Palestinian Hagiography in the Sixth Century AD
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2017 Historiography and Hierotopy: Palestinian Hagiography in the Sixth Century A.D. Rod M. Stearn University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.168 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Stearn, Rod M., "Historiography and Hierotopy: Palestinian Hagiography in the Sixth Century A.D." (2017). Theses and Dissertations--History. 44. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/44 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Rod M. Stearn, Student Dr. David Olster, Major Professor Dr. Scott Taylor, Director of Graduate Studies HISTORIOGRAPHY AND HIEROTOPY: PALESTINIAN HAGIOGRAPHY IN THE SIXTH CENTURY A.D. __________________________________________ DISSERTATION __________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Rod M. Stearn Director: Dr. David Olster Professor of History Lexington, KY 2017 Copyright © Rod M. Stearn 2017 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION HISTORIOGRAPHY AND HIEROTOPY: PALESTINIAN HAGIOGRAPHY IN THE SIXTH CENTURY A.D. Judean hagiographies are unusual. Some are unexpectedly structured: a saint’s life in the form of a history text. Others offer surprising content. Expected hagiographic stylizations, for example, often depict moments in which the saint is offered money for a miracle. In such cases the saint invariably refuses. Judean saints, however, accept gratitude willingly – often with cash amounts recorded. The peculiarities of these works have regularly been examined on literary and theological grounds. In this dissertation I propose a different approach: socio-economic context. The monasteries that produced these texts were utterly dominated by the environment of Christian Jerusalem. Although often commented upon, the unmined implications of this reality hold the key to understanding these hagiographies. It is only by examining these monasteries’ ties to – and embeddedness within – their peculiar context that we can perceive the mindset that produced such baffling texts. Lengthy historical, literary, and archaeological analysis force Judean hagiography to give up its secrets. These works were in fact not odd at all. Rather, they were hyper-specialized, a unique adaptation to a unique environment. True, we do not see their like in other eastern regions over the span of late antiquity. Yet this is to be expected. Nowhere else can we find the particular conditions that brought these works into being. Nor can we understand the Judean works absent their milieu. It is only upon the foundation of layers of context that these hagiographies stand high enough to view. They were, most accurately, Holy Land hagiographies: a label as unique as the land that produced them. KEYWORDS: Palestinian Hagiography, Cyril of Scythopolis, Hierotopy, Networks, Context. HISTORIOGRAPHY AND HIEROTOPY: PALESTINIAN HAGIOGRAPHY IN THE SIXTH CENTURY A.D. By Rod M. Stearn ___David Olster________________ Director of Dissertation ___Scott Taylor________________ Director of Graduate Studies ____4/28/17___________________ To my wife Catherine, sine qua non of dissertation and happiness both. I love you. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have been singularly fortunate on this long academic journey: few students have received such care and attention from so many. Indeed, there have been so many angels along the way I may fail to include them all. Should such a one ever chance upon this work, please accept my apology. These acknowledgements were diminished by haste; my gratitude is not. Among this legion of benefactors my parents must stand in the first rank. Few would have stood by such a foolish son; I have learned parenting from their example. Close behind are the many wonderful people at Stockton College (now University). The devoted staff and admirable faculty of that institution, together with the warm fellowship of its students, provided one of the great phases of my life. I’m afraid I took it for granted at the time, but now let me extend my deepest gratitude to Steven Phillips, Demetrios Constantelos, Lisa Rosner, William Lubenow, and the many others who set my feet upon the right road. Special thanks are due to Tom Papademetriou, whose patience with such a wayward mentee surpassed any expectation. I have been equally blessed in my time at UK. Special thanks are due to the Boss, David Olster. Equally irascible and brilliant, his great passion for educating – and defending – his students will never be forgotten. Thanks also to my committee: David Hunter, Alice Christ, Daniel Gargola, and Jennifer Westerfeld. Their close attention to my long-winded screed is proof of professional dedication that exceeds the call of duty. The friendship of other students has lifted me up as well. In a special way I would like to thank Joshua Powell, whose fellowship and ideas have been a mainstay of my work for longer than either of us would care to recall. Juggling graduate school and a full-time job has been a challenge. In this regard I owe a debt to two wonderful supervisors: without the patience and forbearance of Mark Dreves and especially Doug Culp, I doubt I could have finished this journey. Juggling graduate school and a family has been harder still. My loved ones were unfairly forced to share this burden, but they have inspired me through their sacrifice. I will never understand what possessed my wonderful Catherine to marry me, but I know this accomplishment is hers as much as mine. Without her support, I never could have become Dr. Stearn – a title she held almost a decade before I did. In many ways, this was her second dissertation. Finally, thank you to my sons Bobby and Ricky for tolerating my absences. I will do my best to make it up to you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………iii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..3 Part I: Historical Analysis Chapter One: An Evolving Environment………………………………………………...34 Chapter Two: Euthymians……………………………………………………………….78 Chapter Three: Sabaites………………………………………………………………...103 Chapter Four: Civil War………………………………………………………………..154 Part II: Literary Analysis Chapter Five: Contextualizing Defeat………………………………………………….207 Chapter Six: Responding to Change……………………………………………………243 Chapter Seven: Cyril of Scythopolis……………………………………………………285 Epilogue………………………………………………………………………………...343 Fifth-Century Palestinian Networks (Diagrams)………………………………………..349 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………352 Vita……………………………………………………………………………………...366 iv INTRODUCTION The sixth century was a time of uncertainty in the Byzantine East. Chalcedon had shaken the Empire to its foundations, and 100 years later the eastern Mediterranean was still suffering its aftershocks. The decades following the Council had been dominated by imperial efforts to promote reconciliation. A century after Chalcedon Justinian was still following suit. War and conquest might have been the order of the day on the two frontiers, but at home the emperor sought to soothe conflict, not foment it. Such titanic storylines of orthodoxy and diplomacy make for a crowded stage. Localized ecclesiastical narratives struggle to attract the audience’s attention in the presence of their imperial counterparts. Yet such narratives deserve to be heard: for their own sake, but also because they often undergird and intertwine with their grander parallels. At first glance Judean monasticism may seem an unlikely candidate for such a role. Yet Judean history is the late empire writ small, a microcosm of the eastern realm from the fourth to seventh centuries. Here we find ecclesiastical