T. Nicklas, J.E. Spittler, J.N. Bremmer (eds), The Apostles Peter, Paul, John, Thomas and Philip with their Companions in Late Antiquity, SECA 17 (Peeters, Leuven), 2021
The Life of Leo Bishop of Catania is a largely fictive text dated to the
first half of the 9th ce... more The Life of Leo Bishop of Catania is a largely fictive text dated to the
first half of the 9th century. It is the perfect example of how 'magoi' (magicians) tend to play the role of the adversary in hagiographical narrative. Unfortunately, the figure of the 'magos' has rarely been studied in the context of Byzantine hagiography. In this article, I consider the Life in connection with the apocryphal Acts of Peter (late 2nd century). Just like the Life of Leo, it features a confrontation between a holy man, in this case, the apostle Peter, and a 'magos', Simon. Through their portrayal of a contest between a saint and a 'magos', the Acts of Peter and the Life of Leo both raise questions regarding the distinction between magic and miracle. I aim to show that the Life of Leo successfully constructs a distinction between saint and magos and, in particular, how it achieves this distinction; how it makes it convincing. The author of the Life of Leo, I argue, adopts narrative strategies belonging to a longstanding tradition of Christian narratives featuring 'magoi', of which the Acts of Peter is a prominent example.
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This chapter critically examines two long-held beliefs with regards to Thecla, the first Christian heroine to take on male dress: 1) that she is the forerunner of Byzantine transvestite saints and 2) that her tale is a reference point for their narratives (fourth to seventh centuries). Arguably, these claims tend to be based on hasty assumptions or insufficient evidence built on one particular transvestite saint’s Life, the Life and Martyrdom of Eugenia. In this chapter, I discuss Thecla’s literary legacy both in the wider tradition of Greek hagiography and specific cross-dressers’ Lives. I demonstrate that the Life of Eugenia is an exception among cross-dressers’ tales in terms of its frequent referencing and evident modeling of the APT. This point is especially salient considering the APT’s many echoes in certain Greek hagiographies that are not concerned with cross-dressers. Finally, I propose some new perspectives on how the motif of cross-dressing traveled from the APT until it appeared in later hagiographical accounts. I argue that the Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, Life and Miracles of Thecla, and Life of Eusebia called Xenê represent important intermediary steps both in the interpretation of Thecla as a cross-dresser and in the development of this literary theme.
first half of the 9th century. It is the perfect example of how 'magoi' (magicians) tend to play the role of the adversary in hagiographical narrative. Unfortunately, the figure of the 'magos' has rarely been studied in the context of Byzantine hagiography. In this article, I consider the Life in connection with the apocryphal Acts of Peter (late 2nd century). Just like the Life of Leo, it features a confrontation between a holy man, in this case, the apostle Peter, and a 'magos', Simon. Through their portrayal of a contest between a saint and a 'magos', the Acts of Peter and the Life of Leo both raise questions regarding the distinction between magic and miracle. I aim to show that the Life of Leo successfully constructs a distinction between saint and magos and, in particular, how it achieves this distinction; how it makes it convincing. The author of the Life of Leo, I argue, adopts narrative strategies belonging to a longstanding tradition of Christian narratives featuring 'magoi', of which the Acts of Peter is a prominent example.
Talks
Dans les romans, la personnification de la ‘Fortune’ ou de la providence divine, voire les divinités plus directement liées à l’amour (thème principal de cette littérature), comme Eros et Aphrodite, agissent dans le récit et déclenchent certains retournements de l’action. Dans l’hagiographie, c’est le Dieu chrétien qui joue un rôle plus ou moins actif, en guidant le saint, par exemple, et certains événements se produisent en suivant sa volonté ou selon sa providence (« κατ οἰκονομίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ »).
Par ailleurs, il est aujourd’hui admis qu’une certaine appropriation des écrits romanesques païens est à l’œuvre dans la production hagiographique chrétienne. Bien entendu, si l’hagiographie « reprend » certaines techniques et structures narratives propres au roman grec, elle n’emprunte pas pour autant la même conception du divin : les divinités païennes sont ici remplacées, pour ainsi dire, par le Dieu chrétien.
Cette communication se propose d’examiner précisément ce paradoxe apparent, entre reprise littéraire d’une part, et abandon conceptuel d’autre part : plus particulièrement, comment ce changement dans la notion du divin intervient-il dans la construction des récits hagiographiques ? Et quel impact a-t-il dans les dynamiques de réappropriation des romans païens en tant que modèles littéraires ? Le divin, bien que conçu différemment, apparaît-il de la même manière et a-t-il la même fonction dans la narration ? Ou bien l’introduction de la divinité chrétienne a-t-elle des conséquences sur la construction des récits ?
Ces questions sont illustrées à travers l’exemple de la Vie d’Euphrosyne (BHG 625), un texte qui contient plusieurs thèmes et structures narratives proches du roman grec.
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Books
hagiographical narrative in different cultural and literary traditions.
It includes Greek, Latin, Syriac, Armenian, Persian and Arabic
material. Whereas scholarship in these texts has traditionally
focussed on historical questions, this book approaches imaginative
narrative as an inherent element of the genre of hagiography
that deserves to be studied in its own right. The chapters explore
narrative complexities related to ction, such as invention,
authentication, intertextuality, imagination and fictionality.
Together, they represent an innovative exploration of how these
concepts relate to hagiographical discourses of truth and the
religious notion of belief, while paying due attention to the various
factors and contexts that impact readers’ responses.
waarom spreekt dat ene gedicht ons zo aan? Welke vormen kan poëzie
aannemen? En hoe komt het dat de gedichten van Sappho, Lucretius en
Hadewijch nog steeds de moeite waard zijn?
