Child or Monk? An Unpublished Story Attributed to John Moschos in MS Coislin 257

This article presents an as yet unpublished edifying tale from the 11th-century manuscript Coislin 257 of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which contains among other works a collection of stories from the Spiritual Meadow by John Moschos. To illustrate the monastic virtues of humility and obedi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 2008-01, Vol.45, p.171-184
Main Author: Papaconstantinou, Arietta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthologies
Childhood
Children
Monasteries
Monks
Mothers
Obedience
Parents
Religious rituals
Sons
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Summary:This article presents an as yet unpublished edifying tale from the 11th-century manuscript Coislin 257 of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which contains among other works a collection of stories from the Spiritual Meadow by John Moschos. To illustrate the monastic virtues of humility and obedience, the tale uses the motif of the separation between parents and their child, albeit in an unusual way, since contrary to most early monastic accounts, it is the child who finds the strength to break with its parents. The text also reflects the practice of transferring the legal authority over a child from the parents to the monastic community, which in the late sixth century was becoming widespread enough to be officially regulated.
ISSN:0003-1186
1938-6958