IMC 2021: Sessions

According to a widespread narrative, monasteries were the institutions which ensured educational continuity in the Early Middle Ages, and in doing so, upheld the cultural heritage of antiquity. However, Western monasticism only emerged in this time of transition. In addition, there were monastic movements which were sceptical about intellectual education, and preferred practical formation. The function and self-image of monasteries must therefore be viewed in a more differentiated way. This session examines the influential narrative and asks about the content, places, and functions of education and formation in early medieval monastic communities in the West. It analyses the relation between education and formation and investigates the ways in which knowledge was transmitted.

Paper -a: When the Roman empire splintered into many barbarian kingdoms, education was rescued by the monks. That Late Antiquity was a period of educational decline has famously been argued by Henri-Irénée Marrou, Pierre Riché, and others. In recent debate, Late Antiquity appears as a period of transformation until the 8th or 9th centuries (e.g., Peter Brown, Chris Wickham or Mischa Meier). The present paper asks 1) how the classical view was construed, 2) why it might be appropriate to speak of transition instead of rupture, and 3) how monastic education fits into this perception of continuity: was there a gap which monasteries had to bridge?

Paper -b: Reading, writing and learning were not fundamental activities associated with 4th-century Eastern monasticism. Yet, erudition was, to some extent, very much present in the Western monastic tradition. In order to understand this disparity, it is useful to examine the early Western ascetic communities, such as Jerome and Paula's in Bethlehem (founded in the later 380s). It is clear that for Jerome, reading, writing, and studying scripture were important parts of asceticism - and that they were likewise key to his ecclesiastical authority.

Paper -c: In current research to the Early Middle Ages, monasteries are regularly considered to be institutions that were important for the education in this time. As such they seem to have played an important role esp. for the transmission of works of Late Antiquity in an era of transformation. While there are certainly important monasteries as e.g. the Lucullanum of Eugippius or the Vivariense of Cassiodor, it may be questioned if these monasteries are typical, maybe excellent examples for the landscape of monastieres in the 5th and 6th century. In ascetic milieus, paraenetic exhortations and a moralistic explanation of the bible enjoyed growing popularity just as hagiographical texts, miracle reports etc. This focus displaces classical concepts of education rather than continuing it. Spiritual guidance and usability in ascetic communities were new priorities that made the survival of scientific, even more non-Christian works difficult or cut off their transmission. At the same time a new need arose for epitomizing explanations of the Christian faith. Neither decline of education nor a general appreciation of monasteries as guarantees of continuity seem to be adequate for describing the dynamics of this transformation.