University of Birmingham History and Exegesis in the Itinerarium
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A Note Towards Quantifying the Medieval Nubian Diaspora
23 A Note towards Quantifying the Medieval Nubian Diaspora Adam Simmons Throughout the Christian medieval period of the kingdoms of Nu- bia (c. sixth–fifteenth centuries), ideas, goods, and peoples traversed vast distances. Judging from primarily external sources, the Nubian diaspora has seldom been thought of as vast, whether in number or geographical scope, both in terms of the relocated and a non- permanently domiciled diaspora. Prior to the Christianisation of the kingdoms of Nobadia, Makuria, and Alwa in the sixth century, likely Nubian delegations, consisting of “Ethiopes,” were received in both Rome and Constantinople alongside ones from neighbouring peoples, such as the Blemmyes and Aksumites. Yet, medieval Nubia is more often seen as inclusive rather than diasporic. This brief dis- cussion will further show that Nubians were an interactive society within the wider Mediterranean, a topic most commonly seen in the debate on Nubian trade.1 Above all, it argues that Nubians had a long relationship with Mediterranean societies that has primarily been overlooked in scholarship. Whilst the evidence presented here is not aimed to be definitive, it does highlight that Nubia’s Mediterranean connections may even have been more diverse than what Giovan- ni Ruffini argued for in his book Medieval Nubia whilst describing Nubia as a “Mediterranean society in Africa.”2 May we even argue for a more developed thesis of interaction? What about the Nubian societies throughout the Mediterranean who interacted with other communities both spiritually and financially? It will be argued here that these questions should be revisited and have potential to fur- ther expand Ruffini’s Mediterranean thesis. -
Bibliography: Female Pilgrims in the 4Th Century A.D
Bibliography: female pilgrims in the 4th century A.D. 1.1. Primary sources AMBROSIUS, Sancti Ambrosii Mediolanensis: episcopi De Obitu Theodosii Oratio, uitgegeven door JACQUES-PAUL MIGNE (Patrologiae cursus completus), Parijs, 1845. AELIUS ARISTIDES, The Complete Works, vol. 1, Orations I-XVI with an Appendix Containing the Fragments and Inscriptions, translated into English by CHARLES A. BEHR, Leiden, 1981-1986. ATHANASIUS, ‘Epistula ad Virgines’, Athanasiana Syriaca, uitgegeven door W. ROBERT THOMSON (Corpus scriptorum christianorum Orientalium), Leuven, 1965-1977. AUGUSTINUS, Het werk van monniken, vertaald door LAURENS BAAS en VINCENT JAN CHRISTIAAN HUNINK, (Sleutelteksten in godsdienst en theologie, 26), Zoetemeer, 2002. AUGUSTINUS, Sancti Aureli Augustini De fide et symbolo, de fide et operibus, de agone christiano, de continentia, de bono coniugali, de sancta virginitate… Uitgegeven door JOSEPH ZYCHA (Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum, 41), Wenen, 1900. AUGUSTINUS, Select Letters, translated by JAMES HOUSTON BAXTER (Loeb Classical Library, 239), Cambridge, 1930. AURELIUS VICTOR, Sexti Aurelii Victoris Liber de Caesaribus praecedunt: Origo gentis Romanae et Liber de viris illustribus urbis Romae subsequitur Epitome de Caesaribus, rec. FRANCISCUS PICHLMAYR (Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana, 1108), Leipzig, 1911. Chronicon paschale 284-628 AD, transl. with notes and introd. by MICHAEL WHITBY and MARY WHITBY (Translated texts for historians, 7), Liverpool, 1989. EGERIA en VALERIUS BERGIDENSIS, Journal de voyage (itinéraire). Lettre sur la Bse Egérie, uitgegeven door MANUEL CECILIO DÍAZ Y DÍAZ en PIERRE MARAVAL (Sources chrétiennes, 296), Parijs 1982. EGERIA, ‘Egeria’s Travels’, Egeria's Travels to the Holy Land: Newly transl. with supporting documents and notes, edited by JOHN WILKINSON, Londen, 1971, 91-147. -
DOCUMENTING MIRACLES in the AGE of BEDE by THOMAS EDWARD ROCHESTER
SANCTITY AND AUTHORITY: DOCUMENTING MIRACLES IN THE AGE OF BEDE by THOMAS EDWARD ROCHESTER A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham July 2017 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This doctoral dissertation investigates the writings of the Venerable Bede (673-735) in the context of miracles and the miraculous. It begins by exploring the patristic tradition through which he developed his own historical and hagiographical work, particularly the thought of Gregory the Great in the context of doubt and Augustine of Hippo regarding history and truth. It then suggests that Bede had a particular affinity for the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles as models for the writing of specifically ecclesiastical history. The use of sources to attest miracle narratives in six hagiographies known to Bede from Late Antiquity are explored before applying this knowledge to Bede and five of his early Insular contemporaries. The research is rounded off by a discussion of Bede’s use of miracles in the context of reform, particularly his desire to provide adequate pastoral care through his understanding of the ideal bishop best exemplified by Cuthbert and John of Beverley. -
