The
Gadle Samuel hagiography, written in the fifteenth century and with both long and short versions, states that he was born in
Aksum and had a brother. His mother left her husband to become a nun and Samuel followed her example by refusing to marry. He went to the monastery called Däbrä Bänkʷal, where he became a monk. After his father died, he became a
coenobitic monk, living alone in the wilderness among the wild beasts. He tamed lions and performed many miracles. He walked through water without his book getting wet and Saint Michael flew him through the air to visit Jerusalem. He is said to have died at the age of 100. Stories about Samuel also appear in the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary. == Illuminations ==