Verena Krebs


Verena Krebs is a German historian who specialises in medieval European and African history. She was appointed a professor at the Historical Institute of the University of Bochum in 2017.

Research

Krebs' first monograph, "Medieval Ethiopian Kingship, Craft, and Diplomacy with Latin Europe", received widespread attention upon its publication in 2021 and was very positively reviewed in both academic journals and popular media.

Education and career

Krebs studied at the University of Konstanz and graduated with a Master of Arts in History in 2010. In 2014, she was awarded a bi-national doctorate in Medieval History by the University of Konstanz, Germany, and Mekelle University, Ethiopia, for her PhD research on the medieval history of Solomonic Ethiopia, citing Ethiopian historian Taddesse Tamrat as a significant influence on her research. She was a postdoctoral research fellow of the Martin Buber Society in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 2014 to 2017 before being appointed to a non-permanent professorship at the University of Bochum in 2017. In July 2025, Krebs was appointed full professor for the "History of Medieval Cultural Realms and their Entanglements" at Bochum.

Honours

Krebs was named a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2021. In March 2022, she was awarded the Dan David Prize, which "recognizes outstanding scholarship that illuminates the past and seeks to anchor public discourse in a deeper understanding of history" for "overturning traditional narratives of African-European relations and cultural exchange, and painting a vivid picture of the role of art, artisans and relics in state-building and diplomacy in medieval Ethiopia".
That same year, Krebs was awarded a Gerda Henkel Fellowship, which enabled her to spend the academic year 2022/23 as a Member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.

Works (selection)