DOCSLIB.ORG

Monastic Formation, Episcopal Authority, and Conceptions of Justice in Late Antiquity by Maria Edith Doerfl

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Monastic Formation, Episcopal Authority, and Conceptions of Justice in Late Antiquity by Maria Edith Doerfl Law and Order: Monastic Formation, Episcopal Authority, and Conceptions of Justice in Late Antiquity by Maria Edith Doerfler Graduate Program of Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Elizabeth A. Clark, Supervisor ___________________________ J. Warren Smith ___________________________ J. Clare Woods ___________________________ Joel Marcus ___________________________ Zlatko Plese Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program of Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2013 i v ABSTRACT Law and Order: Monastic Formation, Episcopal Authority, and Conceptions of Justice in Late Antiquity by Maria Edith Doerfler Graduate Program of Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Elizabeth A. Clark, Supervisor ___________________________ J. Warren Smith ___________________________ J. Clare Woods ___________________________ Joel Marcus ___________________________ Zlatko Plese An abstract of a Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program of Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2013 Copyright by Maria Edith Doerfler 2013 Abstract Among the numerous commitments late ancient Christians throughout the Roman Empire shared with their non-Christian neighbors was a preoccupation with justice. Not only was the latter one of the celebrated characteristics of God, the New Testament had charged Christians, particularly those who served as bishops or elders, with ensuring and maintaining justice in their communities from the tradition's very origins. In the early fourth century, this aspect of episcopal responsibilities had received an unexpected boost when the Emperor Constantine not only recognized bishops' role in intra-Christian conflict resolution, but expanded their judicial capacity to include even outsiders in the so-called audientia episcopalis, the bishop's court. Christians had, of course, never resolved the question of what constituted justice in a vacuum. Yet bishops' increasing integration into the sprawling and frequently amorphous apparatus of the Roman legal system introduced new pressures as well as new opportunities into Christian judicial discourse. Roman law could become an ally in a minister's exegetical or homiletical efforts. Yet it also came to intrude into spheres that had previously regarded themselves as set apart from Roman society, including especially monastic and clerical communities. The latter proved to be particularly permeable to different shades of legal discourse, inasmuch as they served as privileged feeders for episcopal sees. Their members were part of the Christian elites, whose judicial formation promised to bear disproportionate fruit among the laity under their actual or eventual care. This dissertation's task is the examination of the ways in which Christians in these iv environments throughout the Latin West at the turn of the fifth century thought and wrote about justice. I contend that no single influence proved dominant, but that three strands of judicial discourse emerge as significant throughout these sources: that of popular philosophical thought; that of biblical exegesis; and that of reasoning from Roman legal precept and practice. Late ancient Christian rhetoric consciously and selectively deployed these threads to craft visions of justice, both divine and human, that could be treated as distinctively Christian while remaining intelligible in the broader context of the Roman Empire. v Dedication Accedit illud quod ingratus divinitati esse non possum: laetandum est enim magis quod talem fratrem habuerim, quam dolendum quod fratrem amiserim; illud enim munus, hoc debitum est. Itaque perfunctus sum, quamdiu licuit, commisso mihi fenore: qui deposuit pignus, recepit. - De Excessu Fratris 1.3 To the memory of my brother, Andreas. vi Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ xi 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Outline of the Project ........................................................................................... 8 2. Leading the Church, Judging the World .................................................................... 13 2.1 Episcopal Selection at the Turn of the Fifth Century. ....................................... 19 2.2 Making (Monk-)Bishops .................................................................................... 29 2.3 Bishops at Work: Between Law and Scripture. ................................................ 36 2.3.1 Tying and Loosing: Slaves, Orphans, and Bishops. .................................... 36 2.3.2 Tending and Defending: Bishops’ Care of Prisoners. .................................. 43 2.3.3 Family Affairs: Episcopal Advocacy for Slaves and Women. ....................... 46 2.4 Conclusion: The Public Bishop. ........................................................................ 49 3. Iudex, Arbiter, Episcopus : Mapping the audientia episcopalis in late ancient judicial practice .............................................................................................................................. 55 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 55 3.2 Roman Courts: Giving Judgment from Republic to Dominate ......................... 