The life of Saint Neilos of Rossano /
"The Life of Saint Neilos of Rossano is a masterpiece of historically accurate Italo-Greek monastic literature. Neilos, who died in 1004, vividly exemplifies the preoccupations of Greek monks in southern Italy under the Byzantine Empire. A restless search for a permanent residence, ascetic mort...
Saved in:
| Other Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English Ancient Greek |
| Published: | Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2018. ©2018. |
| Series: | Dumbarton Oaks medieval library ;
47. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "The Life of Saint Neilos of Rossano is a masterpiece of historically accurate Italo-Greek monastic literature. Neilos, who died in 1004, vividly exemplifies the preoccupations of Greek monks in southern Italy under the Byzantine Empire. A restless search for a permanent residence, ascetic mortification of the body, and pursuit by enemies are among the concerns this text shares with biographies of other saints from the region. Like many of his peers, Neilos lived in both hermitages and monasteries, torn between the competing conventions of solitude and community. The Life of Neilos offers a snapshot of a distinctive time when Greek and Latin monasticism coexisted, a world that vanished after the schism between the churches of Rome and Constantinople in 1054. This is the first English translation, with a newly revised Greek text." -- "There is no consensus among scholars about the authorship of The Life of Saint Neilos. According to the monastic tradition of Grottaferrata the Life was written by Saint Bartholomew the Younger, otherwise known as Saint Bartholomew of Grottaferrata. Other scholars disagree with the attribution to Bartholomew. However, there is consensus that Saint Neilos's Life was written in Grottaferrata or in a nearby Latin region and the anonymous hagiographer was probably a Calabrian monk, one of Saint Neilos's early disciples. The unidentified author was an eyewitness of the historic events of the period and a faithful disciple of the saint who practiced first-hand the teaching of his spiritual father and teacher. A phrase in the prologue (chapter 1.1), "these last times of the last centuries," suggests that the Life may have been written early in the eleventh century, soon after Neilos's death, as it implies millenarian concerns that were common in this era. In comparison to the Lives of other Italo-Greek saints who were born and active in southern Italy and Sicily, the biography of Saint Neilos not only is documented in the hagiographic text and in the religious hymns dedicated to the saintly monk, but can be traced independently in other sources, as well. For example, the year of Neilos's death is documented in a Grottaferrata inscription which indicates the year 6513 (1004) according to the Byzantine calculation"-- |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | xxii, 361 pages ; 22 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 0674977041 9780674977044 |
| FOLIO Link: | View instance in FOLIO |