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5 - Egyptian Nuns in Late Antiquity as Exemplars

from Part I - The Origins of Christian Monasticism to the Eighth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2020

By
Maria Chiara Giorda  and
Alessia Berardi
Edited by
Alison I. Beach  and
Isabelle Cochelin
Alison I. Beach
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Isabelle Cochelin
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Summary

The role of the Christian woman in late antiquity has been widely studied, and many aspects of female asceticism have recently been brought to light. The result has been a denunciation of the sexism of the tradition and a rehabilitation of great exceptional figures, but with one serious consequence: nuns are often made into folkloristic figures. Writing the history of the women who undertook the path of religious life, and particularly monastic women, both in their everyday life and through radical choices that often mirrored the masculine ones, is risky owing to the discontinuity of the sources, the complexity of their chain of transmission, and the gaps and grey areas that still remain.

Type
Chapter
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The Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West , pp. 97 - 111
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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