60 3.2.1 Judicial Action in the Early Republic: Legis Actio. ...................................... 60 3.2.2 From Late Republic to the Principate: Judicial Action by formula. ............. 63 3.2.3 The Empire and the Age of the Codices: Cognitio extra ordinem. ............... 65 3.3 One Case, Different Paths to Resolution ........................................................... 69 3.3.1 Before the Iudex: Magisterial Courts in Late Antiquity ............................... 69 3.3.2 Alternative Dispute Resolution: Arbitration, Negotiation & Co. ................. 76 vii 3.4 The Episcopalis Audientia ................................................................................. 80 3.4.1. The bishop and the laws: Roman legal support for the episcopalis audientia. 83 3.4.1.1 Theodosian Code 1.27.1 .......................................................................... 87 3.4.1.2 Sirmondian Constitution 1 ....................................................................... 91 3.4.1.3 Justinianic Code 1.4.7 .............................................................................. 97 3.4.1.4 Theodosian Code 1.27.2 / Justinianic Code 1.4.8 .................................. 100 3.4.2 Status Quaestionis: Some Tentative Conclusions. ....................................... 101 3.4.3 Conclusion: The Return of Licinius. ........................................................... 106 4. A Few Good Men: Philosophical Discourse and the Construction of Justice. ........ 116 4.1 Introduction: The Niece’s Betrothal and the Church’s Two Dowries. ............ 116 4.2 Plato’s Heirs: The Just Community. ................................................................ 125 4.2.1 Stoic and Neoplatonic Approaches to Community and Society ................. 125 4.2.1.1 Good Men and Philosopher-Kings: Neoplatonic approaches to community and justice. ....................................................................................... 127 4.2.1.2 The Sage and the Statesman: Stoic Visions of Government. .............. 134 4.3 Philosophical Schools and Monastic Communities ......................................... 143 4.3.1 Catechumens and the Philosophical Life: Augustine at Cassiciacum ....... 143 4.3.2 The Communal Foundations of Justice: Cassiciacum and Hippo ............... 153 4.3.3 Ambrose’s De Officiis: Crafting Clergy in Northern Italy ......................... 161 4.3.3.1 Iustitia and Beneficentia in Cicero and Ambrose ................................ 166 4.3.3.2 Ambrose’s Justice: Personal, Ecclesial, Communal. .......................... 176 4.4 Conclusion: Paternus’ Problem. .......................................................................... 180 5. The Wheat and the Chaff: Judging like God .......................................................... 188 viii 5.1 Introduction: The Feuding Siblings. ............................................................... 188 5.2 Justice and Christian Communities: First Century Origins ............................. 195 5.2.1 Paul vs. the Courts of Corinth (1 Corinthians 6:1-6) .................................... 197 5.2.2 The Judging Community (Matthew 18:15-20) ........................................... 201 5.2.3 The “Apostles” Speak: The Didache ......................................................... 203 5.3 Heirs of the Apostles: Afterlife of Texts? ....................................................... 208 5.3.1 The Second and Third Centuries ................................................................. 208 5.3.2 The Didascalia Apostolorum ...................................................................... 210 5.3.3 The Fourth Century: The Apostles’ Monastic Heirs .................................. 217 5.4 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes: Judging the Saints ...........................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hadrian and the Greek East
    HADRIAN AND THE GREEK EAST: IMPERIAL POLICY AND COMMUNICATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Demetrios Kritsotakis, B.A, M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Fritz Graf, Adviser Professor Tom Hawkins ____________________________ Professor Anthony Kaldellis Adviser Greek and Latin Graduate Program Copyright by Demetrios Kritsotakis 2008 ABSTRACT The Roman Emperor Hadrian pursued a policy of unification of the vast Empire. After his accession, he abandoned the expansionist policy of his predecessor Trajan and focused on securing the frontiers of the empire and on maintaining its stability. Of the utmost importance was the further integration and participation in his program of the peoples of the Greek East, especially of the Greek mainland and Asia Minor. Hadrian now invited them to become active members of the empire. By his lengthy travels and benefactions to the people of the region and by the creation of the Panhellenion, Hadrian attempted to create a second center of the Empire. Rome, in the West, was the first center; now a second one, in the East, would draw together the Greek people on both sides of the Aegean Sea. Thus he could accelerate the unification of the empire by focusing on its two most important elements, Romans and Greeks. Hadrian channeled his intentions in a number of ways, including the use of specific iconographical types on the coinage of his reign and religious language and themes in his interactions with the Greeks. In both cases it becomes evident that the Greeks not only understood his messages, but they also reacted in a positive way.