Landscape As Cartography in Early Christian Pilgrimage Narratives* Blake Leyerle
Journal of the American Academy of Religion LXIV/1 AAR Landscape as Cartography in Early Christian Pilgrimage Narratives* Blake Leyerle v_>OMPARED TO OTHER ancient travel literature, early accounts of Christian pilgrimage are strikingly spare. Our first record comes to us from an anonymous traveler in the early fourth century but here the land and its inhabitants, both presumably so exotic, remain as faceless as the traveler. Towards the end of the same century Egerias account shows a greater expansiveness on these matters but still has intriguing silences; while fulsome in expressing pleasure m what she sees, her enthusiasm stops short of any literary depiction of these sights. Jeromes letters, writ ten at about the same time, describing the land of Palestine as well as the holy travels of his friend Paula, do direct our attention to the landscape but in a highly stylized way For Jerome, scenery speaks of religious rather than geological formation. By the end of the sixth century, how ever, when another anonymous pilgrim traveled to the Holy Land, local fauna, flora, and even matters of ethnography are all of exuberant interest. Why is this? While this question may seem too impressionistic, too insignificant— or perhaps even too obvious—to ask, doing so brings real rewards. Like Blake Leyerle is Assistant Professor of Early Christian History in the Theology Department at the Uni versity of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 * Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the North American Patnstics Soci ety, Loyola -
Why Is Bede Interested in Kings in an Ecclesiastical History?
hy is Bede Interested in Kings in an Ecclesiastical History? Abigail Ver Mulm Bede and his Ecclesiastical History of the Kings’ Involvement in Anglo-Saxon Conversion Bede’s Audience and Purpose English People One reason Bede would Christian kings (such as King praises Edwin’s decisions and Bede, also known as ‘the include the seemingly Æthelbert of Kent) as well as attitude, rather than Venerable Bede’ or ‘Saint secular activity of kings in non-Christian kings (such as Paulinus’s apology or Bede,’ was an Anglo-Saxon his Ecclesiastical History is King Penda of Mercia) both Christian merit. monk and scholar who because kings truly made sometimes allowed spent most of his life, from I find it likely, especially in an especially notable missionaries into their c. 673 to 735 CE in the twin consideration of the above impact on religious life in borders, but would meet with monasteries in Wearmouth quote, that Bede favors tales of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. little success without a king’s and Jarrow, where he had kings in a large part because faith and support. Conversely, access to a relatively vast William Chaney has of his audience and purpose. Christianity’s appeal to the library, making it possible explored this influence in Bede was writing to the unifying aspirations of kings for him to engage in a conjunction with the current aristocracy, almost certainly contributed variety of scholarly pursuits. Germanic cult of kingship. particularly King Ceolwulf, in to its success. Chaney suggests that an effort to encourage piety in conversion of the kings in Bede mentions a plethora of said aristocracy. -
69-19,257 STOLTZ, Linda Elizabeth, 1938- the DEVELOPMENT OF
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGEND OF ST. CUTHBERT Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Stoltz, Linda Elizabeth, 1938- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 10/10/2021 21:02:21 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/287860 This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 69-19,257 STOLTZ, Linda Elizabeth, 1938- THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGEND OF ST. CUTHBERT. University of Arizona, Ph.D., 1969 Language and Literature, general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE LEGEND OP ST. CUTHBERT by Linda Elizabeth Stoltz A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 6 9 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Linda Elizabeth Stoltz entitled The Development of the Legend of St. Cuthbert be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy LSIL jf/r. / /9/9 Disseycation Director Date After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:-• Z- y£~ ir ApJ /9S? $ Lin— • /5 l*L°l ^ ^7^ /(, if6? C^u2a,si*-> /4 /f(?,7 . -
Beth Shean – Scythopolis: Churches and Monasteries on the Margins of the Holy Land
