Guesh Solomon Teklu is a linguist and philologist whose research focuses on Ethiopian manuscripts, hagiography, and the relationship between texts and images, with a special interest in Marian miracle art.
Dr. Guesh advised the PEMM project on this art, in particular cataloging the art in the famous Art Institute of ChicagoTäˀammərä Maryam manuscript (1667-1706) and also the beautiful Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ethiopien d'Abbadie Collection, Manuscript No. 114 (1700-1799).
He completed his PhD at the University of Hamburg in 2026 with a dissertation entitled The Interplay of Texts and Illuminations in First-Gondarine-style ʾAkkonu Bǝʾsi Manuscripts: The Ethiopian Miracles of Mary, which he defended in September 2026.
He taught linguistics, philology, and English language courses at Wolkite University and Adigrat University from 2014 to 2021. He received his BA in Linguistics from Addis Ababa University in 2012, graduating as the gold medalist of his batch, and his MA in Ethiopic Philology from the same university in 2017.
Dr. Guesh is currently an independent scholar developing his doctoral research into a broader postdoctoral project. His current work focuses on preparing a comprehensive critical edition of the ʾAkkonu Bǝʾsi manuscripts and tracing the development and transmission of their artistic traditions from the First to the Second Gondarine style. He is also researching the hagiographic tradition and manuscript culture of the monastic network associated with Dabra Gʷǝlgizā in Tigray.