    [Show full text]
  • Stoicism and the Virtue of Toleration
    STOICISM AND THE VIRTUE OF TOLERATION John Lombardini1 Abstract: This article argues that the Stoics possessed a conception of toleration as a personal and social virtue. In contrast with previous scholarship, I argue that such a conception of toleration only emerges as a product of the novel conceptions of the vir- tue of endurance offered by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. The first section provides a survey of the Stoic conception of endurance in order to demonstrate how the distinc- tive treatments of endurance in Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius merit classification of a conception of toleration; the second section offers a brief reconstruction of the argu- ments for toleration in the Meditations. Introduction In his history of the concept of toleration, Rainer Forst identifies its earliest articulation with the use of tolerantia in Stoic philosophy. Though the word tolerantia first occurs in Cicero, it is used to explicate Stoic doctrine. In the Paradoxa Stoicorum, Cicero identifies the tolerantia fortunae (the endurance of what befalls one) as a virtue characteristic of the sage, and connects it with a contempt for human affairs (rerum humanarum contemptione);2 in De Finibus, endurance (toleratio) is contrasted with Epicurus’ maxim that severe pain is brief while long-lasting pain is light as a truer method for dealing with pain.3 Seneca, in his Epistulae Morales, also identifies tolerantia as a virtue, defending it as such against those Stoics who maintain that a strong endurance (fortem tolerantiam) is undesirable, and linking it
    [Show full text]
  • Brief of Appellee, Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia
    Record No. 120919 In the Supreme Court of Virginia The Falls Church (also known as The Church at the Falls – The Falls Church), Defendant-Appellant, v. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America and The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia, Plaintiffs-Appellees. BRIEF OF APPELLEE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA Bradfute W. Davenport, Jr. (VSB #12848) Mary C. Zinsner (VSB #31397) [email protected] [email protected] George A. Somerville (VSB #22419) Troutman Sanders LLP [email protected] 1660 International Drive, Suite 600 Troutman Sanders LLP McLean, Virginia 22102 P.O. Box 1122 (703) 734-4334 (telephone) Richmond, Virginia 23218-1122 (703 734-4340 (facsimile) (804) 697-1291 (telephone) (804) 697-1339 (facsimile) CONTENTS Table of Authorities .................................................................................... iiii Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Facts ........................................................................................................... 2 Assignment of Cross-Error .......................................................................... 5 Argument .................................................................................................... 5 Standard of Review ........................................................................... 5 I. The Circuit Court correctly followed and applied this Court’s
    [Show full text]
  • The Diocese of Minsk, Its Origin, Extent and Hierarchy
    177 The Diocese of Minsk, its Origin, Extent and Hierarchy BY Č. SIPOVIČ I Those who would wish to study the history of Christianity in Byelorussia should certainly pursue the history of the Orthodox and Catholic churches, and to a lesser extent, that of various groups of Protestants. One must bear in mind that the Catholic Church in Byelorussia followed and still follows two Rites: the Latin and the Oriental-Byzantine. It is acceptable to call the latter by the name Uniate. In Byelorussia it dates back to the Synod of Brest-Litoŭsk in the year 1596. But here we propose to deal exclusively with the Catholic Church of the Latin Rite, and will further limit ourselves to a small section of its history, namely the foundation of the diocese of Minsk. Something also will be said of its bishops and admin­ istrators. Exactly how and when the Latin form of Catholicism came to Byelorussia is a question which has not been sufficiently elucidated. Here then are the basic historical facts. From the beginning of the acceptance of Christianity in Byelo­ russia until the end of the 14th century, the population followed the Eastern Rite and until the end of the 12th century it formed part of the universal Christian Church. After the erection of a Latin bishopric in Vilna in 1387, and after the acceptance of Christianity in the Latin Rite by the Lithuanians, this episcopal see itself and its clergy started to propagate this rite. It is well-known that Jahajła had virtually the same relations with the pagan Lithuanians as with Orthodox Ukrainians and Byelo­ russians.