Beth Shean – Scythopolis: churches and monasteries on the margins of the Holy Land Matthew Chalmers, Religious Studies Introduction Scythopolis acted as the capital of Byzantine Palestina Secunda, reaching its zenith in the early sixth century CE.1 Despite this importance, it features in only three pilgrimage reports dated before its change of hands to Arabic control in the seventh century. Only one of those attaches a devotional narrative to visiting the settlement (Theodosius, De Situ Terrae Sanctae 2); otherwise Scythopolis acts as a stopping post on the way between more theologically charged zones (The Piacenza Pilgrim 8; Itinerarium Burdigalense). Similarly, whilst an administrative centre, none of the sites mentioned by the local monk-turned- biographer Cyril of Scythopolis as important for Christian networks of monasticism, ecclesiastical realpolitik, or narrating sacred space can be identified within the main urban centre. How does late antique Christianity in Palestine function here, with respect to churches and monasteries in particular? In this paper, I briefly discuss the known churches and monasteries, along with some of the previous scholarship dealing with them. Much of that work, however, relies on interpreting the material remains at Beth Shean by reference to a centralized Christianization hypothesis. In other words, it is assumed that as a city in Byzantine Palestine Beth Shean was also a site of top-down imperial investment intended to alter the religious landscape of Palestine through building projects and the sponsoring of pilgrimage.2 After discussing the role Beth Shean-Scythopolis’ marginality has to play in its religious life, I return to reassess the site, and present a picture of the functioning of Christian networks in Scythopolis-Beth Shean. -
The Imagined Pilgrimage of Sir John Mandeville's Late Medieval
THE IMAGINED PILGRIMAGE OF SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE’S LATE MEDIEVAL BOOK OF MARVELS AND TRAVELS by Kyla Helena Drzazgowski B.A. Hons., Simon Fraser University, 2013 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (English) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2017 © Kyla Helena Drzazgowski, 2017 Abstract This thesis investigates two main topics: the medieval practice of imagined pilgrimage and a Middle English text called the Book of Marvels and Travels (1350s). While recent historical and literary scholarship has helped to uncover how English monastic audiences engaged in imagined pilgrimage, which is the act of going on a holy journey in spirit rather than in body, less work has been done to explore how secular English audiences turned to texts to undertake non- physical journeys. The focal point of medieval European pilgrimage, Jerusalem was largely out of reach for many medieval English men and women due to a variety of personal, political, and economic reasons. Imagined pilgrimage texts such as the Book fulfilled a need in readers for an alternative means to attain the same spiritual benefits that physical pilgrimage offered its participants. Employing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the literary history of imagined pilgrimage, in this project I offer a new reading of the Book and investigate both the history of pilgrimage writing and the complex monastic and secular debates surrounding the shifting benefits, dangers, and definitions of physical and imagined holy travel. Presented by a narrator who identifies himself as a knight named “John Mandeville,” the Book provided its medieval English reader-pilgrims with the information needed to make imaginative pilgrimages to the Holy Land and the Eastern world that lies beyond it. -
The Beersheba Edict and Travel in Late Antique Palestine M.A. Major
The Beersheba Edict and Travel in Late Antique Palestine M.A. Major Research Paper BY DANIEL SLOAN BAH, Queen’s University, 2010 Department of Classics Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada 12 April 2017 Abstract Ever since its first edition and commentary in 1921, the Beersheba Edict has been regarded as a collection of four inscriptions. It continues to be debated amongst scholars, such as Denis Feissel, because it records a collection of yearly sums from settlements across all three Palaestinae in the sixth century. As the Beersheba Edict does not specify a reason for the annual collection of solidi from these settlements, scholars have put forth numerous hypotheses in order to explain them. This paper does not aim to propose a new hypothesis, nor does it seek to disprove the latest interpretation of the Edict by Leah Di Segni. This paper, instead, prefers to work with the hypothesis of Di Segni by investigating the evidence for hospitality services and general travel along the roman roads connecting settlements recorded in the Beersheba Edict. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Tax Edict or Imperial Rescript? ............................................................................................2 1.2. The Dux, Provincial Governor and Vicars as Taxing Authorities and the Decline of Town Councils .........................................................................................................................................3 -
Saint Guthlac, the Warrior of God in the Guthlac Poems of the Exeter Book1
