Children and Family in Late Antique Egyptian Monasticism

Early Christian asceticism emphasized renunciation of family, while Egyptian monks in late antiquity cared for children.

List of contents

Introduction; Part I. Finding children: 1. Documenting the undocumented: Children in the earliest Egyptian Monasteries; 2. The language of childhood; Part II. Representations: 3. Homoeroticism, children, and the making of monks; 4. Child sacrifice: From familial renunciation to Jephthah's lost daughter; 5. Monastic family values: The healing of children; Part III. A social history: 6. Making new monks: Children's education, discipline, and ascetic formation; 7. Breaking rules and telling tales: Daily life for monastic children; 8. The ties that bind: Emotional and social bonds between parents and children; Conclusion: Monastic genealogies; Bibliography.

About the author

Caroline T. Schroeder is Professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma. She is the author of Monastic Bodies (2007), co-editor of Melania (2016), and co-founder of the ground-breaking digital project Coptic Scriptorium.

Summary

The first book about children in one of the birthplaces of Christian monasticism, Egypt. Uses diverse written and visual sources to demonstrate how early Egyptian monasteries provided an intergenerational continuity of social, cultural, and economic capital while also contesting the traditional family's claims to these forms of social continuity.

Product details

• Authors: Caroline T Schroeder, Caroline T. Schroeder, Caroline T. (University of Oklahoma) Schroeder, Schroeder Caroline T.
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.03.2022
• EAN: 9781316610084
• ISBN: 978-1-316-61008-4
• No. of pages: 269
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; HISTORY / Ancient / General, HISTORY / Africa / General, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, RELIGION / Christianity / General, RELIGION / Monasticism, Christianity, Christian life & practice, Social and cultural history, Ancient History, African History, Christian life and practice, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, RELIGION / Christian Living / General, African history: pre-colonial period, Religious communities and monasticism, Christian communities & monasticism