Edward Ullendorff (1920–2011) was a British scholar and historian. He was a prominent figure in Ethiopian Studies and also contributed work on the

Semitic language The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigrant a ...

Biography

Born on 25 January 1920 in Zurich, Switzerland, Ullendorff was educated at the

Graues Kloster The Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, located in suburban Schmargendorf, Berlin, is an independent school with a humanistic profile, known as one of the most prestigious schools in Germany. Founded by the Evangelical Church in West Berli ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Ullendorff was first lecturer, and then Reader, in Semitic Languages at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

(1950–1959), Professor of Semitic Languages at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

(1959–1964). From 1964 to 1979, he was Professor of Ethiopic at

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

(SOAS), and then Professor of Semitic Studies from 1979 to 1982. Prior to his death in 2011, Ullendorff was

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the School of Oriental and African Studies in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1971, Ullendorff served as president of the Society for Old Testament Study. Ullendorff married Dina Noack in 1943. She provided lifelong support for his academic research and translated Melanie Oppenhejm's ''

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

'' under her own name. Dina Ullendorff died in 2019. Edward Ullendorff died on 6 March 2011.https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/15%20Ullendorff.pdf

Ark of the Covenant

According to local legend, the original Ark of the Covenant is supposedly held in the

Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion The Church of Our Lady, Mary of Zion is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church which is claimed to contain the Ark of the Covenant. The church is located in the town of Axum, Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia, near the grounds of Obelisks ...

in Axum,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. In a 1992 interview, Ullendorff said that he personally examined the ark held within the church in Axum in 1941 while a British army officer. Describing the ark there, he described it as a "Middle- to late-medieval construction, when these were fabricated ad hoc."

Honours

The

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

has established the "Edward Ullendorf Medal", so that beginning in 2012 it is "awarded annually for scholarly distinction and achievements in the field of Semitic Languages and Ethiopian Studies."

Selected works

*''Exploration and Study of Abyssinia. A Brief Survey'' (1945) *''The Semitic Languages of Ethiopia. A Comparative Phonology'' (1955) *''Hebraic-Jewish Elements in Abyssinian (Monophysite) Christianity'' (1956) *''An Amharic Chrestomathy'' (1965) *''The Challenge of Amharic'' (1965) An inaugural lecture delivered on 28 October 1964 *''The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People'' (1966) *''Ethiopia and the Bible'' (1968)

Schweich Lectures Schweich is a town in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Moselle, approx. northeast of Trier. Schweich is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Schweich an der ...

The British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

(1967) *Is Biblical Hebrew a Language? ''

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

'' 34.2:241-255 (1971) *Some Early Amharic letters. ''

'' 35.2:229-270. (1972) *''Autobiography of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia'' (1978), translator *''The Amharic Letters of Emperor Theodore of Ethiopia to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and Her Special Envoy'' (1979), with David L. Appleyard, Girma-Selassie Asfaw *''The Hebrew Letters of

Prester John Prester John ( la, Presbyter Ioannes) was a legendary Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories popular in Europe in the 12th to the 17th centuries told of a Nestorian patriarch and king who was said to rule over a Christian nation lost ...

'' (1982), with C. F. Beckingham. *''A

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literatur ...

Chrestomathy A chrestomathy ( ; from the Ancient Greek (, “desire of learning”) = (, “useful”) + (, “learn”)) is a collection of selected literary passages (usually from a single author); a selection of literary passages from a foreign language ...

'' (1985) *''The Two Zions : Reminiscences of Jerusalem and Ethiopia'' (1989) *''From the Bible to

Enrico Cerulli Enrico Cerulli (15 February 1898 - 19 September 1988) was an Italian scholar of Somali and Ethiopian studies, a governor and a diplomat. Biography Cerulli was born in Naples, Italy in 1898. He wrote his doctoral thesis at the University of Nap ...

A Miscellany of Ethiopian and Semitic Papers'' (1990) *''From Emperor

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

to H. J. Polotsky Collected Papers IV: An Ethiopian and Semitic Miscellany'' (1995)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Who's Who 2007 * Simon Hopkins, "Bibliography of the Writings of Professor Edward Ullendorff", in: ''

Journal of Semitic Studies A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'' XXXIV/2 (1989), pp. 253–289. * Dina Ullendorff, "Bibliography of the Writings of Professor Edward Ullendorff (1988-99)", in: ''Journal of Semitic Studies'' XLV/1 (2000), pp. 131–136. * ''Northeast African Studies''. Vol. 12, No. 1, 2012, pp. 309–310
Image of Ullendorf.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ullendorff, Edward 1920 births 2011 deaths Academics of SOAS University of London Academics of the University of Manchester Academics of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of St Andrews British Jews British orientalists Ethiopianists Fellows of the British Academy Semiticists Swiss expatriates in Germany Expatriates in Mandatory Palestine Swiss emigrants to the United Kingdom Alumni of Wolfson College, Oxford Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study