The monastery of Däbrä Särabi was founded by the monk Ewostatewos c. 1300, near where he was born in Tigray. It served as the centre of a monastic reform movement directed on the one hand towards combatting paganism, while on the other it served as opposition to Coptic orthodoxy, which in turn was linked closely to the Ethiopian monarchy. Ewostatewos sought independence from secular authority and antagonized the monarchy by criticizing aspects of its moral conduct. Furthermore, he set himself in opposition to established orthodoxy by promoting the celebration of the Sabbath on both Saturday and Sunday. The movement reflected the tensions between the northerners from Tigray, and the newly established dynasty of Solomonic (Amharic) kings to the south Although Ewostatewos himself was forced into exile and died in Armenia c. 1352, his monastery prospered under the direction of his successors. It appears to have continued its proselytising missionary work well into the 15th century, at which point the north-south conflict was resolved by King Zara Yakob at the Council of Metmaq in 1450. Judging from the continuity of the manuscript tradition represented by the 90-odd works in the its library, the monastery continued to flourish well into the 19th century.
British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : CorporateBody : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000064.0x000355
