern Ethiopia. It offers fresh insights into the region’s architectural and artistic heritage.
Excerpt:
This is the first monograph to treat three closely linked buildings in the region of Tigray, Ethiopia: the churches Abreha wa-Atsbeha, Wuqro Cherqos, and Mika’el Amba. Despite having been identified as a set as early as the 1940s, these monuments remain largely undocumented, undated, and little known outside the field of Ethiopian Studies. However, as I will suggest, they should be understood as some of the most important monuments from the Middle Ages.
Who is this book for?
Many medievalists are likely familiar with the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, but this book turns the spotlight on three other remarkable churches located further north in Ethiopia. Richly illustrated with photographs, it reveals that these sites are equally impressive and deserving of attention. Scholars of Ethiopia and Eastern Africa—as well as those interested in church architecture—will find much of value in this work.
“In general, Muehlbauer’s book, with its both outward and inward-oriented observations of the world of rock-cut ecclesiastical architecture in northern Ethiopia, is an excellent contribution. Although the author could not conduct in-depth archaeological investigations for the reasons indicated elsewhere, he has made use of wide-ranging literary, architectural, and archaeological resources to address the basic questions of his research. The extensive fieldwork that the author conducted and the attempts he made as a participant observer of the culture and church tradition in his research area are very inspiring.” ~ review by Alebachew Belay Birru in Inquiries into Art, History, and the Visual
The Author
Mikael Muehlbauer is a fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he specializes in the architecture of Medieval Ethiopia, Egypt and the textile arts of the Western Indian Ocean world. In this blog post for Medieval World Magazine, Mikael talks about why he wrote this book.