    [Show full text]
  • GLOSSAE. European Journal of Legal History 14 (2017)
    GLOSSAE. European Journal of Legal History 14 (2017) ISSN 2255-2707 Edited by Institute for Social, Political and Legal Studies (Valencia, Spain) Honorary Chief Editor Antonio Pérez Martín, University of Murcia Chief Editor Aniceto Masferrer, University of Valencia Assistant Chief Editors Wim Decock, University of Leuven Juan A. Obarrio Moreno, University of Valencia Editorial Board Isabel Ramos Vázquez, University of Jaén (Secretary) Francisco Calabuig Alberola, University of Valencia (Website Editor) Anna Taitslin, Australian National University – University of Canberra M.C. Mirow, Florida International University José Miguel Piquer, University of Valencia Andrew Simpson, University of Aberdeen International Advisory Board Javier Alvarado Planas, UNED; Juan Baró Pazos, University of Cantabria; Mary Sarah Bilder, Boston College; Orazio Condorelli, University of Catania; Emanuele Conte, University of Rome III; Daniel R. Coquillette, Boston College – Harvard University; Serge Dauchy, University of Lille; Salustiano de Dios, University of Salamanca; José Domingues, University of Lusíada; Seán Patrick Donlan, The University of the South Pacific; Matthew Dyson, University of Oxford; Antonio Fernández de Buján, University Autónoma de Madrid; Remedios Ferrero, University of Valencia; Manuel Gutan, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu; Alejandro Guzmán Brito, Pontificial Catholic University of Valparaiso; Jan Hallebeek, VU University Amsterdam; Dirk Heirbaut, Ghent University; Richard Helmholz, University of Chicago; David Ibbetson, University of
    [Show full text]
  • Epigraphic Bulletin for Greek Religion 1996
    Kernos Revue internationale et pluridisciplinaire de religion grecque antique 12 | 1999 Varia Epigraphic Bulletin for Greek Religion 1996 Angelos Chaniotis, Joannis Mylonopoulos and Eftychia Stavrianopoulou Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/kernos/724 DOI: 10.4000/kernos.724 ISSN: 2034-7871 Publisher Centre international d'étude de la religion grecque antique Printed version Date of publication: 1 January 1999 Number of pages: 207-292 ISSN: 0776-3824 Electronic reference Angelos Chaniotis, Joannis Mylonopoulos and Eftychia Stavrianopoulou, « Epigraphic Bulletin for Greek Religion 1996 », Kernos [Online], 12 | 1999, Online since 13 April 2011, connection on 15 September 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/kernos/724 Kernos Kemos, 12 (1999), p. 207-292. Epigtoaphic Bulletin for Greek Religion 1996 (EBGR 1996) The ninth issue of the BEGR contains only part of the epigraphie harvest of 1996; unforeseen circumstances have prevented me and my collaborators from covering all the publications of 1996, but we hope to close the gaps next year. We have also made several additions to previous issues. In the past years the BEGR had often summarized publications which were not primarily of epigraphie nature, thus tending to expand into an unavoidably incomplete bibliography of Greek religion. From this issue on we return to the original scope of this bulletin, whieh is to provide information on new epigraphie finds, new interpretations of inscriptions, epigraphieal corpora, and studies based p;imarily on the epigraphie material. Only if we focus on these types of books and articles, will we be able to present the newpublications without delays and, hopefully, without too many omissions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Holy See
    The Holy See ORIENTALIS ECCLESIAE ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XII ON SAINT CYRIL, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA TO OUR VENERABLE BRETHREN THE PATRIARCHS, PRIMATES, ARCHBISHOPS, BISHIOPS, AND OTHER ORDINARIES AT PEACE AND IN COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE Venerable Brethren, Health and Our Apostolic Benediction. St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, glory of the Eastern Church and celebrated champion of the Virgin Mother of God, has always been held by the Church in the highest esteem, and We welcome the opportunity of recalling his merits in this brief Letter, now that fifteen centuries have passed since he happily exchanged this earthly exile for his heavenly home. 2. Our Predecessor St. Celestine I hailed him as 'good defender of the Catholic faith,'[1] as 'excellent priest,'[2] as 'apostolic man.'[3] The ecumenical Council of Chalcedon not only used his doctrine for the detecting and refuting of the latest errors, but went so far as to compare it with the learning of St. Leo the Great;[4] and in fact the latter praised and commended the writings of this great Doctor because of their perfect agreement with the faith of the holy Fathers.[5] The fifth ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople, treated St. Cyril's authority with similar reverence[6] and many years later, during the controversy about the two wills in Christ, his teaching was rightly and triumphantly vindicated, both in the first Lateran Council [7] and in the sixth ecumenical Council, against the false charge of being tainted with the error of Monothelitism. He was, as Our saintly Predecessor Agatho proclaimed, 'a defender of the truth'[8] and 'a consistent teacher of the orthodox faith.'[9] 3.
    [Show full text]
  • The Communication of the Emperor's Virtues Author(S): Carlos F
    The Communication of the Emperor's Virtues Author(s): Carlos F. Noreña Reviewed work(s): Source: The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 91 (2001), pp. 146-168 Published by: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3184774 . Accessed: 01/09/2012 16:45 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Roman Studies. http://www.jstor.org THE COMMUNICATION OF THE EMPEROR'S VIRTUES* By CARLOS F. NORENA The Roman emperor served a number of functions within the Roman state. The emperor's public image reflected this diversity. Triumphal processions and imposing state monuments such as Trajan's Column or the Arch of Septimius Severus celebrated the military exploits and martial glory of the emperor. Distributions of grain and coin, public buildings, and spectacle entertainments in the city of Rome all advertised the emperor's patronage of the urban plebs, while imperial rescripts posted in every corner of the Empire stood as so many witnesses to the emperor's conscientious administration of law and justice.