In Great Poems maken specialisten in de letterkunde je wegwijs in de
klassiekers van de dichtkunst. Ze laten de mooiste passages tot je spreken, geven gedichten klank en betekenis via uitleg over de context en geven tal van verwijzingen naar film, literatuur en muziek. Zo wordt
ook duidelijk dat poëzie meer is dan louter het traditionele ‘gedicht’.
This chapter critically examines two long-held beliefs with regards to Thecla, the first Christian heroine to take on male dress: 1) that she is the forerunner of Byzantine transvestite saints and 2) that her tale is a reference point for their narratives (fourth to seventh centuries). Arguably, these claims tend to be based on hasty assumptions or insufficient evidence built on one particular transvestite saint’s Life, the Life and Martyrdom of Eugenia. In this chapter, I discuss Thecla’s literary legacy both in the wider tradition of Greek hagiography and specific cross-dressers’ Lives. I demonstrate that the Life of Eugenia is an exception among cross-dressers’ tales in terms of its frequent referencing and evident modeling of the APT. This point is especially salient considering the APT’s many echoes in certain Greek hagiographies that are not concerned with cross-dressers. Finally, I propose some new perspectives on how the motif of cross-dressing traveled from the APT until it appeared in later hagiographical accounts. I argue that the Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, Life and Miracles of Thecla, and Life of Eusebia called Xenê represent important intermediary steps both in the interpretation of Thecla as a cross-dresser and in the development of this literary theme.
first half of the 9th century. It is the perfect example of how 'magoi' (magicians) tend to play the role of the adversary in hagiographical narrative. Unfortunately, the figure of the 'magos' has rarely been studied in the context of Byzantine hagiography. In this article, I consider the Life in connection with the apocryphal Acts of Peter (late 2nd century). Just like the Life of Leo, it features a confrontation between a holy man, in this case, the apostle Peter, and a 'magos', Simon. Through their portrayal of a contest between a saint and a 'magos', the Acts of Peter and the Life of Leo both raise questions regarding the distinction between magic and miracle. I aim to show that the Life of Leo successfully constructs a distinction between saint and magos and, in particular, how it achieves this distinction; how it makes it convincing. The author of the Life of Leo, I argue, adopts narrative strategies belonging to a longstanding tradition of Christian narratives featuring 'magoi', of which the Acts of Peter is a prominent example.
Dans les romans, la personnification de la ‘Fortune’ ou de la providence divine, voire les divinités plus directement liées à l’amour (thème principal de cette littérature), comme Eros et Aphrodite, agissent dans le récit et déclenchent certains retournements de l’action. Dans l’hagiographie, c’est le Dieu chrétien qui joue un rôle plus ou moins actif, en guidant le saint, par exemple, et certains événements se produisent en suivant sa volonté ou selon sa providence (« κατ οἰκονομίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ »).
Par ailleurs, il est aujourd’hui admis qu’une certaine appropriation des écrits romanesques païens est à l’œuvre dans la production hagiographique chrétienne. Bien entendu, si l’hagiographie « reprend » certaines techniques et structures narratives propres au roman grec, elle n’emprunte pas pour autant la même conception du divin : les divinités païennes sont ici remplacées, pour ainsi dire, par le Dieu chrétien.
Cette communication se propose d’examiner précisément ce paradoxe apparent, entre reprise littéraire d’une part, et abandon conceptuel d’autre part : plus particulièrement, comment ce changement dans la notion du divin intervient-il dans la construction des récits hagiographiques ? Et quel impact a-t-il dans les dynamiques de réappropriation des romans païens en tant que modèles littéraires ? Le divin, bien que conçu différemment, apparaît-il de la même manière et a-t-il la même fonction dans la narration ? Ou bien l’introduction de la divinité chrétienne a-t-elle des conséquences sur la construction des récits ?
Ces questions sont illustrées à travers l’exemple de la Vie d’Euphrosyne (BHG 625), un texte qui contient plusieurs thèmes et structures narratives proches du roman grec.
hagiographical narrative in different cultural and literary traditions.
It includes Greek, Latin, Syriac, Armenian, Persian and Arabic
material. Whereas scholarship in these texts has traditionally
focussed on historical questions, this book approaches imaginative
narrative as an inherent element of the genre of hagiography
that deserves to be studied in its own right. The chapters explore
narrative complexities related to ction, such as invention,
authentication, intertextuality, imagination and fictionality.
Together, they represent an innovative exploration of how these
concepts relate to hagiographical discourses of truth and the
religious notion of belief, while paying due attention to the various
factors and contexts that impact readers’ responses.
waarom spreekt dat ene gedicht ons zo aan? Welke vormen kan poëzie
aannemen? En hoe komt het dat de gedichten van Sappho, Lucretius en
Hadewijch nog steeds de moeite waard zijn?
In Great Poems maken specialisten in de letterkunde je wegwijs in de
klassiekers van de dichtkunst. Ze laten de mooiste passages tot je spreken, geven gedichten klank en betekenis via uitleg over de context en geven tal van verwijzingen naar film, literatuur en muziek. Zo wordt
ook duidelijk dat poëzie meer is dan louter het traditionele ‘gedicht’.
Tien specialisten en literatuurliefhebbers verklaren waarom eeuwenoude toneelstukken nog steeds opgevoerd kunnen worden in moderne theaters.
Via hun favoriete passages tonen ze hoe deze meesterwerken de tand des tijds doorstaan hebben. Great Plays is een reis doorheen tijd en ruimte, in een wereld van kijken, luisteren en beleven.
Co-editors: Koen De Temmerman, Alexander Roose
Auteurs: Yanick Maes, Youri Desplenter, Teodoro Katinis, Jürgen Pieters, Lieve Behiels, Delphine Calle, Zoë Ghyselinck, Daan Vandenhaute, Caroline Janssen, Stef Craps