LITERARY SOURCES FOR THE EARLIEST MONASTIC COMMUNITIES IN NORTH AFRICA (Zrodla literackie dotyczace najwczesniejszych wspolnot monastycznych w Afryce Polnocnej)

• Authors: Nehring Przemyslaw
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Our knowledge of the earliest monastic communities in North Africa comes primarily and almost exclusively from the writings of St. Augustine or from other works written by authors closely related to him. These literary sources represent specific categories with a strongly persuasive function and as such they belong to the prescriptive, apologetic or hagiographical writings. While studying any aspect of early monasticism in North Africa it is necessary to pay attention to the literary and rhetorical traits of the texts. The prescriptive works (Rule of St. Augustine, De opere monachorum) pointed to the ideal which could be perceived as a task to be completed by the monks themselves as well as by their superiors; the apologetic sources (Sermones 355-356) were to show that this ideal, seemingly imperfect as it was, functioned quite well; finally, the hagiographical sources (Vita Augustini) tried to convince the reader that the ideal had come true. The perfect and clearly established example of this ideal is found in the apostolic community in Jerusalem outlined in the Acts of the Apostles 4, 32-35.

Keywords

EN

AUGUSTINE; LATE ANTIQUITY; MONASTICISM; ROMAN AFRICA

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
• Journal: U Schyłku Starożytności. Studia Źrodłoznawcze
• Year: 2010
• Volume: 9
• Pages: 99-113
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Nehring Przemyslaw

• Przemyslaw Nehring, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, Katedra Filologii Klasycznej, ul. Fosa Staromiejska 3, 87-100 Torun, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11PLAAAA10616