Though later medieval hagiographies attribute all 11 structures to the eponymous King Lalibela (the town was called Roha and Adefa before his reign), new evidence indicates that they may have been built separately over a period of a few centuries, with only a few of the more recent churches having been built under his reign.
The other narratives included in these texts are the narrative about Shiva, the hagiographies of Minanatha and Gorakshanatha, the narrative of Ganga, the narrative of Sada Dom and Ramai Pandit, the description of the atrocities of Dharma in Jajpur and the narrative of king Harishcahndra.
A legend, composed around the 10th century and incorporating elements from other saints’ hagiographies, states that Liberalis of Treviso was educated in the Christian faith by Heliodorus.
According to the hagiographies of Hubert, this act was simultaneously revealed to the pope in a vision, together with an injunction to appoint Hubert bishop of Maastricht.
In this manner he brings out in relief the "Acta Gregorii VII" (papal biography of Gregory VII); "Series Abbatum Flaviniacensium" (on his predecessors as abbot of Flavigny); "Vita beati Richardi, abbatis S. Vitori" and "Vita S. Magdalvei" (two hagiographies).
Archaeologist Neil Christie notes that it was common in such hagiographies for the protagonist to encounter areas of strong paganism.