Basically, chronicle in medieval Ethiopia used as the main media of information, which it is compared in modern sense with a newspaper and a chronicle with a journalist. All the chronicles produced in the period under discussion with various degree purposefully concerned to portray the ideological orientation of Royalty that means the Ethiopian kings were descendants of the lineage of Judah, Son of David and Solomon who were kings in Jerusalem. As Pankhurst and Marrassini remarked, those ideological principles of Solomonic monarchs were the central concern of the Kǝbrä nägäśt and they are maintained in royal chronicles, which serve to propagate such ideology for their respective kings. Th chronicle of King Gälawdewos is the best example
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In Pankhurst’s good analysis, the Royal chronicles usually cited the notable references from the Bible (Ps. 77:67, Gen. 49:10, Rev. 5:5) to indicate that the king belongs to the line of Judah. In this regard, the chronicler of Gälawdewos cited reference from revelation that is spoken for the Lion of Judah. In similar manner, the chronicle also devoted the divinity of the king Gälawdewos who was likened even to Jesus. Following the basic principles of Kǝbrä nägäśt and Fǝtḥa nägäśt that ‘King must be a good shepherd’, the chronicler systematically explained in the chronicle that King Gälawdewos refused to flee from his enemy saying that ‘If I die and the flocks are scattered, the lord of shepherds does not inquire about the dispersion of the flocks’. Other ideological principles of royalty including the anointment, counsel, obedience to God, attributes of the rules are explained based on several references from the Bible. The chronicle also indicated the significance of the anointment citing Ps. 44:7. Thus, this chronicle represents one of the main example of means of indoctrinating the ideological orientation of the kings, perhaps next to Kǝbrä …show more content…
Following the death of Minas, Hamälmal, who had no kingship genealogy but he was the strong military commander, was planning to take away the throne. Following this, the nobility and the young King Śärṣä Dǝngǝl would have aimed, through narrating the genealogical tree of kingship, to avoid the future power struggle in the court. Thus, this situation introduced new historiographical tradition in the historiographical writing. The author of this chronicle what he did is that before he composed the chronicle of Särṣä Dǝngǝl, he composed the chronicles his predecessors who reigned before Śärṣä Dǝngǝl (Lebna Dengel, Galawdewos, Minas) dividing the text into three sections as background to the composition of his huge chronicle which appear in section. The dedication of composing the chronicles of the predecessor of the king appears only in the chronicle of Särṣä Dǝngǝl. Why the chronicler did this, in his word, he states that it is important to provide background know before he started the composition of the chronicle he engaged in as the main duty. It states that ‘We will write first the story of his fathers, the kings who were with truth faith, and then we will have put it at the end his story, let it be at a greater level than the lower one; like this, God committed,
In Pankhurst’s good analysis, the Royal chronicles usually cited the notable references from the Bible (Ps. 77:67, Gen. 49:10, Rev. 5:5) to indicate that the king belongs to the line of Judah. In this regard, the chronicler of Gälawdewos cited reference from revelation that is spoken for the Lion of Judah. In similar manner, the chronicle also devoted the divinity of the king Gälawdewos who was likened even to Jesus. Following the basic principles of Kǝbrä nägäśt and Fǝtḥa nägäśt that ‘King must be a good shepherd’, the chronicler systematically explained in the chronicle that King Gälawdewos refused to flee from his enemy saying that ‘If I die and the flocks are scattered, the lord of shepherds does not inquire about the dispersion of the flocks’. Other ideological principles of royalty including the anointment, counsel, obedience to God, attributes of the rules are explained based on several references from the Bible. The chronicle also indicated the significance of the anointment citing Ps. 44:7. Thus, this chronicle represents one of the main example of means of indoctrinating the ideological orientation of the kings, perhaps next to Kǝbrä …show more content…
Following the death of Minas, Hamälmal, who had no kingship genealogy but he was the strong military commander, was planning to take away the throne. Following this, the nobility and the young King Śärṣä Dǝngǝl would have aimed, through narrating the genealogical tree of kingship, to avoid the future power struggle in the court. Thus, this situation introduced new historiographical tradition in the historiographical writing. The author of this chronicle what he did is that before he composed the chronicle of Särṣä Dǝngǝl, he composed the chronicles his predecessors who reigned before Śärṣä Dǝngǝl (Lebna Dengel, Galawdewos, Minas) dividing the text into three sections as background to the composition of his huge chronicle which appear in section. The dedication of composing the chronicles of the predecessor of the king appears only in the chronicle of Särṣä Dǝngǝl. Why the chronicler did this, in his word, he states that it is important to provide background know before he started the composition of the chronicle he engaged in as the main duty. It states that ‘We will write first the story of his fathers, the kings who were with truth faith, and then we will have put it at the end his story, let it be at a greater level than the lower one; like this, God committed,