    [Show full text]
  • The Developmentof Early Imperial Dress from the Tetrachs to The
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository 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. The Development of Early Imperial Dress from the Tetrarchs to the Herakleian Dynasty General Introduction The emperor, as head of state, was the most important and powerful individual in the land; his official portraits and to a lesser extent those of the empress were depicted throughout the realm. His image occurred most frequently on small items issued by government officials such as coins, market weights, seals, imperial standards, medallions displayed beside new consuls, and even on the inkwells of public officials. As a sign of their loyalty, his portrait sometimes appeared on the patches sown on his supporters’ garments, embossed on their shields and armour or even embellishing their jewelry. Among more expensive forms of art, the emperor’s portrait appeared in illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, and wall paintings such as murals and donor portraits. Several types of statues bore his likeness, including those worshiped as part of the imperial cult, examples erected by public 1 officials, and individual or family groupings placed in buildings, gardens and even harbours at the emperor’s personal expense.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Becket and Clerical Immunity Erika Zabinski University of St
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of St. Thomas, Minnesota University of St. Thomas, Minnesota UST Research Online School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity Winter 12-2015 Thomas Becket and Clerical Immunity Erika Zabinski University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.stthomas.edu/sod_mat Part of the Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Practical Theology Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Zabinski, Erika, "Thomas Becket and Clerical Immunity" (2015). School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects. 12. https://ir.stthomas.edu/sod_mat/12 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity at UST Research Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects by an authorized administrator of UST Research Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE SAINT PAUL SEMINARY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS Thomas Becket and Clerical Immunity A THESIS Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Theology © Copyright All Rights Reserved by Erika Zabinski St. Paul, MN 2015 1 I. Introduction We hear much more about the heroism of St. Thomas Becket, the martyr-archbishop of Canterbury, than we hear about the cause for which he made his stand.
    [Show full text]
  • {Replace with the Title of Your Dissertation}
    Haec Templa: Religion in Cicero’s Orations A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY NICHOLAS ROBERT WAGNER IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Spencer Cole April 2019 © NICHOLAS WAGNER 2019 Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my advisor, Spencer Cole, who provided helpful feedback and recommendations throughout the entire process of this dissertation and deserves singular acknowledgement. The project originated with a 2013 course on Roman religion. That, along with numerous meetings and emails, has been fundamental to my approach to the subject. I would also like to thank my other committee members, Christopher Nappa, Andrew Gallia, and Richard Graff, all of whom provided immensely useful feedback at various stages, both in the scope of the project and future directions to train my attention. Next, thanks are due to the faculty and the graduate students in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota. Their support over the years has been invaluable, both academically and socially. Special thanks are due to current student Joshua Reno and former student Rachael Cullick. Lunches with them, where they patiently heard my ideas in its earliest stages, will be ever-cherished. Finally, I would like to thank my parents and siblings for their endless support over the years. Sometimes a nice meal or a break at the movies is exactly what was needed. i Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my parents and their parents. ii Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Cicero and Lived Religion ........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Pope Leo of Bourges, Clerical Immunity and the Early Medieval Secular Charles West1 at First Glance, to Investigate the Secular
    Pope Leo of Bourges, clerical immunity and the early medieval secular Charles West1 At first glance, to investigate the secular in the early Middle Ages may seem to be wilfully flirting with anachronism. It is now widely agreed that the early medieval political order was constructed neither against nor in opposition to the Church, but rather that the Church, or ecclesia, largely constituted that order.2 This would seem to leave little early medieval scope for the secular, understood in conventional terms as the absence of religion (and moreover often associated with modernity).3 This position is broadly reflected in the recent historiography, which focuses either on Augustine’s short-lived notion of the secular in Late Antiquity, or on the role of Gregorian Reform in beginning a slow secularisation of political authority.4 These separate approaches are spared from intersecting by the early medieval half- millennium which is presented, as so often, as either too late or too early for key developments. However, in recent years, the argument has been forcefully made across a range of fields that, far from being a neutral or universal category, the secular is in reality ‘a historically-produced idea’, and one that moreover encodes a disguised theology.5 As a consequence, ‘to tell a story 1 This paper is based on research carried out on a project funded by the AHRC 2014-16. Thanks to Emma Hunter, Conrad Leyser, Rob Priest, Steve Schoenig and Danica Summerlin for their advice on a draft, as well as to audiences at UEA and Cambridge, the class of HST 6079 in Sheffield, and the editor of this special issue.
    [Show full text]