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Mourning the Dead in Christian Late Antiquity

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Mourning the Dead in Christian Late Antiquity University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020-04-28 Mourning the Dead in Christian Late Antiquity Mogen, Sharon Lorraine Murphy Mogen, S. L. M. (2020). Mourning the Dead in Christian Late Antiquity (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111981 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Mourning the Dead in Christian Late Antiquity by Sharon Lorraine Murphy Mogen A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA APRIL, 2020 © Sharon Lorraine Murphy Mogen 2020 ii ABSTRACT The transition of the Roman funeral (with its focus on family) to a Christian liturgy for death (focusing on clergy and text) has never been explored. Nor has mourning the dead, as part of the funeral-in-transition. This study is, therefore, a new inquiry. Its aim is to ascertain how change and continuity constructed a Christian response to death that began to manifest in the Latin West around the time of Charlemagne ca. 800 CE. The study asks: To what extent did late antique Christian families influence the christianization of the Roman funeral? What role did women play in that transformation? Literary and non-literary sources (church councils, letters, homilies, hagiographies, graffiti, inscriptions, etc.) from late antiquity were scrutinized using insights and methods from ritual studies with theories from place and performance studies. Material evidence (archaeology, art, artifacts, monuments, grave goods, etc.) were analyzed with the help of mortuary studies together with memory and social identity studies. Heuristic devices such as the “rhetoric of condemnation” and the “hermeneutics of suspicion” mitigated androcentric bias in the data. In order to assess the transition from the Roman funeral to the Christian liturgy for death, “an ideal type”—the funeral process outlined by Valerie M. Hope in Roman Death—was used for comparison. Finally, the data was read from the perspective of “ordinary” Christians; women were considered in terms of their kinship relationships, domestic practices, roles as memory-keepers, as household managers and healers, as patrons, and especially as caretakers and ritual specialists in terms of death. Key results of this study showed that the transition of the Roman funeral to a Christian liturgy was largely due to a gradual shift in control of the funeral process away from the family and into the hands of the church clergy. By the eighth century negotiation between the iii two groups had resulted in the codification—directed by the Carolingian reformers—of liturgical books known as ordines and sacramentaries that formalized rituals for dying, death, and burial. Most remarkable was that women’s performance of mourning and ritual lament, however, retained a certain degree of independence that persisted throughout late antiquity and beyond. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study is an outgrowth of my Master of Arts degree in 2011. My interest in women’s contributions to the development of Christianity in the early centuries was first inspired by Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code (2003). Subsequent research leading to the MA confirmed that women’s main area of influence was with the family, especially at times of dying and death. Thus, was born a desire to explore in a doctoral program how the Christian funeral, the accompanying mourning rituals, and the liturgy came to be in the Latin West. The research for this project turned out to be quite an exercise. The evidence appeared, not in the regular places where one usually finds data, in the texts of Church Fathers, but rather—because I was dealing with “ordinary” Christians—in “crumbs” lurking in art, architecture, artifacts, sculpture, inscriptions, graffiti, and obscure drawings in very old books and manuscripts. The work has spanned eight years interspersed between my roles as wife, mother, grandmother, full-time student, teaching assistant for a number of my professors, a member of the organizing committee for the Pacific North West (PNW) regional meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) held at the University of Calgary in 2014, the webmaster for my parish website, member of a book club of ladies from my church, and member of WINCalagry (Women’s Interfaith Network). It has truly been a feat of fancy footwork. At the same time, however, I was blessed with some amazing help. I owe thanks to so many on this lengthy journey. First, to my husband of 53 years, dearest Patrick, for support and incredible patience taking on housework, grocery shopping, and driving, all on my behalf. To our beloved fur-children—Murphy, Dutchess, Bailee, Misty, and HoneyBee—who took turns sleeping next to my computer while I worked those late v nights. Special mention goes to my children and grandchildren; no one could ask for more loyal supporters and cheerleaders, “You can do this, Nana!” And to my sister Pat and brother- in-law Dave in Texas for regular phone calls checking on my progress and for sending a coffee cup labelled “Keep Calm and Finish Your Dissertation!” In addition, the family has promised to help me return the roughly 150 library books that have taken up space on the bookshelves of my study over the past many years. On the “big day” there will be a parade of wagons and luggage carry-ons to transport the load of books from my house to the University Library. I extend special thanks to my mentor, Warren Harbeck, PhD (weekly columnist for the Cochrane Eagle) who encouraged me from the very beginning to “go to the source” and checked nearly every week during the doctoral program, “How’s your progress?” Warm thanks go to my Emmaus Book Study group—Angela, Daisy, Eva, Francis, Mary Anna, and Therese—for their prayers and encouragement. Additional gratitude is extended to my supervisor, Dr. Anne Moore, for standing at my shoulder through both the MA and PhD programs. Her patience, guidance, and incredible focus have been invaluable, and I am proud to have been her “oldest grad student.” Thanks also to my supervisory and examination committee members for their feedback, advice, and challenging questions: Dr. Lisa Hughes and Dr. Joy Palacios (Department of Classics and Religious Studies), and Dr. Courtnay Konshuh (Department of History) at the University of Calgary, as well as Dr. Steven Muir of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Concordia University in Edmonton. I wish also to recognize my colleagues, the grad students from the Department of Classics and Religion (CLARE), for their comradery and friendship over the years—Roselle Gonsalves, Christie Mellan, Jon Napier, Chris Matthews, Raj Balkaran, Sarah Gallant, Jenna Ferry, Laura vi Jurgens, Radna Chatterly, Hani Ibrahim, Campbell Peat, Chia and Chen (the Buddhist monks), and many others—and to an outstanding group of professors at CLARE who taught me so much about critical analysis—Dr. Anne Moore, Dr. Morny Joy, Dr. Eliezer Segal, Dr. Elizabeth Rohlman, Dr. John Humphrey, Dr. Lisa Hughes, Dr. Christopher Framarin, Dr. Leslie Bolton, Dr. Hanne Sigismund Nielsen, Dr. Reyes Bertolin Cebrian, James Hume (who taught my Greek and Latin classes), and Virginia Tumasz. I wish also to thank Perlea Ashton (Department Manager) and Rachel Blake (Graduate Program Administrator) for their guidance and student “care.” Special gratitude goes to the department for granting me scholarships and financial awards—the Queen Elizabeth II Doctoral Scholarship, the Saint Lazarus Graduate Scholarship, and the Peter Craigie Memorial Graduate Award, among others. Finally, my thanks are extended to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for their most generous financial assistance, so helpful during the researching and writing of this doctoral project. Ardua molimur; sed nulla nisi ardua virtus. I attempt an arduous task; but there is no worth in that which is not a difficult achievement. – Ovid vii For my husband, my rock and soulmate, Ronald Patrick viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………. ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………...iv Dedication……………………………………………………………………………………vii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………... viii List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………... xi INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………...........................1 CHAPTER ONE: REVIEW OF PAST SCHOLARSHIP………………………………...8 Past Scholarship……………………………………………………………………...11 Alfred C. Rush: The Pioneer Who Anticipated Later Scholarship…………. 12 Jocelyn M. C. Toynbee………………………………………………………25 Valerie M. Hope……………………………………………………………. 29 Studies of Christian Funeral Rites After Rush…………………………………….... 39 Damien Sicard……………………………………………………………… 39 Frederick S. Paxton…………………………………………………………. 44 Éric Rebillard………………………………………………………………...52 A Segue into My Own Study………………………………………………………...62 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………65 Fields of Study Utilized for This Project…………………………………………….66 Ritual Studies………………………………………………………………...66
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