Children and Asceticism in Late Antiquity: Continuity, Family Dynamics and the Rise of Christianity

272 Pages·2015·1.53 MB·English

by  Ville Vuolanto

Children and asCetiCism in
late antiquity
in memoriam magistrae magistrorumque meorum
Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
(Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.165)
Children and asceticism in
late antiquity
Continuity, Family dynamics and the rise of Christianity
Ville VuOlantO
University of Oslo, Norway and University of Tampere, Finland
© Ville Vuolanto 2015
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Ville Vuolanto has asserted his right under the Copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to
be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing Company
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union road suite 3-1
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Vuolanto, Ville.
Children and asceticism in late antiquity : continuity, family dynamics, and the rise of Christian-
ity / by Ville Vuolanto.
pages cm
includes bibliographical references and index.
isBn 978-1-4724-1436-6 (hardcover) -- isBn 978-1-4724-1437-3 (ebook) -- isBn 978-1-
4724-1438-0 (epub) 1. asceticism--history--early church, ca. 30-600. 2. Families--religious
life. 3. Parent and child--religious aspects--Christianity. i. title.
BV5023.V86 2015
270.2--dc23
2014036491
isBn 9781472414366 (hbk)
isBn 9781472414373 (ebk – PdF)
isBn 9781472414380 (ebk – ePuB)
Printed in the united Kingdom by henry ling limited,
at the dorset Press, dorchester, dt1 1hd
Contents
Preface vii
1 Approaches and Strategies 1
2 Family, Kin and the Right Way of Living as a Christian 45
3 Ascetics and the Family of Christ:
Metaphors, Family Dynamics and Continuity 69
4 Chastity as Immortality 81
5 Choosing Asceticism:
Demography and Decision Making in the Domestic Sphere 95
6 Family Economy and the Profits of Asceticism 131
7 Progeny, Reputation and Memory 147
8 Children, Strategies and Continuity 177
9 Not All of Me Will Die: Conclusions 205
Bibliography 225
Index 257
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Preface
The research project leading to the present book has taken many unexpected
twists and turns during a decade. During all its phases, however, I have had
the pleasure of being surrounded by able and encouraging teachers, colleagues
and friends, contributing to my work with in-depth conversations, advice and
practical help, for which I am deeply grateful.
First of all I wish to thank Päivi Setälä, without whose influence and
encouragement I would never have ended up an ancient historian. Sadly, she
will not read my words of thanks. This work is dedicated to her memory, and
to the memory of Heikki Kotila and Juha Sihvola, peerless academic mentors.
This book would never have appeared without the influence of Marjatta
Hietala, on whose support and wise advice I have always been able to count,
and of Paavo Castrén, who introduced the captivating worlds of Late Antiquity
to me. Antti Arjava, Judith Evans Grubbs and Ray Laurence have on many
different occasions steered me forward in past years. I am deeply indebted to
their support and critical guidance.
Elizabeth A. Clark, Mary Harlow, Markku Hyrkkänen, Sari Katajala-
Peltomaa, Christian Krötzl, Christian Laes and Katariina Mustakallio have
read the manuscript or parts of it, and their comments have been invaluable for
the shaping and completion of the book. I also owe thanks to the anonymous
referee for the most useful and learned suggestions. They have not only made
me further define my argument with their thoughtful criticism, but have also
opened up new insights for further work.
In the final phase I have been lucky to be able to work with true
professionals: Michael Greenwood from Ashgate, who reliably guided me
through the potential pitfalls of publishing, and Brian McNeil, who corrected
my written English. Thanks are also due to the Discipline of History at the
University of Tampere, and the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History
of Art and Ideas (IFIKK) at the University of Oslo for financial support and
an innovative working atmosphere. In a crucial phase of the process, a grant
by the Finnish Cultural Foundation made it possible to continue the research
work. Furthermore, Oxford University Press, Mohr Siebeck and Acta Instituti
viii Children and Asceticism in Late Antiquity
Romani Finlandiae have kindly given me permission to partially re-use my
work previously published by them (from my chapter ‘Children and Memory
of the Parents’ in Children, Memory and Family Identity in Roman Culture,
edited by Veronique Dasen and Thomas Spath (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2010); from my chapter ‘Choosing Asceticism: Children and Parents,
Vows and Conflicts’ in Children in Late Ancient Christianity, edited by
Cornelia Horn and Robert Phenix (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009); and
from my article ‘Early Christian Communities as Family Networks: Fertile
Virgins and Celibate Fathers’ (Rome: Institutum Romanum Finlandiae,
2010) respectively).
Lastly, I need to express my gratitude to my family, who have patiently and
with love endured my long days, frequent absence and constant enthusiasm for
things long past.
Oslo, 13 March 2014, on the feast day of St Eupraxia,
Ville Vuolanto
Chapter 1
Approaches and Strategies
Does not an industrious peasant plant trees the fruit of which he will never see? Does
not a great man found laws, institutions and society itself? What does the procreation
of children mean, what the cares to continue our names, what the adoption of
children, what the diligence in drawing up wills, what even the inscriptions on
monuments and panegyrics, but that our thoughts run on the future, too?1
Asceticism became a widespread phenomenon in the Christian world of Late
Antiquity, although it had been almost unknown to the mainstream of Greco-
Roman culture. At first sight, asceticism was in opposition to traditional
family life and its goals of promoting the familial line for coming generations;
to remain unmarried was not an option before the rise of Christianity and
there was no room for voluntary bachelors and spinsters. This shift was already
noted by contemporary authors: as Gregory of Nyssa remarked, motherhood
had been seen as a public duty among the Romans, something which he saw
as at variance with ascetic Christian values.2 Indeed, by the end of the fourth
century CE, asceticism had found its way into the everyday lives of families
and households3 throughout the Roman world, and the whole idea of married
life and family was questioned by celibate sons and daughters. Married couples
took vows of abstinence and widows and widowers refused to remarry. How
was it possible for this change in attitudes and behaviour to be propagated and
1 Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 1.14.31: ‘Ergo arbores seret diligens agricola,
quarum aspiciet bacam ipse numquam; vir magnus leges, instituta, rem publicam non seret?
quid procreatio liberorum, quid propagatio nominis, quid adoptationes filiorum, quid
testamentorum diligentia, quid ipsa sepulcrorum monumenta, elogia significant nisi nos futura
etiam cogitare?’ Unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own.
2 Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity 19.
3 As a working definition, by a family I mean the wife and husband (or a lone widow/
widower), and other (step-) relatives who lived under the same roof. The Latin word familia, in
turn, is here used as a synonym for a Roman household including slaves, freedmen and other
possible co-resident persons. On these terms, their interrelatedness and problems of definition, see
esp. S. Dixon, The Roman Family (Baltimore and London, 1992), pp. 1–5. On the continuance
of this use of the concept of familia in Late Antiquity, see B. Shaw, ‘The Family in Late Antiquity:
The Experience of Augustine’, Past and Present 115 (1987), pp. 11–14 and 49–50.