Ágnes Réffy Horváth Saint Guthlac, the Warrior of God in the Guthlac Poems of the Exeter Book1 During the Middle Ages, hagiography was one of the most common and typical literary genres. The lives of saints were sacred stories designed to teach the faithful to imitate actions which the Church decided were paradigmatic. The message was clear: ordinary Christians too must remain steadfast and resist the temptation of the forces of evil. In addition to this, the medieval hagiographer intended to show how God’s almighty power manifested itself in the miraculous acts of a particular saint. The genre became fashionable from the end of the fourth century. With Constantine’s reign the freedom of Christian worship was theoretically ensured in the Roman Empire. People were forced to look for new ways of proving their devotion in religion. Following in the steps of the prophet Elijah, John the Baptist and also the example of Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness, zealous Christians renounced worldly goods, chose solitude and asceticism, and went to live into the deserts under ascetic conditions. The biographies of these confessor saints were to be known as vitae. The most influential works of Christian hagiography were Athanasius’ Life of Anthony (and its Latin translation by Evagrius), Jerome’s Lives of Paul the Hermit, Hilarion and Malchus, Sulpicius Severus’s Life of Martin, and Pope Gregory’s Life of Benedict in his Dialogues. The example of the first “Desert Fathers” became well known almost imme- diately, and their lives inspired others. The Anglo-Saxon church became 1 The author is grateful for the support of the Soros Foundation and to Dr. -
Constructing Anglo-Saxon Sanctity: Tradition, Innovation and Saint Guthlac
CONSTRUCTING ANGLO-SAXON SANCTITY: TRADITION, INNOVATION AND SAINT GUTHLAC Alaric Hall “I became a historian,” Gary Dickson told me when I met him at a dinner of the Late Antique and Early Medieval Postgraduate Seminar series at the University of Edinburgh, “because I love literature.” The desire to analyse texts without having to dismantle one’s favourite lit- erature is an understandable one, but Gary’s comment was intended to be provocative. This study responds to the provocation by focusing on the cult of the Anglo-Saxon Saint Guthlac, but not on historians’ usual preferred source for his life, the Latin Vita Guthlaci. Rather, I focus primarily on the Old English poem, Guthlac A, traditionally viewed as a ‘literary’ rather than a ‘historical’ text. I argue that the poem affords insights into Anglo-Saxon constructions of sanctity which are not usually available from the Latin material; most notably, it illuminates ways in which tensions between traditional and Christian notions of ideal male behaviour were constructed and played out in Anglo-Saxon Christian discourses. Saint Guthlac has enjoyed increasing attention in recent years. He has had some catching up to do: Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglo- rum does not mention him, so it was not until Bede’s dominance as the source of choice for eighth-century England was brought seriously into question in the 1980s—coincidentally with the rise of new, more culturally-orientated research questions—that the Latin evidence for Guthlac’s life and cult began to enjoy extensive scrutiny. Guthlac was one of Anglo-Saxon England’s rst home-grown saints, and the focus of considerable textual production. -
A Handlist of Anglo-‐Latin Hagiography Through the Early Twelfth Century
A HANDLIST OF ANGLO-LATIN HAGIOGRAPHY THROUGH THE EARLY TWELFTH CENTURY (FROM THEODORE OF TARSUS TO WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY) Thomas N. Hall The following list originated as a handout developed for a seminar on Anglo-Saxon Hagiography taught at the University of Notre Dame in Spring 2010. Its aim is to supply a provisional inventory, for classroom purposes, of all major known works of Latin hagiography (primarily saints’ Lives and miracle collections but also select sermons, hymns, and other texts that have saints as their subjects) written in Britain or by native British authors or by authors writing anywhere about British saints, from the time of Archbishop Theodore (602–690) to William of Malmesbury (ca. 1090–ca. 1143). The objective here is not to provide exhaustive bibliographical coverage for every single text and author but to offer a basic orientation to the corpus with the hope of stimulating further work. In most cases, only the best or most recent editions and translations are cited, along with the most important secondary scholarship as it has come to my attention, but scholarship published after 2010 is not included. Also not included are the Lives of eminent churchmen who were never canonized, e.g. Vita Gundulfi, ed. R. M. Thomson (Toronto, 1977). Fuller bibliography for many of these authors and texts can be found in BHL; Compendium Auctorum Latinorum Medii Aevi (500–1500), ed. Michael Lapidge, Gian Carlo Garfagnini, and Claudio Leonardi (Florence, 2003– ); Richard Sharpe’s Handlist of the Latin Writers of Great Britain and Ireland before 1540 (Turnhout, 1997); and in the case of Alcuin, Marie- Hélène Jullien and Françoise Perelman, Clavis Scriptorum Latinorum Medii Aevi.